Nature and Basic Purpose of the Kit

EXPLANATORY LEAFLET THE HAIKU KIT

This teaching pack can be used with different levels to teach haiku in the English section of the National Curriculum. It provides numerous examples of both Japanese haiku in English translation and haiku written in English by both adults and children.

Outcomes include teaching children to recognise and appreciate haiku and afterwards helping them to write haiku themselves.

There is a choice of approaches expressed in detailed lesson plans. All material can be photocopied freely.

Aims and learning objectives met by teaching

The Haiku Kit responds directly to the requirements of Keystage 3 (also 4) in many ways, enabling pupils

 to develop as effective readers by reading, analysing and evaluating literary texts from other cultures and traditions,  to develop as effective writers by teaching them to use a new form,  to extend their interest in words and to experiment with choices of vocabulary,  to extend their moral and emotional understanding,  to use language in precise and original ways,  to extract meaning beyond the literal,  to analyse and discuss alternative interpretations, ambiguity and hidden meanings,  to improve writing through drafting and redrafting,  to write poetry based on their own experience,  to make full use of presentational devices where appropriate.

Time needed

To cover all the recommended steps thoroughly several lessons will probably be required.

Exactly what is haiku?

Haiku began in Japan. The Japanese haiku is written vertically as a one-line poem (see Sheet 12). It is usually divided into three word groups, falling easily and naturally into phrases of 5 or 7 syllables that are innately attractive to the Japanese speaker. Haiku appeal to us through images and our sensual perceptions of things, subtly influencing the reader's mood and possibly his/her view of life. Japanese haiku usually have a season word which enlarges the field of reference and often creates a feeling of transitoriness (because we're reminded that the seasons are always moving on through a familiar cycle). The brevity of haiku reinforces this feeling. Some modern Japanese haiku incline more towards human life and urban life than haiku of the classical period (roughly, mid-C17th to early Cl9th) which were rooted in nature.

1 English and Japanese ideas differ considerably about what constitutes a syllable (onion, for example, would count as 4 syllables in Japanese). To preserve the spirit, feeling and brevity of haiku, writers in English often find that.a form shorter than 17 syllables is desirable. No 'rules' are broken by doing this, for the great master of Japanese haiku, Basho, himself, advised poets to judge haiku by how they sounded even if this meant ignoring a strict syllable count. In English haiku the middle line of three (written horizontally) is usually a little longer than the other two, irrespective of how many syllables are used.

The best haiku in both Japanese and English make use of a caesura somewhere so that one part of the poem is set against the other. This enables poets to achieve various effects: to imply a metaphor, perhaps; or possibly to switch from the external world to the internal world of the poet; or to give an unexpected 'twist in the tail’.

Haiku do not have titles or employ rhyme.

When to use the kit

Teachers have used these materials and approaches in dozens of schools and experience shows that they work, with common sense modifications, across a wide range of age and ability, from about age 9 to 16. They are ideal for pupils at Keystage 3.

TEACHING PROCEDURES

Recognition and Appreciation Stage

Here are two possible lesson plans for you to consider, employing somewhat different approaches. Plan A spends more time than Plan B on recognition and appreciation before pupils start to write haiku. The teacher also keeps tighter control over the initial input in Plan A. A time allowance is suggested for each step.

PLAN A

Resources needed: wall charts enlarged from Sheets 1-8 (or A4 photocopied handouts for each pupil, if preferred). (All the haiku on these sheets are English originals.) The notes from here on assume you have opted for wall charts.

1 Teach the term haiku. Say where it comes from and add any background you think will be useful. Explain this is the shortest form of poem generally known. Ask the class to think of any advantages very short poems might have over longer ones. Where could they appear? Can they suggest any ways of keeping a poem as short as possible?

5 mins.

2 2. Describe the English haiku form in the simplest terms, i.e. a three-line poem of 5-7-5 syllables. (Children from the age of 8 usually know what syllables are, but you may need to check this.) Make it clear poets don't stick rigidly to this pattern. Some of the haiku you'll be showing won't be 5-7-5; the poet has always used just the numbers of syllables needed and no more. For the moment, the haiku on Sheet (wall chart) 1 serves as an example of the 'strict' form. 5 mins.

3 Display the wall charts made from Sheets 1-7, one at a time, leaving them up so that eventually all 7 can be seen.

As each is shown, read it aloud, then elicit ideas about it. "Can you make a picture in your mind's eye? Where? When? What time of day? What's happening? How does it make you feel? Does any word in particular give you that feeling?"

Feed in any interesting points you feel the class may have overlooked (see Sheet 1-7b for some ideas).

Some haiku lend themselves to the ploy of covering one line or one word, which you can ask the class to guess. Covering the last line of Sheet 14 is a good example. You may wish to add this haiku to the familiarisation and appreciation stage. 20 mins.

4 Ask the class to look at all the haiku on display and choose their own personal favourite. Go round the class asking pupils to read their favourite aloud and to give a reason for choosing it. 10 mins.

5 Return to the subject of the form of haiku. Ask the class to tell you what differences they notice between the haiku on Sheet 1 and those on Sheets 2-7. 5 mins.

6 Elicit from the class a list of characteristics of haiku, covering form, language, subject matter and mood. Ideas may flow more easily if you ask them to make comparisons with other poetic forms they're familiar with, such as ballads, limericks, song lyrics. They should spot some or all of the following:  no rhymes  no titles  minimal punctuation  no need to start with a capital letter as a 'proper' sentence does  haiku are often not complete, grammatical sentences  use of present tense  a division into two parts, maybe signalled by a dash  no regular rhythm (metre) 10 mins.

PLANB

Resources needed: A4 photocopied handouts of Sheet 9 for each pupil. (It may be of interest that this sheet contains several Japanese haiku in English translation as well as some written in English by children age 8-12.)

1 Ask each pupil (or, if you prefer, pair of pupils) to choose just one haiku from Sheet 9 that appeals and to think of reasons for the choice. 5 mins.

3 2 Each pupil in turn reads out the chosen poem and gives reasons for choosing it. Encourage the rest of the class to join in with comments. Using the notes on Sheet 9b, yourself feed in extra information, so that key points about form and content are gradually covered. 25 mins

3 Ask the class to list common characteristics of haiku, as they observe them on the handout. 15 mins

CONSOLIDATION STAGE (HOMEWORK?) These two optional activities may be useful if recognition and appreciation have taken place and you want to keep the topic fresh in pupils' minds while waiting for another session when you can prepare for free writing.

The first activity (a 'haiku crossword') checks pupils' understanding of what images are and gives them an opportunity to read further examples of haiku. Photocopy for each pupil Sheets 10a and 10b. Demonstrate how the word already filled in (DOLL) has been taken from the haiku numbered 1 across. Tell the class each word to look for is an image word (= concrete noun). Check completed puzzles using the Answer Key (Sheet 10c). 10 mins.

The second activity is a guided composition exercise. Provide each pupil with a copy of Sheet 11. Demonstrate one or two of the many possible different first lines that can be made from the frame, so that pupils understand how to use it and see its scope for variety. Impress on them that they can't fail to make a haiku if they choose something from each box, but the aim is to select the word or words that seem best from the points of view of sound and meaning. If done in class, pupils might work in pairs, discussing which words to choose. Let everybody read their poem out.

This exercise builds confidence in using the form and develops a feeling for its balance. It also makes pupils conscious of the range of words of similar meaning available in English and they should realise that being a poet means, among other things, making the best choice from the alternatives on offer.

Younger children may enjoy writing their versions of the haiku onto sticky labels and fixing these to empty soft drink cans and hanging them from the ceiling to make a mobile. 15 mins.

WRITING STAGE

The subject matter of haiku may be either remembered personal experience or immediate experience. If children are writing in the classroom they'll probably be restricted to remembered experiences. If you can take them outside they'll be better able to write from immediate experience. Whichever you choose, some form of stimulus is needed. Here are some ideas.

1 If your school has a garden or conservation area, send the children out to explore and collect impressions, as if they were 'intelligent cameras'. To focus themselves, they could try to observe things that contrast: light and shade, big and small, two smells, two sounds (e.g. raindrops drumming on a cycle shed roof while the school choir sings). An alternative - to look for things that are between other things (e.g. blue sky between the legs of a cow on a hilltop). Or behind or under things. Collecting these impressions should be done in a quiet, solitary way. While outside, pupils will merely make notes of their observations and work these up, in haiku form, when they return to the classroom.

20 mins

2 Alternatively, in the same amount of time, give the class a situation which might even be the first line of a haiku. Ask them to feel their way into the situation and then draw on memory and experience to complete the haiku in their own words. First lines may either be from actual haiku or just lines you invent, but they must be evocative and related to children's own experience (e.g. a midnight swim / a knock at the door / fly in my teacup / the dishwasher churns / with sunglasses on / wearing my new gloves / untidy room / putting out the cat, etc.)

3 Ask pupils to prepare two or three different versions of each of their haiku and then choose the best version to show you (or maybe to discuss with a partner first). Suggest possible improvements. Things to look for:

 Are there redundant words that can be left out?  Can a limping line be made more rhythmical?  Would a more precise word (sparrow instead of bird, say) add strength to the poem?  Would suspense be heightened, or a more striking effect achieved, if the order of the ideas or of lines was switched?

A useful mnemonic: THE FOUR R'S - REDUNDANCY, RHYTHM, RIGHT WORD, ARRANGEMENT! 15 mins.

4 After discussing and improving drafts, let children work on final versions which could be included in an album, magazine or display. 10 mins.

SCOPE FOR EXPERIMENTS WITH PRESENTATION

Finished work can be made to look attractive according to individual taste. Alert the class to some of the possibilities by displaying and discussing Sheets 12-15, either enlarging these to wall chart size or making A4 handouts.

Sheet 12 shows the most typical ways in which Japanese poets present their haiku: as shikishi (3 vertical lines of calligraphy), as tanzaku (a single vertical line of calligraphy), and as haiga (calligraphy combined with a very quick sketch or caricature).

Sheet 13 employs English calligraphy. Incidentally, introduce here the idea that writing a haiku in one line instead of three may sometimes add to the possible ways we can understand it.

Sheet 14 is English but draws its inspiration from Japanese haiga.

Sheet 15 uses computer graphics as an alternative to calligraphy done with a pen . . ,

Photography is another medium of presentation that might appeal to some children.

5 FURTHER RESOURCES

The British Haiku Society publishes pamphlets on various aspects of haiku and related forms and will be pleased

to supply a list of what is currently available, on receipt of a stamped self-addressed envelope, marked, ‘ List of

pamphlets’.

From time to time there are competitions for haiku written by children. The British Haiku Society is organising one in 1998-1999 and hopes to do so again at intervals of several years.

Teachers who wish to make an in-depth study of haiku might like to buy one of the following books. The first three are available from The British Haiku Society itself, the others can be obtained through bookshops in the UK.

m R. H. Blyth", pub. BHS, 1994., price £7.50 postpaid.   "Iron Book of British Haiku", ed. David Cobb and Martin Lucas, Iron Press, 1998, £6.50. •  "Tadpoles - an anthology of haiku by British schoolchildren", pub. BHS, (forthcoming, 1999)   "The Haiku Handbook", by William J. Higginson, pub. Kodansha, 1985. •  "Haiku World - an International Poetry Almanac", by William J. Higginson, pub. Kodansha, 1996.  •

 "The Ge niu s of Ha iku - Re adi ng s fro

yright British Haiku Society 1997 and 1998