Haiku: Fields of Flowers, Hamsters, and Candies

Today’s question for Nettelhorst 2nd graders – after “How do you feel about Mondays?” – was “Can you think of some reasons why writing a short poem might be challenging?” Students didn’t let me down! Their responses included “you can’t use so many words so you have to be more specific;” “you can have more ideas than you can put into your short poem;”and “maybe you can’t go as far as your imagination wants to go!” I agreed wholeheartedly.

In introducing haiku, the Japanese poetic form of 3 lines with a syllabic pattern of
line 1: 5 syllables
line 2: 7 syllables
line 3: 5 syllables
I talked about shrinking big ideas into smaller ones: maybe big enough to fit in a pocket or on a sticky note.

We brainstormed and wrote a few haikus collaboratively before students worked on their own.

Mrs. Kari and Mrs. Barbeau 2nd Grade

Haiku #1 Group Collaboration

Look! so many hues
a gurgling river flowing
flowers grow the field

Dancing Robot Max

a dancing robot
is glowing on the street, wow!
he breathes fire. Big wow!

Field Lila

look! flowers blooming
the river wet and soggy
I love playing now.

Silent River Eleanor

a silent river
next to flowers below the
moon. I love flowers.

A Path in Nature Ayala

When you see a plant
it will grow into more plants
Now you are a path

Storm Ayala

There is a storm rain
There is a supercell storm
A tornado watch

An Astronaut Gabi

Look! An astronaut
no don’t take off your helmut
there is no air, thanks!

Ms. Rodriguez 2nd Grade

Oreo (the class hamster) Group Collaboration

Oreo is cute
A nibbler of fingers
fast and furious

Pencils Kaylee

pencils are friends that
write about dogs, cats, and food
sharp and breakable

Jordan Oliver

my younger brother
Jordan’s blue eyes are pretty
I love him a lot.

The old tree Dora

There is a[n] old tree
a woodpecker pecks the tree
poke quiet again

Trains Oskar

moving quietly
stopping door opening, close
on to the next stop

Pretzel Hayden

a pretzel is good
tastes like an angel from home
tastes like a rainbow

a climbing champ Kit

a squirrel climbing
a tall tree with tapping paws
a nut in his paws

Ms. Froman 2nd Grade

Candy Group Collaboration

my mouth is watering
for juicy, chewy, sour
candy that’s yummy

Dragons Raphael

some dragons breathe smoke
some dragons breathe fire
some dragons breathe grass

Roses Roger

flowers grow, roses
you pick me for sharing love
I blow in the wind

Bess Bess

Bess is a kind girl
Bess is a[n] Irish dancer
Bess is a kind friend

Shooting Stars Vivian

shooting stars soaring
through the sky with hopes and dreams
in the bright night sky

Candy Augustus

candy is squishy
stretching between your fingers
candy has flavors

Soccer Welles

amazing soccer
legs are screaming for the ball
running, kicking legs!

Chocolate Owen

I’d unwrap it fast
I’d take a very smooth bite
a chocolate bar!