“Dare to love yourself
as if you were a rainbow
with gold at both ends.”– Aberjhani
Learning how to write a haiku is quite simple. It is a fun way to introduce kids to writing poetry. Most kids love to write a Haiku, because they consist of only 3 lines. 🙂
A Haiku is a form of Japanese Poetry. Typically, haikus are written about nature, but they can be about any topic. To write a haiku, you need to follow a very specific syllable structure:
Line 1: 5 syllables
Line 2: 7 syllables
Line 3: 5 syllables
This is a wonderful way to reinforce learning syllables.
Steps To Write A Haiku
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Read haiku. Read lots of haiku to learn the rhythm and pattern. Check out books from the library with haiku poetry. They usually have beautiful photography to accompany the poems.
Play this educational game. It teaches vocabulary, syllabication, and rhyming which are skills needed to create a haiku.
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Select a topic. I like to select a topic in nature such as flowers, but you can select funny topics too. One way to help children select a topic is to give them a nature picture like from an old calendar.
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Use this printable, starter template to brainstorm and plan your Haiku.
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Use this printable template to create your Haiku and follow the correct pattern.
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Illustrate your haiku and share.
Here are some Haiku poems written by some 8 years old I taught.
Birds
Birds like to eat food
Birds fly. They die. They have a beak.
Birds eating catfish.
Trees
They sway in the breeze
They are green, very pretty
The sun helps them grow
Flowers
Bloom in the summer
Flowers, beautiful petals
Opening green buds
These children wrote these haiku poems in minutes with lots of guessing and checking different words to make the syllables fit the haiku pattern; so, if they can do it, your children can do it too. I’ve had children from 1st grade all the way through high school write a haiku. Writing a haiku is for all ages. 🙂
April is National Poetry Month. It’s a great time to introduce your children to poetry and how to write a haiku. However, I think anytime is a good time to write a haiku. Kids love to write them and illustrate them.
Did your kids enjoy this? I’d love to know. You can even share their haiku with me; I’d love to read it.
Let’s make a positive difference~ one word at a time.
♥Pamela
Please share this article with others that you think would benefit from these tips. Also, please ask any questions that you may have about teaching children reading or writing. Leave your questions in the comments. I’ll answer.
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You know, I have never ever written a Haiku, so thanks for breaking it down so easily and for joining us on the Kid Lit Blog Hop
Julie,
I hope you try it. They can be beautiful. 🙂 Thank you so much for taking the time to comment and offering the Kid Lit Blog Hop. I’m thankful for the opportunity.
Together, we make a positive difference ~ one word at a time. 🙂
Pamela
Thanks for sharing with us at Mommy Monday!
My kids wrote haikus a few weeks ago, they were SO cute. 🙂
XOXO
Dear Mrs. AOK,
That is wonderful. This is a writing exercise that is fun to do each year. It is also fun to see how they improve.
Thank you for providing the opportunity for Mommy Monday.
Together, we make a positive difference ~ one word at a time. 🙂
Pamela
My girls and I love the picture book Hi, Koo by Jon Muth. They are only 5, but it would be fun to work together with them to write our own haiku using your method. Thanks for the idea!
Heather,
Thank you for the book recommendation. I’m going to look it up. It sounds perfect.
Have fun creating a haiku or two with your girls. 🙂
Together, we make a positive difference ~ one word at a time. 🙂
Pamela
This is a fantastic post! My daughter had to write haiku’s for homework and thanks to your post she had an easier time creating her own. Thank you for sharing this!
Stacie,
I am so excited that this helped your daughter. Thank you. Also, thank you for sharing. 🙂
Together, we make a positive difference ~ one word at a time. 🙂
Pamela