Identifying poetry in literature is an important third grade skill to master. One of the oldest forms of poetry is the haiku (pronounced HI-COO). Encourage your little writer to flex his poetry muscles and come up with a haiku of his own! His 17-syllable poem will focus on Saint Patrick's Day, the annual feast day celebrating the most widely recognized patron saint of Ireland.
What You Need:
- Lined paper
- Pen or pencil
- Markers, colored pencils, or crayons
What You Do:
- With your child, discuss the concept of a haiku: a form of poetry originating in Japanese culture. It is made up of three lines: the first line contains five syllables, the second line contains seven syllables, and third line contains five syllables. A haiku poem does not rhyme. The challenge of a haiku poem is to take something simple and make an image of it in the reader's mind. For example:
A Cloud
Soft billowy ball
Traveling through the blue sky
floating silently.
- Have your child practice writing a haiku by filling in the blank line in the following poem:
A Mountain
A tall majestic
(Fill in this blank with 7 syllables)
Sits still quietly
- Have your child take a piece of lined paper and write down several words that he associates with Saint Patrick's Day. For example: green, leprechaun, shamrock, paddy, Ireland, etc.
- Ask your child to choose one of the words to describe in detail. The word he chooses will be used as the focus for the haiku poem.
- Encourage your child to write as many descriptive words or adjectives as possible for the word he chose. For example, shamrock: green, clover, plant, Irish, etc.
- Then, using a new sheet of lined paper help your child arrange these descriptive words into a fun haiku poem. Make sure he gives the poem a title. For example:
Shamrock
It's green and leafy
A symbol of the Irish
Sometimes it's lucky
- Finally, have your child cut out the poem and paste it onto a sheet of red construction paper. Have him decorate it with markers, confetti, sparkles, leaves, etc.
Previous item
Next item: Make an Acrostic Birthday Poem
Add your own comment