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Lesson Title:

“Chaco” Sandals (Chaco sandals are a modern version of “grass” sandals)

By:

Jill M. Fenn, Jill E. Maxwell, and Axel Reitzig

Featured Children’s Literature:

Grass Sandals: The Travels of Basho

Objectives:

Student will deepen their knowledge of haiku poetry.

Colorado Model Content Standards:

Reading and Writing

Standard 1. Students read and understand a variety of materials

Standard 2. Students write and speak for a variety of purposes and audiences.

Standard 3. Students write and speak using conventional grammar, usage, sentence structure, punctuation, capitalization, and spelling.

Standard 4. Students apply thinking skills to their reading, writing, speaking, listening, and viewing.

Standard 6. Students read and recognize literature as a record of human experience.

Visual Arts

Standard 1. Students recognize and use the visual arts as a form of communication.

Standard 4. Students relate the visual arts to various historical and cultural traditions.

Plan for Assessment:

After this lesson, students will have a deeper understanding of Japanese poetry, specifically haiku. Students will create their own haiku following specific haiku rules.

Rules of Haiku

• Proper form is 3 lines with 5-7-5 syllables

• Special “season” word; one that gives reference to the natural world

• Simple imagery—specific, not general (examples: cherry blossoms NOT trees; purple iris NOT flower)

• Write from real, personal experience, not imagination

• Evoke specific feeling through imagery rather than telling (example: “Tears flowed from my eyes” NOT “I was sad”)

• Sights, sounds, touch, smell, or sensation (relates to one of the five senses)

Notes:

Suggested time for this lesson is a minimum of two days—it can easily be a week-long (45-min. class period) lesson. This lesson is easily adaptable to any grade level.

Materials:

Grass Sandals, by Dawnine Spivak, PowerPoint of pictures of the journey up to Yamadera; Haiku by Patricia Donegan; KWL overhead (attached pdf); sample frog

haiku by Basho on an overhead (attached pdf); sample haiku poetry written by Matsuo Basho to be posted in the classroom (attached pdf).

Implementation:

Day one

Introduction:

• Introduce the lesson with a class generated haiku “KWL” chart (see attached PDF); fill out the KWL either on chart paper or on an overhead. Have the class brainstorm about their prior knowledge of poetry, specifically haiku and fill in the “K” (“What I know”) section of the KWL chart. The KWL session also includes the prompt “what do you want to know?” to fill the “W” part of the KWL chart. (Upon completion of the lesson, revisit the KWL to fill out the “Learned” portion of the chart.)

Instruction:

Introduce Basho (1644-1694)

• Basho’s talent for writing a 5-7-5 poem popularized the art form of haiku
• Basho traveled by foot throughout Japan and recorded his thoughts both in the form of haiku and prose (haibun)
• Basho lived a simple life

Explain to students that, through the book Grass Sandals, they will deepen their understanding and knowledge of haiku and its rules.

Read the haiku in Grass Sandals aloud to the class—the prose can be read during another class session.

Review the haiku rules:

• Proper form is 3 lines with 5-7-5 syllables
• Special “season” word ; one that gives reference to the natural world
• Simple imagery—specific, not general (examples: cherry blossoms NOT trees; purple iris NOT flower)
• Write from real, personal experience, not imagination
• Evoke specific feeling through imagery rather than telling (example: "Tears flowed from my eyes” NOT “I was sad”)
• Sights, sounds, touch, smell, or sensation (relates one of the five senses)

Post a few of Basho’s haiku so that they are visible for the students to use as a reference as you continue the lesson. (See attached pdf.)

Using the attached overhead template, share and discuss Basho’s frog haiku—in its original Japanese form—with the class. Share several different translations of the haiku. Ask “Why would the translations be so different?” “Whose translation is most accurate?” Analyze the poems according to the haiku rules.  Haiku do not have to follow all of the rules.

Day Two

Review Basho and his poetry

Introduce Yamadera

• Basho visited Yamadera on his Journey to the Interior and wrote haiku about the setting.
• In Yamada Prefecture, Japan
• Literally means "mountain temple"
• Show pictures of the actual temple (see attached PowerPoint)

Show ONE picture from Yamadera.  As a class, write a haiku about what they see - stress the rules.  Repeat this several times, If necessary, before moving to guided practice.

Guided Practice

Show a photograph from the "Journey up to Yamadera" powerpoint.  The photograph should be broken up into quadrants (so that the students are focusing on only one part of the photograph).  Also divide your students into four groups, each group focusing on their quadrant of the picture.

Have each student write a haiku about the quadrant they represent.  Encourage the students to write more than one haiku.  Monitor the students as they write to make sure that the rules for haiku are being followed.

Have the students share their haiku with the class.  At this point, individual haiku should clearly represent the students' perception of what they see in the picture.

Day Three, Plus

Walk to a specified outdoor location.  Have students write about their journey in their journal (prose).  Have students then select a place on their "journey" which inspires them to write a haiku (poem); encourage them to write several.

Ask students to self-select their favorite haiku from their journey.  Lead students as they take their haiku through the writing process - turning them into publishable pieces. (Writing process: plan (prewrite), draft, revise, edit, puclish).  Ask the students to illustrate their haiku.

Conclusion:

Compile a class book using the student-generated poetry from this series of lessons.  This book will include an illustrated haiku from each student.

As a class, the original KWL should be revisited by filling in the "L" portion of the chart

Extensions:

Have students color illustrations for each haiku in Grass Sandals after discussion.  Introduce renga and tanka poetry

Rules of tanka are:

• 31 syllables; 5-7-5-7-7; precedessor to haiku
• Language used to express passion and heartache

Rules of renga are:

• Collaborative poetry; linked tanka poem done with a partner
• Referred to as "renga chain"
• 36 verses; 5-7-5 OR 7-7: The first three lines (5-7-5) are natural images. The next two lines (7-7) are about feelings.