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							    Creating a Natural Resource Haiku: A Cross-Curricular
                       Writing Exercise

The following is an activity that incorporates use of A Natural State, a
Web site that can be found through the Knowitall.org portal at
http://www.knowitall.org/.

Background:

A Natural State explores how people express a love for nature by
shaping, twisting, carving, and weaving materials collected from the
landscape. Some of the arts and crafts featured in A Natural State
reveal the cultural heritage of our state, while others employ concepts
from the world of modern art. What unifies the artists is their unique
bond to the natural world - where a hike in the woods, a backyard
picnic, or a walk in the park provides materials and inspiration for a
work of art. By examining the materials, artwork, landscape, and
artist, we learn how to create our own sense of place, a unique picture
of how we shape the land and community as they shape us.

Lesson Overview:

Primary Outcomes: Students will express an understanding of the
properties of natural resources in their geographical region through the
creation of Haiku poems.

Disciplines: Science Inquiry; English Language Arts (See links to
standards met through use of this lesson below).

Preparation Time: 45 minutes

Lesson Time: 2 class periods

Procedure:


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Day One: The teacher engages the class in a discussion of the natural
resources of the region in which they live, creating three columns on
the chalkboard: Animal, Mineral and Vegetable. As students
brainstorm, the teacher writes their ideas on the board. When the lists
are complete, the class discusses the properties of each element and
how they are different in each season. The teacher asks each student
to select one of the resources. The assignment is to write everything
they can think of about the resource they have chosen.

Day Two: Haiku lesson. The teacher hands out sample Haikus
(below). Drawing from what they have written the previous day,
students follow the directions on “How to Write a Haiku” in order to
craft one of their own.


Sample Haikus:


Basho, Matsuo (1644-1694).

The first soft snow!
Enough to bend the leaves
Of the jonquil low.

Issa. (1762-1826).

A lovely thing to see:
through the paper window's hole,
the Galaxy.

In my old home
which I forsook, the cherries
are in bloom.


Kawahigashi, Hekigodo. (1873-1937).

From a bathing tub
I throw water into the lake -
slight muddiness appears.




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How to write a Haiku:


In Japanese, the rules for how to write Haiku are clear, and will not be
discussed here. In foreign languages, there exist NO consensus in how
to write Haiku-poems. Anyway, let's take a look at the basic
knowledge:

What to write about?



Haiku-poems can describe almost anything, but you seldom find
themes that interfere with recognition and understanding. Some of the
most thrilling Haiku-poems describe daily situations in a way that gives
the reader a brand new experience of a well-known situation.

The metrical pattern of Haiku



Haiku-poems consist of respectively 5, 7 and 5 syllables in three units.
In Japanese, this convention is a must, but in English, which has
variation in the length of syllables, this can sometimes be difficult.

The technique of cutting



The cutting divides the Haiku into two parts, with a certain imaginative
distance between the two sections, but the two sections must remain,
to a degree, independent of each other. Both sections must enrich the
understanding of the other.

To make this cutting in English, either the first or the second line ends
normally with a colon, long dash or ellipsis.

The seasonal theme



Each Haiku must contain a kigo, a season word, which indicate in
which season the Haiku is set. For example, cherry blossoms indicate
spring, snow indicates winter, and mosquitoes indicate summer, but
the season word isn't always that obvious.

Please notice that Haiku-poems are written under different rules and in
many languages. For translated Haiku-poems, the translator must
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decide whether he should obey the rules strictly, or if he should
present the exact essence of the Haiku. For Haiku-poems originally
written in English, the poet should be more careful. These are the
difficulties and the pleasures of Haiku.

Curriculum Standards:

                          K-12                      Middle Grades (5-8)
National
                          Geography
                          English Language Arts
South Carolina
                          Social Studies           English Language Arts

*Addresses most science inquiry standards for all grades.

Suggestions for enrichment or extension:

   Teachers may choose to allow students to Internet access to the
    “Where Am I” section of A Natural State, where they can learn
    about the physical and cultural geography of the state. A glimpse
    into South Carolina’s “Landform Regions” section will provide an
    overview the characteristics of the landscape in addition to specifics
    about the natural and agricultural resources found in each region.
   The South Carolina Geological Survey Land, Water and
    Conservation Division of the South Carolina Department of Natural
    Resources has provided a fact sheet called “Minerals Mined in South
    Carolina and Some of Their Uses,” available for download from the
    Lesson Materials section of A Natural State.
   Teachers may also want to use the SC Geology and Mineral
    Resources map that is provided through the Web site of the SC
    Maps program at
    http://www.ces.clemson.edu/scmaps/Pages/State/State.htm. Here
    you will find a statewide overview of various aspects of South
    Carolina in map form, available for purchase or download from the
    SC Maps program, operating out of Clemson University.
   Visit the April issue of Periscope celebrating National Poetry Month
    to find out more about haikus and other types of poetry, and meet
    some of South Carolina’s poets. Periscope can be found through
    the Knowitall.org portal at http://www.knowitall.org/.
   Use the “Study of the Earth” booklet about natural resources,
    available for download from the Lesson Materials section of A
    Natural State. The booklet is a publication of the Mineral
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Information Institute, and is full of lessons and activities about
where natural resources come from, what they are used for, and
how they can be found all around us. Visit the Mineral Information
Institute Web site at http://www.mii.org for more teaching
resources about natural resources, available for order or download.




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