Haiku: One Breath Poetry

Here are some haiku poems written by a class of fourth graders that I worked with during the winter of 2003. The classroom teacher had shared many haiku in class over the course of three or four weeks before bringing her students to the library for a haiku-writing session with me. In the library, I shared more haiku with the students. We discussed haiku and talked about trying to capture a moment with words. Then we wrote a collaborative class poem after looking at a picture of a a cardinal sitting in a tree in the winter. (I'm sorry that I don't have a copy of the picture to post along with the poem.) After that writing exercise in the library, I followed up with two more writing sessions in the classroom. During those two periods, I worked individually with all the children as they wrote their own haiku.

A Collaborative Class Haiku
by the Students of Ms. Erikson's Fourth Grade (2002-2003)

A cardinal perches

On the snow-covered branch...

A winter cherry!

WINTER HAIKU

Drip, drop. Drip, drop. PLOP!!!
The icicles are weeping.
I wonder why they cry.

by Zachary


Floating from the sky,
Perching on branches
Fluffy white birds...snowflakes!

by Paige


Snow falls on distant hills
Covers the world
In a blanket of white powder.

by Seth


Icicles drip, drip
From the roof,
Leaving their fingerprints in the snow.

by Niki


A BEAR

Snow flutters to the ground.
A bear is covered
with a white blanket.

by Sophie


END OF WINTER

At night in the forest
A wolf howls
Saying goodbye to winter

by Rebecca


Icicles melt.
Water splashes to the ground...
The roof is raining!

by Ben


The mountains clothed
with white robes standing tall in the sun
reaching for the sky

by Alex


Autumn leaves cover the ground.
The first snowflake of winter
Lands on my nose.

by Grace


The silent wind flies
Through the forest. Trees shiver,
Shaking down starry white crystals.

by Brian


Icicles hang from the roof
Sparkling, crystal chandelier
Reflecting the sunlight.

by Emily


Mother Cloud
Covers her baby, Earth,
With a blanket of snow.

by Griffin


FLUFFY SNOW

Fluffy snowflakes fall
Whirling wind sweeps them
Down the road

by Samir


STARTING WINTER

Snowflakes drifting from the sky,
landing on tree tops...
little white butterflies

by Sean


SNOWFLAKES

Snowflakes floating down,
Each one's different...cold stars
Falling from the sky!

by Katie


TREES: GIANT ICE STALAGMITES

Snowflakes fall on pine trees
Sparkle on the branches...
Diamonds of ice.

by Daniel


Crawling through the snow
flakes fall on my tongue
melting like magic.

by Dylan


On a snowy hilltop
An icy castle shivers
In the cold

by Isabella


I watch snow falling.
Outside a blue jay perches
On my window sill.

by Ryan


From tree branches icicles hang...
crystal cones glistening
with diamonds of sun

by Charlotte