Haiku Wonder Walk

Dr. Beth Frye

Appalachian State University

Haiku Wonder Walk

• Prior to the Wonder Walk be sure to:
• Read Adrian Rice’s haiku and additional examples from:
• Livingston, Myra Cohn. (1997). Cricket Never Does. New York: Margaret K. McElderry Books
• Yolen, J. (2003). Least things: Poems about small natures. Honesdale, PA: Boyds Mills Press.
• Choose mentor poems and engage in a “close reading” of several
• Share with students how we can find “haiku moments” in nature to write about.
• Share your own examples…
• Collaborate and engage in shared writing!
• Invite students to write their own haiku!

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Gossamer pom-poms

cheer, sending seeds to disperse…

dandelions dance.

~Beth Frye

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Robin gathers grass,

Until she seizes a worm.

Food before shelter.

Beth Frye

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Haiku Wonder Walk

• Share Invitation with students…
• You are invited to go on a wonder walk. As we embark on our nature walk, we ask you to pay attention to your surroundings and to look for your haiku moment: a moment that you feel compelled to write about in the form of haiku! This is a small moment in time…it is not the walk itself, but it is a moment that occurs during the walk. For example, it might be a bird landing in a tree, or the sun hiding behind a cloud, or an insect that makes a sudden move, or a leaf that floats down the stream or gets stuck…in other words, it is something “small and specific” that moves you to write as you capture the experience in a fresh and memorable way.

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Haiku Wonder Walk

• As you are walking, take notes that capture the small moments…engage all of your senses and focus on the beauty of your surroundings.
• When you find your “haiku moment,” take notes that will inform your writing. Consider: the what, the where, and the when. As you consider the “what,” think about something else that this “thing” reminds you of…consider and notice the “mysterious” in the everyday and ordinary things that occur in nature and HAVE FUN! ☺
• Students took notes on their nature walk and carefully observed their surroundings.

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Dr. Beth M. Frye, Appalachian State University

Students observe and take notes…

Examples of Student Notes…

Students take notes with paper/pencil or with the iPad…

Haiku Wonder Walk

After the nature walk, we returned to the classroom, and I modeled HOW to write a Haiku from my observations of possible haiku moments.

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A bright babbling brook

blows bubbles while buttercup

rejects her release

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Beth Frye

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• Students were eager to write their own haiku…

Dr. Beth M. Frye, Appalachian State University

Small snails in the stream

Shells glisten like a crystal

Sluggish little snail

Flowing life within

Moving gently down the trail

Water snakes around

Standing at the edge

As I gaze at the water

Just enjoying life

A rock bridge watching

fish glistening in the pond

Flowers hanging on

Assessment

• Poetic form
• Process approach: plan, draft, revise, edit, publish
• Sensory language-poetic devices

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Haiku Rubric

_____Is written as a Haiku with 5-7-5 syllable pattern

_____Includes precise and interesting words

_____Provides readers with a sense of wonder about the topic—something that might not be noticed or considered by just a superficial listing of facts or characteristics.

_____Includes artistic representation

_____Includes planning activity

_____Demonstrates considerable effort

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Dr. Beth M. Frye, Appalachian State University