Haiku Lesson plan

Haiku Nature Poem and Watercolor 

 10 pts 

5th grade 

3 or 4 - 55 minute sessions 

This lesson could be started with watercolor basics as a first lesson then on to other watercolor techniques for a refresher before doing the Haiku. 

 Objective – to learn about Asian culture and art through the use of watercolor and poem writing. You will create a Haiku poem then watercolor a simple background that relates to your poem. 

 Vocabulary – Haiku, positive space, negative space Materials – rough draft paper, pencils, watercolors, watercolor paper, Sharpie marker, water tub, brush, book on Haiku poems 

 Cue set – Ask students if they know what a Haiku is? Then explain to them that there are 3 lines with 5, 7, 5, syllables combining images of nature and personal insight. 

 Best shot – review the Haiku. 5, 7, 5 syllables, doesn’t have to have complete sentences, do some brainstorming on the board of some things in nature 

History - Hints for Writing Haiku with Students - In Japanese, a haiku poem is usually divided into three groups/lines of syllables, the first and last with five syllables, the second with seven. However, be careful not to get stymied by strict adherence to the number of syllables and miss the essence of haiku. The 17 syllables is not an absolute rule. Most Japanese syllables are short, as in po-ta-to. English syllables can be long, and take up too much space in a haiku, so English haiku frequently have fewer than 17 syllables, sometimes as few as ten. Haiku presents simple imagery, devoid of similes, metaphors, and eloquent adjectives and adverbs. When crafting haiku, think of a group of words that present an observation in a way that appeals to the senses. Use sight, touch, sound, smell, taste, or sensations like pain or movement. Tell of a specific event or observation; do not write in general terms. Write in the present tense. Try to indicate the feelings of the poet as she/he is writing the poem. When describing an event, present it as an image. 

For example, the following is NOT haiku: 

I watched the rain 

Drops as they splattered 

Into the puddle

As written by a 4th grade student, the same sentiment is expressed as haiku: 

Soft warm splatterings 

Echoing in circles 

Settle in the puddle

One way to teach students to make specific observations is to go outside and look at one small object or event in nature. Watch a cricket move, describe a leaf, and observe the clouds. Have students record what they see, and then work it into haiku. (If outdoor observation isn't possible, use prints of art works, Japanese pieces if possible, and do the same kind of focusing on small details and single events.) 

Japanese has a set of words, kigo, that refer to specific seasons and are fundamental to haiku. English has no agreed upon set, but do try to use words that refer to a season, or lead the reader to sense a season. By teaching students some of the history of haiku, we validate the art form and give it importance. Through our efforts to teach the skills of expressing simple imagery, we give students a glimpse into the simplicity and beauty of the Japanese aesthetic. 

Other Haiku Histories: Haiku is a small poetry with oriental metric that appeared in the XVI century and is being very popular mainly in Japan. It's been disseminating in all around the world during this century. It have an old and long story that reminds the spiritualist philosophy and the Taoist symbolism of the oriental mystics and Zen-Buddhist masters who express much of their thoughts in form of myths, symbols, paradoxes and poetic images like the Haiku. It's done to transcend the limitation imposed by the usual language and the linear/scientific thinking that treat the nature and the human being as a machine. It's a contemplative poetry that valorizes nature, color, season, contrasts and surprises. 

Usually it has 3 lines and 17 syllables distributed in 5, 7 and 5. It must register or indicate a moment, sensation, impression or drama of a specific fact of nature. It's almost like a photo of some specific moment of nature. 

More than inspiration, it needs meditation, effort, and perception to compose a real Haiku. Haiku aesthetic - As Robert Haas says in his book The Essential Haiku, a well-executed haiku doesn't describe nature or an experience, but rather conveys a sense of actually living it, of a "moment seized on and purely rendered." The reader should get the sense that they too are experiencing this moment, not through the writer's senses but through their own. This immediacy is one of things that makes haiku so compelling, yet also, makes it look deceptively simple to write. However, experienced practitioners of this form know that it takes a great deal of focused attention to write in the haiku style. 

Guided practice – 

Review watercolor basics with the students – 

1. watercolor is transparent – create new colors by painting over other colors 

2. make sure that your colors are dry before applying more color, watercolor tends to muddy quickly 

3. apply wet paint to damp paper to create soft edges 

4. apply wet paint to dry paper creates hard edges 

5. use a pencil to lightly draw your nature image onto the paper. images should be simple 

Review Haiku basics – 

1. 17 syllables total in 3 lines (5, 7, 5 syllables) 2. no complete sentences 

2. do not use your subject in the body of the poem 

3. describe your subject with nouns (action or doing words) and adjectives (describe a people, place, or thing) Read a book of poems to the class

 

Independent practice – 

1. student will need to think about nature and how they perceive it, then brainstorm words on what they have chosen to write about (ie. water, rain, air, grass, animal, etc) 

2. arrange words into a poem of 3 lines with 5, 7, and 5 syllables 

3. when the poem is finished and the teacher has checked it the students can watercolor the background of their paper 

4. when the water colored background is dry, carefully print your haiku onto the paper with a Sharpie marker 

 Assessment – check on Haiku as they are writing; remind them that they need to watercolor simple shapes in nature. 

 Extension – contact ELA teacher and use in her class, writing of other poems 

 Closure – clean up and remind students what will be coming for next week