Charlotte’s Web: Character Acrostic Poems

This fun activity goes along with the novel Charlotte's Web, by E. B. White. In this activity, students create acrostic poems for characters from the story. Acrostic poems are a fun way to check students' understanding of the reading. Make sure to first go over how to complete an acrostic poem with words or short phrases that describe the character.

The characters students will be writing a poem for are Wilbur, Charlotte, Templeton, and Fern.

Charlotte's Web is usually read by 2nd through Grade 4 students. If you've never done an acrostic poem with your students, make sure they understand how to complete one. It's important they understand that the words and phrases MUST make sense to the character they've read about. For example, the W in Wilbur could stand for 'Wants a friend.' The C in Charlotte could stand for 'Caring.' You could have a discussion whole group first about how they would describe each of the characters. Students could also work in small groups. When students complete activities where they focus on the actions and traits of the characters in the story, they will understand the story better. They will also understand why characters act the way they do in the story.