A traditional Japanese Haiku is a verse, made up of three unrhymed lines of poetry. Although it's patterned on a type of ancient Japanese poetry, it really dates back to the 1890's, when it was first recognized as a separate type of poetry. 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.
The Western world "discovered" Haiku at the end of second World War and the rules had to be softened in order to write Haiku in English. An English Haiku does not have to follow the 17 syllable rule perfectly, if the Haiku fulfills the rule about painting an image with each line. It does'nt always need to reference a certain season as well.
Haiku by Erin M. Ackers
Washington, USA
Mercury, The Rocket, and Earth.
I have arranged them into a three verse chain.
Closest to the Sun, (5)
Next after it is Venus, (7)
A big rock in space. (5)
Shooting fast through space,
A rocket is coming soon,
To seek the planet.
Trees and plants growing,
Water flowing through rivers,
Living things on it.
Instructions:
Students are to meet at the concrete pad near the gardens. If you have already worked on haikus (5-7-5 syllables) then begin the lesson by reminding them of how a haiku is written. If you have not began instruction, then teach them the 5-7-5, three line form of a haiku. Give a couple of examples. Then have the students spread out between the two outside gardens, the picnic table outside the fence and the picnic table inside the fence.
The students are to write at least 2 haikus about something that
they can see here at the Nature Center. The students should then draw at
least one picture for each haiku and color it. If time is left, bring the
students back together in a large group and have them share some of their
haikus.