Football - Suk Chan Park

  Focus

  On

yOur

  Team's

  Ball

  And

  Leave

  Like a hero.

An acrostic written by one of my middle school students, I actually really like how clear the thought is at the core of the poem.  Suk Chan successfully articulates a clear thought about football (soccer).  Focus and dedication will result in victory, making you a hero.  

I really like doing poems with my students.  Many of them assume that poetry is very difficult, even in their native Korean.  I like teaching acrostics, because it means that all students, from low level to high, can participate equally.  As a class, we choose a word to describe.  Then we do a group brainstorm, and then out of those words, we assign them to the vertical axis, slowly teasing out the message we want to convey.  The word I usually steer my classes towards (or outright pick for them) is student.  It's something to which they can all relate, and the responses are usually good and very telling about the Korean education system.  Here's one from one of my high schools:

                              Stressful school studying

                              Tired

              wearing Uniforms

              lunch is Delicious

                              English is our second language

                              Never stop

                              Trying

It's a bit funny, and reflects how tough the day can be for them, but it also has some notes of optimism about it.  I like seeing my students get to be creative, because they so seldom get to do that in their other classes.