Haikus

As we wrapped up the Japan unit, I had my students write me haikus. I had them pick a season of the year, since Japanese haikus are based on nature. We talked about seventeen syllables- a combination of 5-7-5 and they came up to get their poem approved before settingn out to put it onto a poster and decorate it. I was pretty impressed and thoroughly amused at what they came up with. Here are the winners of the First Annual Haiku Awards.

Best Decorated (imagine in your head- snowflakes, snowmen, trees, beauty, very lovely):

Snowflakes fall softly

Lovely drifting here and there

Floating Gracefully

Most Poetic:

Leaves dressed on the earth

Dancing to graceful breezes

Up, down, swilf, up, down

Poem Least Related to Picture (picture is of a cabin, snow-covered mountains, reindeers, etc.:

Winter always ends

How come it is very cold

Because it does rain

Most Misspelled (presented with no corrections):

It's warm, its's cold, ha.

I open all the presenit

Now it's over, bye.

Least Connection to a Season (see if you can see the connection to Spring....):

The car is broken

Took it to the shop to fix

Fixed it and it works

Makes the Least Sense:

Little Lily's Red

Follwoing my head and blew

and the white and red

(huh?)

Best Use of Roget's Thesaurus:

The snow is frigid

Everything freezes over

Some sun would be nice.

LAUGH Out Loud Poem:

I went to the pool

I yelled why are you here, Val?

I was bored at the pool

(***note: Val is a student in the class- and there is a picture of two people, one saying "why are you here, Val" and the other saying "I don't know")

Most Heartfelt:

A field of flowers

Where I sit down to look at

the beautiful sky

Evokes the Senses:

Time flies and leaves falls

The wind blows against my face

What a pretty sight

Most Use of the Words "May" and "Hot":

Summer is so hot

The hottest days are in May

In May it's so hot.

Most Honest:

Man it's really hot

I'm trying to get a fan

My mom is real cheap.

Fastest Passing of Seasons Ever:

The snow is freezing

In the cold I felt like frost

The snow is melting.

Most Incorrect Haiku:

In the month of

October it is windy

and cold.
(hm...)

So there you have it- the creme de la creme of the haikus that I was given. They were certainly fun to read and definitely a way for the kids to let out some of their creativity.

PS- I still crack up when I think "why are you here Val?"