Writing A Haiku Poem

This year my fifth grader has to learn how to write a haiku. It should be interesting how he feels about writing these wee little poems. I recall enjoying them while in high school but then I have always been into poetry and romance.

Take a look at what a Haiku is, How to write a Haiku and some silly little examples of haiku that I came up with using words that involve things I enjoy. [crochet and yarn]

What is a Haiku?

An UN-rhymed form of Japanese Poetry.

How to Write A Haiku:

First Line: 5 Syllables

Second Line: 7 Syllables

Third Line: 5 Syllables

What is a Syllable:

A syllable (Greek: συλλαβή) is a unit of organization for a sequence of speech sounds.
For example, the word water is composed of two syllables: wa and ter. (Wikipedia)

Choosing a Topic:

When choosing a topic for your haiku start by writing about something you love. I enjoy crochet so let’s see how I do.

1 Syllable Words:

• Hook
• Yarn
• Red
• Teal
• Blue
• Green
• Sweet
• Treat
• Wool
• Toy
• Scarf
• Hat

2 Syllable Words:

• Crochet
• Single
• Double
• Triple
• Yarn Over
• Pull Through
• Design
• Unique
• Pattern
• Symbols
• Cotton
• Reading
• Slippers

3 Syllable Words:

• Creative
• Crocheting
• Acrylic
• Alpaca
• Afghan
• Blanket
• Japanese

4 Syllable Words:

• California
• Satisfaction

5 Syllable Words:

• Amigurumi

When writing a Haiku you can choose a single 5 syllable word or 5-single syllable words. Our first line needs 5 syllables so I can choose 5 words from my 1-Syllable list – hook, yarn, wool, red,green

My Red Hat

With Hook and Red Yarn [5 syllables]

I crochet a Red Wool Hat [7 syllables]

Creative Design [5 syllables]

Cupcake

Today I Crochet [5 syllables]

A Sweet Pink Frosting Topped Treat [7 syllables]

Amigurumi [5 syllables]

Number Sense

One Two Three Four Five [ 5 syllables]

Six Seven Eight Nine Eleven [7 syllables]

I Skipped Number Ten [5 syllables]

If you don’t feel you have Haiku talent you can use a Haiku generator like the 100 Trillion Haiku Generator by EveryPoet.com

azaleas rust
rust, gelding sings
flatly feisty dirty

The above is the Haiku generated for me when I visited.

Here’s one more Crochet themed Haiku using the Online Rhyming Dictionary set to Last Syllable Rhymes:

Stash Busting

Crochet a Sachet

I began an Afghan

Repeat to Complete

Yes, my Haiku skills need some work but it was fun learning about this poetic technique. Now I will know a bit more about this Japanese style of poetry for when I have to teach my 5th grader this upcoming school year.

Target Stores and Haiku:

This week we received a booklet of “haiku-pons” from our local Target Store. It was a cute little booklet that was created using haiku’s to present the various coupons. I think that having written this page made me hypersensitive to haiku’s and the fact that they used them in their advertising campaign.

Example: Here’s one for Toothpaste

“fresh breath

on a brush

mint polish for

your choppers

make your

momma proud”

I think that I’m going to use this as a resource this year for when we cover this in my 5th graders language arts class. It has 10 different haiku’s that are perfect to teach my son this form of poetry this year.

Resources:

Online Rhyming Dictionary – Enter your word and choose the type of rhyme you would like. [Ending rhymes, Last Syllable rhymes, Double rhymes, Beginning rhymes and First syllable rhymes]

Haiku-O-Matic – You can publish your wacky Haiku’s here or have the program generate one for you