Level: Intermediate (grades 3-6)

Objectives

• Write a haiku poem
• Understand syllabication
• Use descriptive words to write poetry

Introduce the Poetry
Haiku poems are generally written to describe nature. The most widely recognized form consists of a three-line stanza that has a total of 17 syllables, written in the following pattern:

Line 1: 5 syllables Line 2: 7 syllables Line 3: 5 syllables

Clouds float slowly by Fluffy, lumpy, cotton balls Silver, gray, and white

Clouds float slow/ly by Fluf/fy, lump/y, cot/ton balls Sil/ver, gray, and white

The words and phrases used in haiku do not rhyme.

Teach the Poetry

• Write the following examples of haiku poetry on the board or overhead projector, or hand out a copy of the samples sheet.

Bursting in bright hues Splashing colors all about  Autumn leaves must fall	Burst/ing in bright hues Splash/ing col/ors all a/bout Au/tumn leaves must fall
Forest finery Of purest green, ferns boast their  Delicate beauty	For/est fin/er/y Of pur/est green, ferns boast their Del/i/cate beau/ty

• Review the syllable pattern in each haiku with students.
• Have students identify the subject in each poem (clouds, autumn leaves, ferns). Explain that in haiku poetry the author's purpose is to transform a seemingly common nature-related topic into something special or extraordinary using words.
• Discuss how haiku poetry stresses the use of interesting and descriptive words in the elaboration of its subject. Have students identify the nouns (clouds, cotton balls, hues, colors, autumn, leaves, forest, finery, ferns, beauty), verbs (float, bursting, splashing, fall, boast), and adjectives (fluffy, lumpy, silver, gray, white, bright, purest, green, delicate) in the poems.

Model Writing a Haiku

• The first step in writing a haiku poem is to choose a good topic. Haiku poems are generally written about nature.
• Encourage students to use their emotions and senses to brainstorm a list of nature-related topics. Subjects might include: different types of weather, clouds, landforms, water formations, seasons, etc. Record students' suggestions on the board or overhead projector.
• Choose a topic from the generated list and write it on the board or overhead projector.
• Invite students to name words or phrases that describe the topic. Then, as a group, experiment with putting the words and phrases together to describe the topic in three lines according to the 5-7-5 syllable pattern.
• Model rearranging and rethinking word choices to match the syllable pattern. For example, if a chosen phrase has four syllables, but the pattern requires that it have five, model selecting a similar two-syllable word.
• Have students write their own acrostic using the same topic. Encourage them to use a dictionary or thesaurus to find synonyms or more interesting and precise words as necessary.

Word Work: Syllabication

• Students must be familiar with syllabication to apply the structure of haiku. To review or teach syllabication, use the poems or words listed on the board. Have students clap the syllables, or beats, in each word. Extend the exercise by having students categorize the words by the number of syllables they contain. For example, sort the words in the autumn haiku (one syllable: in, bright, hues, all, leaves, must, fall; two syllables: bursting, splashing, colors, about, autumn).
• Write desert and mountain on the board. Have students brainstorm synonyms for the words that have different numbers of syllables (desert: flats (1), wasteland (2), wilderness (3), Kalahari (4); mountain: peak (1), highland (2), matterhorn (3); and so on).
• This is a good opportunity to introduce the use of a thesaurus. Explain to students how to locate a word in a thesaurus and find the synonyms.

Poetry Practice

• Have students work individually or in pairs to choose another topic from the generated topic list on the board. Then have them crate a haiku poem as independent practice.
• Remind students that their goal is to take a common nature-related topic and make it into something special using words. The poems should be three lines long. Students should apply the 5-7-5 syllable pattern if possible, but they may also choose to start by writing a poem with a syllabic pattern.
• Explain that although punctuation was not originally used by Japanese poets, in modern creations it may be used for emphasis or clarity, or to establish more meaningful connections. Typically, each line should begin with a capital letter.
• As students write, encourage them to brainstorm to find words and phrases that communicate and fit the structure of their haiku.
• Have students revise their work in order to improve understanding and flow by adding, deleting, consolidating, and rearranging words as necessary.

Use the Worksheets for Practice

• Have students compose an acrostic poem using the scaffolded worksheets. There are three choices of worksheets and a sample page:

Worksheet 1 for students who need additional support
Worksheet 2 for students who have a basic understanding of haiku poetry
Worksheet 3 for students who have a solid understanding of haiku poetry
Samples for examples of haiku poetry

Extend the Activity

• Celebrate the writing process by having students read their poetry aloud with fluency, rhythm, and expression.
• Assign a class topic, such as types of weather. Write the names of different forms of weather on the slips of paper and put them in a box (tornado, tsunami, hurricane, spring rain, thunderstorm, snowstorm, hailstorm, sunny day, cloudy day, etc.) Have students choose a topic from the box and write a haiku. Have them share their poems with the class.
• Have students share their writing with as many different audiences as possible. Poetry may be published through classroom or school-wide displays, a poetry book, a school newsletter or website, an online poetry contest, or any other creative form of communication.
• Practice fluency by having students read their poems into a tape recorder. Save their best readings. Make the recordings available for other classes and/or grade levels to check out and listen to.
• Publish grade or class books on the same topic. For instance, if you are studying plants, one group might write a haiku about evergreen trees, another about deciduous trees, another about annuals, and another about perennials. Compile the haiku poems into a book entitled "Plant Life."