Postcard Poetry Pen Pal Project
The 5-7-5 Diet Plan
Haiku Walk
Stop, Look, and Listen
Haiku Magnetic Poetry Game for Groups
The Haiku Box
Haiku Word Puzzle

Educators are invited to join the Postcard Poetry Pen Pal Project. Here is how it works.

1. Create haiku with your students and write the haiku on post cards.
2. Include the poet’s first name, last name initial only, grade level, city, state and country with each corresponding poem on each post card.
3. Place postcards in a mailing envelope and ship to:

Johnette Downing
Postcard Poetry Pen Pal Project
P. O. Box 13367
New Orleans, LA 70185-3367

4. Include a self-addressed stamped envelope large enough and with enough postage to receive the same number of postcards in return.
5. Within a few months, you should receive an envelope of post cards from another school.

I offer this activity as a challenge to slim down your 5-7-5 haiku without losing the meaning and inspiration of the haiku moment. Here is how I do it:

1. First write a 5-7-5 poem.
   

   _____ _____ _____ _____ _____
   
   _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____
   
   _____ _____ _____ _____ _____

2. Now, remove extraneous words that may not be necessary. I always look for words like a, an, and, at, the, in, on, under, over, and through to remove first.
3. Read the edited poem aloud to hear the new rhythm and structure.
4. Try to remove or replace other words to streamline the poem even more.
5. Consider rearranging the lines to give the poem more impact at the end.
6. Put the final touches on the edited poem and write the new poem.
   

   ____________________
   
   ____________________
   
   ____________________

7. Compare and contrast the two poems and decide which one you like better.

One of my favorite haiku activities alone or with a group is to take a haiku walk. With a group, here is how it works:

1. Select a location, conducive to writing haiku, and time to meet.
2. Once the group is assembled, select a time limit for the walk (usually an hour or two) as well as a time and location to reassemble.
3. Disperse from the group and walk about taking in the sights, smells, sounds of the location as an inspiration to write haiku.
4. Try not to pressure yourself into writing rather enjoy the surroundings and relax allowing your mind, body and spirit to be in and of the moment.
5. Record your haiku in a haiku notebook.
6. When the time limit has expired, reconvene with the group to share the poems written.

Go somewhere outside with pen or pencil and your notebook ready.

When someone in your group (or your teacher) says, "Stop!" Then stop where you are.

(If you're doing this by yourself, just tell yourself, "Stop!")

LOOK around. What do you see? Write in the notebook 3-5 things that you see, starting with the words "I see..."

Now LISTEN. What do you hear? Write in the notebook 3-5 things that you hear, starting with the words, "I hear..."

For example, you might write in your notebook:

I see dark clouds
I see a bird flying
I see green grass
I see a little yellow butterfly

I hear a car horn beeping
I hear the wind blowing
I hear my friend talking about boys
I hear a school bell ringing

Next step: cross out the words "I see" and "I hear."

In the example, we now have:

dark clouds
a bird flying
green grass
a little yellow butterfly

a car horn beeping
the wind blowing
my friend talking about boys
a school bell ringing

Now, take two of the things you noticed and put them together:

dark clouds
a school bell ringing

a car horn beeps
a little yellow butterfly

a bird flying
my friend talking about boys

Finally, to finish your haiku, write it in three lines:

dark clouds
a school bell
ringing

a car horn beeps
a little yellow
butterfly

a bird flying
my friend talking
about boys

Now you have haiku to share with your friends!

If you like, we could add this "Note for teachers":

Other senses can be added to this game. "I smell..." "I touch..." and, if appropriate, "I taste..." The important thing is to have the children write these words on their pads, so that they have a sort of forward momentum to register their sensations. Crossing out these "starter words" leaves behind the pure sense images that are essential in haiku. Be sure not to use the emotional starter words "I feel..." because the emotion of a haikuk is best unstated. Let the reader discover this emotion from the pure juxtaposition of images.

lonely
a little yellow
butterfly

...is a weak haiku. But:

dark clouds
a little yellow
butterfly

...is a good one. The loneliness of the butterfly is sensed in its juxtaposition to dark rainclouds.

--David G. Lanoue

by Lonnie Hull Dupont

The Haiku Box lends itself to hours of haiku writing and enjoyment. The box consists of "A New View of the Moon-My Haiku" (a blank journal for writing your own haiku), "Footprints in the Snow" (an instruction book for writing haiku) and a bag of 50 word tiles to get you started writing haiku. The box includes over two dozen exercises to spark your creativity. What I like most about the box is the exercise to practice writing haiku using this formula:

Line one: WHERE?
Line two: WHAT?
Line three: WHEN?

It is interesting to think about haiku in this manner and to practice the form this way. Dupont offers this exercise as a springboard to creating your own formula. Try it and see how it works for you.

Click on the puzzle and a new window will open. Print the word search puzzle. Have Fun!!