http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/printouts/haiku-starter-30697.html
Contribute to ReadWriteThink / RSS / FAQs / Site Demonstrations / Contact Us
- About IRA
- About NCTE
- About Verizon Thinkfinity
- Standards
- Our Advisors
- Our Authors
- Community Stories
- Promotional Materials
- News
To view our printable materials, you must download the latest version of the free Adobe Acrobat software.
Our lesson plans are written and reviewed by educators using current research and the best instructional practices and are aligned to state and national standards. Choose from hundreds of topics and strategies.
ReadWriteThink has a variety of resources for out-of-school use. Visit our Parent & Afterschool Resources section to learn more.
Home › Classroom Resources › Printouts
Printout
Haiku Starter
E-mail
/
Share
/
Print This Page
/
Print All Materials (Note: Handouts must be printed separately)
| Grades | 2 – 6 |
| Printout Type | Writing Starter |
|
|
 |
ABOUT THIS PRINTOUT |
This graphic organizer provides students the opportunity to brainstorm words about a given topic, count and record the syllables, and draft a haiku.
Poetry in the classroom is an excellent way for students to express themselves, synthesize information they have learned, and enjoy word play. The haiku is a perfect form of poetry for classroom use because it’s short, does not need to rhyme, and lends itself to any topic. While haikus are traditionally written in the present tense about nature, they can be written about any subject in a variety of contexts.
The Haiku Starter graphic organizer allows students to brainstorm a list of words about a given topic. This can be done independently or as a group. Students then record the number of syllables next to each of the brainstormed words. This helps students to play with words and phrases and find different combinations that they like with 5 and 7 syllables. Once the poem has been drafted, students can write final copies on a separate sheet of paper and illustrate the poem.
- As a first day of school activity, have students brainstorm words about themselves and then write a haiku. Read the haikus aloud and have the class try to guess which student the haiku describes. You will get to know your students, and your students will get to know each other.
- Use a haiku as a culminating activity for a content area unit (science, social studies, even math)! Brainstorm a list of words with students that show what they learned in the unit. Group related words together and have students write a haiku about the topic. For example, if you have just finished a unit on the Revolutionary War, have students write a haiku about the important events, people, or ideas.
- Haiku works great as a final project when students have completed a novel for independent reading or for a literature circle. Students can brainstorm words about the important themes, characters, or plot.
- In keeping with the tradition of haiku and nature, have students create a frame out of a sheet of paper. Take students outside and ask them to place their frames on the ground in a spot they like. Ask them to draft a haiku about only what they see inside the frame.
Grades 3 – 5 | Lesson Plan | Standard Lesson
Seasonal Haiku: Writing Poems to Celebrate Any Season
After listening to haiku poetry, students use seasonal descriptive words to write their own haiku, following the traditional format. They then publish their poems by mounting them on illustrated backgrounds.
Grades 3 – 5 | Lesson Plan | Standard Lesson
Reading, Writing, Haiku Hiking! A Class Book of Picturesque Poems
Students learn haiku
write descriptive poems
and share with the class.
Grades 7 – 10 | Lesson Plan | Standard Lesson
Engineering the Perfect Poem by Using the Vocabulary of STEM
Students research engineering careers and create poetry to understand the vocabulary of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics).
Grades 5 – 8 | Lesson Plan | Standard Lesson
Following the traditional form of the haiku, students publish their own haikus using Animoto, an online web tool that creates slideshows that blend text and music.
