Take the cliché out of the old “what I did last summer” theme by introducing students to the haiku form of poetry. Haikus work with every age group, and they offer a great way to introduce students to poetry—even those for whom the mere mention of poetry elicits a groan.
Imagine this assignment: Capture a memorable event from your summer vacation in the form of a haiku—a succinct seventeen syllables. For example:
new blue bicycle
swerve into the gravel turn
red bloody elbow
Or how about:
faces on Rushmore
sunlit granite shows each man’s
determination
Haikus originated in Japan. Traditionally, a haiku has seventeen on, or sounds. In English these are usually translated as syllables and configured in three lines of five, seven, and five syllables, as in the examples above. But there’s also room for variation and innovation.
One of the most famous Japanese haiku writers was Matsuo Bashō, who lived in the 1600s. His poems often are given as examples, such as:
all day in grey rain
hollyhocks follow the sun's
invisible road
For more about haikus in English, check out the Haiku Society of America website.
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