Haikus. What are they? Create your own

Level: B1 at least
Materials: Projector

What does Haiku mean?

• Haikus are a verse form originating from Japan. 
• Traditionally, haikus evoked images of the natural world, relating to seasons and nature. 
• The most famous haiku poet in Japan was Matsuo Bashō.

What’s the Pattern of a Haiku?

• Traditional haikus consist of three unrhymed lines and seventeen syllables. 
• A Haiku expresses a mood, a feeling or a thought.
• Haiku poems don’t need to rhyme, but for more of a challenge some poets try to rhyme lines 1 and 3.
• Each line has a set number of syllables. See below:

1. Line 1 – 5 syllables
2. Line 2 – 7 syllables
3. Line 3 – 5 syllables

An Example of a Haiku Poem

(5) The sky is so blue.
(7) The sun is so warm up high.
(5) I love the summer.

Hands on practice. Can you UNSCRAMBLE THESE HAIKUS ?

1.
An old silent pond..
Silence again.
A frog jumps into the pond, splash!

2.
A perfect evening!
Temple bells die out.
The fragrant blossoms remain.

3.
Silent sky turns gray.
Autumn breeze whispers,
Golden leaves dance on the ground,

SOLUTIONS 

An old silent pond..  A frog jumps into the pond, splash!  Silence again.

Temple bells die out.  The fragrant blossoms remain.  A perfect evening!

Autumn breeze whispers,  Golden leaves dance on the ground,  Silent sky turns gray.

 

 

ARE YOU READY TO CREATE  YOUR OWN  HAIKU? 

+Sources: https://timetolearnesl.wordpress.com/literature/haiku/ 

https://en.islcollective.com/english-esl-worksheets/general-topic/winter/haiku/49571  

 

 

Magic Box Poem. Add things to put inside the box and finish the poem by describing the box

Aim: students add lines to the Magic Box poem.
Level:  students need to be able to write simple present tense sentences and understand most of the poem below.
This task is suitable to all levels and should help integration of students in multicultural classrooms.
Procedure: students read (all or part of) the poem Magic Box by Kit Wright and add lines to the poem.

Attention: The poem is too difficult for my students so I have  adapted it to my lower levels. I have chosen the easiest verses. Since the word SUN appears two times and they are too close in the adapted version, I have  substituted SUN for FUN in one of the verses. I hope the author approves the change!

Find underneath:

• the adapted version of the poem, that is to say the poem with the easiest verses
• the whole poem. 

Just copy and paste the poem on a Word Document, change the suggested underlined  words to suit the origin of your students. Project it on the board and ask the students to read the poem aloud and to add stanzas to the poem.

Suggested procedure for adding verses to the poem and for creating a whole class poem: students work in groups to create new stanzas. Each Group writes their best stanza on the board.  Number the stanzas and have all students to read their class poem aloud.

Materials:

• a projector to show the poem to the students

THE MAGIC BOX, by Kit Wright (ADAPTED). Substitute underlined word by places that represent the origin of your students. 

I will put in the box
the tip of a tongue touching a tooth
a sip of the bluest water from Lake Lucerene,
and the first smile of a baby.

I will put in the box
three violet wishes spoken in Gujarati,
the last joke of an ancient uncle
a fifth season and a black sun

I will put in the box
a cowboy on a broomstick
and a witch on a white horse.
the colour of the my fun

I will put in the box…

YOUR TASK

Complete the poem. 

A) What would you put in the box? 
B) Finish the poem by adding a description of your box? 

• What does the  box look like? 
• What is it made of?   
• What shape does it have?

These are the verses my 2014-15 school year added.

Attention: Students have added these stanzas. They are posted  EXACTLY as the students entered them.

1. I will put in the box 
a sweet kiss and a hot night
good memories of our chilhood
a rainbow in the sky.

2. I will put in the box
 the smile off my grandparents
and the my parent's love
a twilight with my loved one.

3. I will put in the box
photos of my family
to remember the good times
that we had in the past

4. I will put in the box
a lot of food
and a piece of fruit
and a glass of soda

5. I will put in the box
another smaller box
inside it  will have something smoller
it is said our wedding ring 

6.I will put in the box 
happy moments with my friends
the day I passed my catalan exam 
a lovely smile of my father


 

THE MAGIC BOX, by Kit Wright (Complete version)

I will put in the box

the swish of a silk sari on a summer night,
fire from the nostrils of a Chinese dragon,
the tip of a tongue touching a tooth.

I will put in the box

a snowman with a rumbling belly
a sip of the bluest water from Lake Lucerene,
a leaping spark from an electric fish.

I will put into the box

three violet wishes spoken in Gujarati,
the last joke of an ancient uncle,
and the first smile of a baby.

I will put into the box

a fifth season and a black sun,
a cowboy on a broomstick
and a witch on a white horse.

My box is fashioned from ice and gold and steel,
with stars on the lid and secrets in the corners.
Its hinges are the toe joints of dinosaurs.

I shall surf in my box
on the great high-rolling breakers of the wild Atlantic,
then wash ashore on a yellow beach
the colour of the sun.

You may want to visit the Poetry Society page on ideas on how to use this poem HERE 

Thanks to John Lavery, at the September 2013 British Council workshop  in Barcelona for providing me with this idea.

Talking Turkeys by Benjamin Zephaniah

Pre-watching task included in attached Power Point

Possible special occasion: Christmas. This poem reflects on the selfishness  and consumerism  that rules the celebration of Christmas.
Level: lower intermediate and higher.
Aim: students carry out pre-watching tasks before listening to a  fun poem about the feelings of turkeys before Christmas. Students become aware of the variety of English accents.

Materials

All materials are available by clicking HERE 

• Video of Bejamin Zephaniah reciting the  poem Talking Turkeys. You can watch it online underneath or download it from my site by clicking HERE 
• Teachers' notes to lead you through the Power Point.
• Power Point with pre-watching tasks to project in class. 

You may want to visit Benjamin Zephaniah's website. Click HERE

Create an -ation poem

Students add stanzas to the famous  ATIONS poem, by Shel Silverstain.

You will need:

• To show students some or all of the stanzas of the ATIONS POEM below.
• To ask or provide the students with some words ending in -ation.

1. For this go to google and write: words that finish in ation
2. Pick the words that suit your needs.

I suggest these but there are loads: abbreviation,  acclamation, conversation, asphyxiation, humiliation, inspiration, ovation, peregrination, popularization, meditation, organization, socialization, simplification etc.

The sentences can vary from very easy to more difficult sentences, depending on the level of your students

Examples:
If we check the lock too many times
This is overcaution

If we are always scared
This is overcaution

See below, after the poem, some of my students contributions


This  is the poem

These are some of the proposals of my 2014-15 class  
Attention: Students have added these stanzas. They are posted  EXACTLY as the students entered them.


If we walk along st. Jack's way
that's a peregrination.
If we go to the Tibet
that is meditation.
If we go to a wedding
that is a celebration.
If my name is Pedro And you call me Pe
That's an abbreviation
If we love each other very much
That's a relation
If we decorate home
That's an organization
If we give important news
That's  information
If we chat someone
That's conversation
if I don´t speak to you
That´s meditation
if today I´am speaking
That´s inpiration