As the school year winds down, it’s the perfect time to combine the outdoors with learning activities. Try out this fun activity that combines nature and poetry.
Materials Needed:
a nice sunny day to go outside
clipboards
pencils
coloring supplies
Step 1: Gather Inspiration
The perfect inspiration for a springtime haiku is right outside your classroom! Give each student a clipboard and a Five Senses Organizer. Choose which organizer is best for your class.
Explain to students that they will be taking a walk outside and writing down what they see, feel, hear, taste, and smell in nature. For the sense of taste, encourage students to just imagine the tastes of different springtime things. For example, the sweet taste of honey. Be sure to go over safety rules specific to your school and classroom before heading outside!
If you can’t go outside for inspiration, don’t worry! You could play a video with nature sounds and pictures or you could have students go look out the window.
Step 2: Review Organizers
Once your class is gathered back inside, give students an opportunity to share their Five Senses Organizers with each other. Encourage students to share ideas and add to their own organizers.
Step 3: Learn About Haikus
Start by explaining the basic structure of a haiku. A haiku is a Japanese poem with three lines. Haikus are usually about nature, and they seldom rhyme. The first line of a haiku has 5-syllables. The second line of a haiku has 7-syllables. The third line of a haiku has 5-syllables. You may also wish to share some examples with your students, such as the one below:
A small silent pond.
A frog jumps into the pond.
Splash! Silence again.
Next, encourage students to look at the ideas on their organizers and see if they can come up with 5-syllable and 7-syllable sentences. Students should not be writing yet. Simply speaking the words aloud will help students to understand the concept of counting syllables. Encourage students to clap each syllable as they say the words.
For younger students, you may wish to create a chart on the board with examples of 5-syllable sentences and 7-syllable sentences. They can use these ideas when writing their own poems.
5-syllable sentences | 7-syllable sentences |
I hear the bees buzz. Smell the fresh cut grass. | Bright yellow daisies grow tall. The sun glistens in the sky. |
Step 4: Writing a Haiku
The final step is writing a nature inspired haiku! Give each student the Spring Haiku Worksheet. Allow students plenty of time to write their own haiku in the center of the flower. Once they are finished writing, they can decorate their flower to go along with the poem.
You may wish to have students cut out their flowers. These would be perfect to hang up and decorate your classroom door or a bulletin board in the hallway.
If your kids are already finished with school and on summer break, this is an easy activity that you do to keep them busy and writing. Take a walk around your neighborhood and write a haiku poem together!
For more poetry writing ideas to try out over the summer, check out this Super Teacher Worksheets page!
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