Haiku Project

I'm editing a VoiceThread project that I created to showcase some of the haikus that were peformed and read by 7th graders at DuSable Campus School where I'm finishing my school library media internship this week. See the video at the bottom of the page for this work in progress!

I collaborated with the English teacher; a local haiku contest inspired this project. We introduced haiku to the students and shared a brief history of this Japanese poetry form, and we discussed imagery. We practiced writing a few haikus together as a class, and we clapped out the 5-7-5 syllable formation. Students read examples of past contest winners, and they jumped right into creating their own poems! They were both excited and shy to share theirs; the content ranged from love to tragedy. We didn't censor, and the contest accepted all subjects.

Students were invited to the library a week later for a Haiku Slam to share their poems and for some Japanese snacks that the school librarian generously provided (thank you, Ms. Sayigh!). Some students agreed to be recorded. I returned to their classroom to help the students who were entering the contest, and a few brave poets recorded their haikus onto VoiceThread.

I have a few more days before this internship is over, so the students have one last chance to participate in VoiceThread if they want!

I enjoyed this experience much and look forward to my next internship where we'll be working with poetry projects for National Poetry Month!