Chaco Sandals
Lesson Title:
鈥淐haco鈥 Sandals (Chaco sandals are a modern version of 鈥済rass鈥 sandals)
By:
Jill M. Fenn, Jill E. Maxwell, and Axel Reitzig
Featured Children鈥檚 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
鈥 Proper form is 3 lines with 5-7-5 syllables
鈥 Special 鈥渟eason鈥 word; one that gives reference to the natural world
鈥 Simple imagery鈥攕pecific, not general (examples: cherry blossoms NOT trees; purple iris NOT flower)
鈥 Write from real, personal experience, not imagination
鈥 Evoke specific feeling through imagery rather than telling (example: 鈥淭ears flowed from my eyes鈥 NOT 鈥淚 was sad鈥)
鈥 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鈥攊t 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 鈥淜WL鈥 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 鈥淜鈥 (鈥淲hat I know鈥) section of the KWL chart. The KWL session also includes the prompt 鈥渨hat do you want to know?鈥 to fill the 鈥淲鈥 part of the KWL chart. (Upon completion of the lesson, revisit the KWL to fill out the 鈥淟earned鈥 portion of the chart.)
Instruction:
Introduce Basho (1644-1694)
- Basho鈥檚 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鈥攖he prose can be read during another class session.
Review the haiku rules:
- Proper form is 3 lines with 5-7-5 syllables
- Special 鈥渟eason鈥 word ; one that gives reference to the natural world
- Simple imagery鈥攕pecific, 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鈥 NOT 鈥淚 was sad鈥)
- Sights, sounds, touch, smell, or sensation (relates one of the five senses)
Post a few of Basho鈥檚 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鈥檚 frog haiku鈥攊n its original Japanese form鈥攚ith the class. Share several different translations of the haiku. Ask 鈥淲hy would the translations be so different?鈥 鈥淲hose translation is most accurate?鈥 Analyze the poems according to the haiku rules.聽 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.聽 As a class, write a haiku about what they see - stress the rules.聽 Repeat this several times, If necessary, before moving to guided practice.
Guided Practice
Show a photograph from the "Journey up to Yamadera" powerpoint.聽 The photograph should be broken up into quadrants (so that the students are focusing on only one part of the photograph).聽 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.聽 Encourage the students to write more than one haiku.聽 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.聽 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.聽 Have students write about their journey in their journal (prose).聽 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.聽 Lead students as they take their haiku through the writing process - turning them into publishable pieces. (Writing process: plan (prewrite), draft, revise, edit, puclish).聽 Ask the students to illustrate their haiku.
Conclusion:
Compile a class book using the student-generated poetry from this series of lessons.聽 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.聽 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.