Name______
Haiku Internet Activity Questions and Instructions
Read: What is Haiku?
1. What is haiku? Explain the structure of the poetry.
Read: How to write Haiku.
2. How does one do a “cutting” in Haiku? In other words, what do you use to separate, but still connect two sections of a haiku poem?
3. What MUST every Haiku contain which relates to time of year?
4. Provide two examples of season words that could be used in a Haiku poem.
5. Provide two other words that you make up yourself which could be considered season words.
Examine the Haiku(s) written by Mr. Stott on the Asia page of www.mrstott.com. They are just below the Haiku link you clicked on. Count the syllables of each line on your fingers. Do you see how it is done? If you don’t understand, ask a friend in class. Remember that the syllable count for line one must be 5, the syllable count for line two must be 7, and the syllable count for line three must be 5. Note that many of the Japanese examples listed on the website do not conform to this syllable count due to the translation from the Japanese language. Please read some of the Japanese poetry for its beauty and/or if you are stuck for seasonal words.
Now, on the reverse side of the paper, write four of your own, original Haikus. They can be about any subject, but must have season words in them. The seasonal words must be different in each Haiku.
1.
2.
3.
4.
6. Now write a two-section Haiku using the concept of “cutting” explained above in question number 2. See Mr. Stott’s example to see how two sections may be put together with a colon, long dash or elipses. I used a colon. (You may NOT just put two previous ones you’ve written together.)