Teachers: Want to incorporate Pizza Poetry into your classroom, but not sure where to get started? From now until April 7th, we’ll be posting bi-weekly poetry writing prompts here on our blog! Remember, anyone ages 6-18 in Greater New Orleans can submit poetry to be published on a pizza box. And don’t forget: the deadline to submit poetry is April 7th.

H A I K U S

A Haiku poetry is a short, centuries-old form of Japanese poetry.
A haiku is three lines and 17 syllables total.

The first line contains 5 syllables
the second line has 7
the final line has 5 syllables.

A good Haiku is like a photo that captures the essence of what’s happening, often connecting two seemingly unrelated thing. With just a few words, they call attention to an observation and in effect say, “Look at this” or, “Think about this.”

If possible take your students outside and ask them to record their observations in complete sentences. If you are unable to take your students outside, photographs or videos from nature will do. Don’t be afraid to use vivid descriptions and personifications.

Examples:

1. The tree branch shakes in the wind and tickles the grass

2. Each blade of grass pokes the soles of my feet

3. I saw ducks swimming in a pond during a rainstorm

4. I noticed the first buds on tree branches in your backyard

Now you have to pare the sentence down so it still describes the scene while inviting the reader to see what you saw.  

For example:

I saw ducks swimming in a pond during a rainstorm.
Sudden spring storm—
a family of ducks paddles
around the deserted lake.

Email us at pizzapoetry@bigclass.org to let us know how the workshop went, and submit your students’ poems. Are you especially proud of any of the haikus? Let us know and we’ll feature them on this blog! Click here to learn more about the Pizza Poetry Project.