Lesson 4: Haiku and Onomatopoeia
Activities
Activity 1: Haiku
Materials: My America: A Poetry Atlas of the United States by Lee Bennett Hopkins, R is for Rhyme: A Poetry Alphabet by Judy Young
You will find that many poems have a kind of symmetry or balance within them. One example of this is a haiku poem. Reread the letter "H is for Haiku" in R is for Rhyme. Identify the haiku poem in the section "The Great Lakes States" of My America: A Poetry Atlas of the United States.
Write your own haiku poem. Do not use capital letters, except for proper nouns. Imagery is an important element of haiku, so do your best to create an image in the mind of the reader. The focus of the haiku should be something in nature. Ask your parent which option to complete.
Write your own haiku poem. Do not use capital letters, except for proper nouns. Imagery is an important element of haiku, so do your best to create an image in the mind of the reader. The focus of the haiku should be something in nature. Ask your parent which option to complete.
Students write a haiku in this activity. Select either Option 1 or 2 for your child. Option 1 provides a template for the structure of the haiku.
Student Activity Page
Student Activity Page
Activity 2: Onomatopoeia
Materials: My America: A Poetry Atlas of the United States by Lee Bennett Hopkins, R is for Rhyme: A Poetry Alphabet by Judy Young
Reread "O is for Onomatopoeia" in R is for Rhyme. Remember that onomatopoeia is a word that sounds like the noise it makes. Find an onomatopoetic poem in the section "The Great Lakes States" of My America: A Poetry Atlas of the United States. Answer the questions on the "Onomatopoeia" activity sheet.
Student Activity Page
Answer Key
The onomatopoetic poem in the section "The Great Lakes States" is "Wisconsin in Feb-b-rr-uary" by Lee Bennett Hopkins. The onomatopoetic words include "b-rr," "huff," and "puff." Answers to the last two questions will vary.
Activity 3: Quatrain
Materials: My America: A Poetry Atlas of the United States by Lee Bennett Hopkins, R is for Rhyme: A Poetry Alphabet by Judy Young, journal
Reread "Q is for Quatrain" in the book R is for Rhyme. There are two poems in the "The Plains States" section of My America that are made up of quatrain stanzas. Record the titles of these poems and identify their rhyming patterns.
Poem ___________________________ rhyming pattern __________
Poem ___________________________ rhyming pattern __________
Ask your parent which option to complete.
Poem ___________________________ rhyming pattern __________
Poem ___________________________ rhyming pattern __________
Ask your parent which option to complete.
Review the titles and identified rhyming patterns from "The Plains States" section.
Answer Key
- "Midwest Town," abab
- "Grandpa's Tree," abcb
Next, assign one of the following options to your child.
Option 1
Write a quatrain for a poem that uses a rhyming pattern you have seen in quatrains. The subject can be anything you choose.
This simplified option asks the student to create a quatrain for a poem about any topic following a rhyming pattern she has seen in other quatrain poems (aabb, abcb, or abab).
Option 2
Find a poem written in quatrains. Copy the poem and add a new stanza to the poem in your journal. Your new stanza can come at the beginning of the poem, the end, or somewhere in the middle.
This option challenges the student to find a poem written in quatrains and create a new stanza for the poem that follows the same pattern.