Haiku is a form of poetry that comes from Japan. In classical haiku, the subject always consists of phenomena in nature. When humans appear in haiku, they exist in harmony with nature rather than dominate it.
Haiku has now become an internationally recognized form of poetry, and it is written in many different languages. Tradionally, haiku uses three lines to create images that show how the writer feels or reacts to a specific event or scenario in nature. The first line of a haiku has five syllables, the second has seven syllables, and the third has five syllables. The words do not usually rhyme.
The Japanese Mitsubishi Corporation is one of the worst destroyers of the world’s forests. It is also one of the world’s largest importers of wood. RAN and its supporters encourage us to boycott Mitsubishi products and send protest haiku to the management at Mitsubishi Corporation. Depending on the objective of your lesson (whether the importance is placed on the language aspect or the environmental aspect), you can let your students write haiku in Japanese if English haiku is too difficult.
Before you send student haikus to Mitsubishi, make sure to get permission from your school. If your school isn’t comfortable with the idea, students can draw a picture to go along with their haiku which you can post around the school for others to see.
Mr. Minoru Makihara,
c/o Mitsubishi International,
520 Madison Avenue, New York,
NY 10025 USA
Syllable patterns.
Example of an environmental haiku (optional), scrap paper, colored pencils and markers.
| 1 2 3 4 5 (2 3 4 5) | Please everyone help (Mitsubishi) |
| 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 | Stop destroying our planet |
| 1 2 3 4 5 | Think of its children |
Contributed by Lyn Sheppard, Minabe SHS, ALT.