sivretmr
- Apr 7, 2020
- 3 min read

Week #8: Haiku Poems

Explore your surroundings for that small moment in time..

This week we learned about the history of Haiku poems and even got to practice writing our own! Haiku is a Japanese form of poetry that celebrates nature. It is comprised of 3 lines with 17 total syllables (5-7-5).

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

It is written in the present tense and includes time, place, and events, focusing on representing one small moment. Using vivid verbs and descriptions, appealing to the senses, figurative language, and seasonal connections are some common characteristics of Haiku.

(Frye, n.d., part 1 slide 6)

Haiku, like other formula poems that follow a specific pattern, are excellent poems for students. They "provide a scaffold for students, but at the same time, provide students the opportunity to think flexibly and develop their ideas with careful and specific word choice" (Frye, n.d., part 2 slide 19). Giving students the opportunity to think freely and use their imagination to develop their own poems, will instill confidence in themselves as poets. When teaching formula poems, Dr. Frye offers a wonderful instructional method to scaffold students:

Marinate children in the poetry!!!
Use the inquiry-based approach to help students DISCOVER the poetic form.
Explain the poetic form; students should write a brief description of the form.
Share a favorite poem as the “mentor poem” and engage in a CLOSE reading of the poem; focus on the pattern, form or characteristics of the poem. Read it MULTIPLE TIMES!!!
Demonstrate or model your own poem OR collaboratively compose a poem. This is a critical step for students uncertain of what/how to write.
Compose poems independently!

(Frye, n.d., part 2 slide 20)

One way to invite students to write Haiku poems is through the "Wonder Walk" invitation (linked under useful links). This invitation gets students outside, observing nature, taking notes, and focusing on the small moment in time. This is a fun way to allow students to really explore and use those senses so when it is time to write, their poems will flow right out of them. It is important to teach students that poets do research before they write as well! I got to explore using this method to write my haiku and photoku below!

MY HAIKU POEMS

MY PHOTOKU POEMS

LOVE THAT DOG By Sharon Creech

Love that Dog by Sharon Creech is a beautiful story about a young boy's journey with poetry. Written in diary format, it shows Jack's progression from avoiding and being embarrassed by poems, to becoming a poet. In the beginning, Jack avoids writing poetry saying "I tried. Can't do it. Brain's empty" (Creech, 2001, pg. 2). He feels like his writing is not poetry ("It's not a poem. Is it?"-pg. 17) and never wants his teacher to share his poems saying "Yes, you can put it on the board but only if you don't put my name on them" (Creech, 2001, pg. 10). Throughout the book, Jack becomes more confident in writing poetry, writing longer, meaningful poems and using the words and styles of famous poets like Robert Frost, William Carlos Williams, Walter Dean Myers, and Valerie Worth, to name a few. This book shows students that poems can take many forms, gives examples of famous poets, poems, and poem types, and gives students confidence as a poet.