Haiku and Photography: a Natural Connection

This lesson will allow students to combine photographing nature with creating a Haiku poem to express what they see in the photograph.

A lesson plan for grades 3–4 Visual Arts Education and English Language Arts

By steven sather

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• Learn more about English language arts.

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Learning outcomes

Students will:

• learn to use the 5-7-5 syllable formation for writing Haiku.
• relate photography to the writing process.
• learn to make the connection between nature photography and poetry.

Teacher planning

Time required for lesson

2 hours

Materials/resources

• Digital camera (35mm camera can also be used)
• Pencil and paper
• Haiku poetry
• Pocket chart
• Large (5×7) index cards

Technology resources

• Digital camera
• Picture It or similar software
• Computer with word processing software (Microsoft Word)
• Nature photographs (from magazines, calendars, etc.)

Pre-activities

As an introduction, read several Haiku poems (Cricket Never Does: A Collection of Haiku and Ranka is a good source for children’s poetry, ISBN: 0689811233).

An example is:

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

After reading the poems, ask the students what they found similar in each of the poems. At first students may not pick up on the 5-7-5 syllable stucture of a Haiku. It may be helpful to have the students listen for the number of syllables on each line. Once they understand the stucture, see if they see a relationship between the Haiku and nature.

Students may also find it helpful to brainstorm words that they might use that would relate to nature (sunflowers, robin, blades of grass, dew, cloudy, …). This will help students develop a data base of words that will help the reader to visualize what they are trying to convey in their Haiku.

Activities

DAY 1: Modeling

1. Show class an overhead transparency of a nature photograph. Tell students that they will be using Haiku to write a closeup description of the photograph.
2. Ask students to brainstorm a list of nouns — names of things that they see in the photograph. Record each word on a large 5×7 index card or sentence strip and place in pocket chart. Then ask students to brainstorm a list of verbs to describe actions they see in the photograph. Finally brainstorm a list of adjectives to describe what they see in the photograph. Record each word on an index card

3. Review the 5-7-5 form of a Haiku. Ask class to point out which of the words listed have one, two, or three syllables. Using the 5-7-5 stucture of a Haiku, ask students to help you compose a Haiku poem, using the descriptive words on the cards. As a class, pick out words with enough syllables to make the first line. Remind students that they can add new words that they think of even if they are not on the list. For example: “one black shiny bug”. Have class do the same for the next line, and the last line. Read the Haiku aloud. For example:

      One shiny black bug Crawls silently through tall grass     Below hot brilliant sun.

4. Create a second Haiku, but instead of starting with an adjective, pick a preposition or verb to start the first line. Discuss how this changes the Haiku. For example:

       In a green meadow    Dandelions sway and sing       Happy to be there.

5. Have students write their own Haiku about the photograph. Have students share their Haiku with a partner. Then ask students to share Haiku that start with different parts of speech to compare how they sound.
6. Pass out several pictures of nature from magazines (good sources include, ALIVE from the NC Zoological Society, National Geographic, and Wildlife in North Carolina), photographs, and calendars. Ask students to select one picture that they want to describe. Remove the other pictures from the tables/desks.
7. Students should then create a Haiku for the picture that they previously selected. Have students first generate nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, and prepositions they see in their photographs. Then have them write Haiku that start with different parts of speech.
8. If time permits, students should read their Haiku (without showing their picture), and see if it evokes a mental image of the actual picture.

DAY 2:

Note: If a camera is available in your classroom (or school), a digital camera works best, you can continue to relate Haiku to nature photography.

1. Take a walk around your campus and pause at different spots to investigate nature. A blade of grass, a fallen leaf, a rotting stump, or a flowing stream all are examples of nature that can stimulate very creative Haiku.
2. Using your camera, take a few pictures that you find interesting. Allow students to take pictures of objects or things that they find interesting in nature. A checklist is helpful to keep track of the order of students taking pictures.
3. Download pictures (or have them developed), and create a folder for each student. Place their pictures in each student’s folder.

DAY 3:

1. As before, have students create a Haiku for their picture. After writing it on paper and having it peer edited (and edited by the teacher), allow the students to word process their Haiku utilizing Microsoft Word (or Works) and place in their folder along with their pictures.
2. Follow directions for importing pictures to a word document and combine the two. They can then be printed out to share with the class. If two copies are made, one can be placed in a class book of Haiku.
3. Allow time for students to share their Haiku and pictures. You may want students to evaluate each other’s work using the rubric provided below.
4. An example of a picture and Haiku created by the author is included below. Click here. It was created during a workshop held during the summer of 2001 as part of a Now Project Workshop: Discover Your Ecological Address.

Assessment

Through an oral presentation the students will be assessed by a rubric by both the teacher and other students in the classroom (see html Haiku and Photography rubric attachment below or Click here).

Supplemental information

The Haiku Anthology: Haiku and Senryu in English. Van den Heuvel. (ISBN: 0671628372)
Cricket Never Does: A Collection of Haiku and Tanka. Myra Cohn. 1997. (ISBN: 0689811233)
The Essential Haiku: Versions of Basho and Issa. 1994 (Note: These are translated from Japanese and do not always follow the 5-7-5 syllables). (ISBN: 0880013516)
One Hundred Frogs: From Renga to Haiku to English. Hiroaki Sato. 1983. (ISBN: 0834801760)

Rubric was developed using the site: http://rubistar.4teachers.org/.

Related websites

This site allows you to practice Haiku on-line and submit it. http://www.everypoet.com/absurdities/index.htm
The following site: http://www.ahapoetry.com/haiartjr.htm, describes what Haiku is, has been in the past, and can be in the future.
Children’s Haiku Garden: http://www.tecnet.or.jp/~haiku/ has Haiku written and illustrated by children from the US, Japan, Canada, and England.

Comments

This lesson can also be done using Nature Jounaling (taking students outside to sketch different objects in nature using a sketch book) and then having them write a Haiku based on their sketch.