Haiku Poems for Kids

Haiku poems for kids are a fun way to get them interested in poetry.

Haiku finds its origins in Japan. This ancient form of Japanese poetry remains popular today. The structure of a Haiku poem remains the same today as it did in ancient times. Here is what a typical Haiku poem consists of:

• Three lines
• Five metrical phrases in the first line
• Seven metrical phrases in the second line
• Five metrical phrases in the third line

Traditional Japanese Haiku contain a "season word", known as a Kigo, a Kireji, which is defined as a "cutting word". A Kireji is typically used at the end of any of the three lines in traditional Japanese Haiku and can be described as a word that gives the line a definitive ending.

The reason why metrical phrases are important in Haiku is because western versions use them, but most traditional Japanese versions of Haiku do not. Instead, Japanese Haiku is written using syllables, using the five, seven, five pattern. Western Haiku does not follow such a pattern and often contains anywhere from ten to a maximum of 17 syllables.

Of course, the history of Haiku is much more involved and detailed than what is described above, but the focus here is on children, who tend to get bored when anyone begins sharing the long drawn out history of anything…no matter how interesting. Here are some cool places on the Internet that can help you get your child interested in Haiku:

• www.gigglepoetry.com – This website has a few Haiku poems for kids as well as detailed directions as to how to write a Haiku.
• www.abcteach.com – Offers printable Haiku worksheets written by children. The wording and concepts are uncomplicated enough so children can easily grasp the stanza, syllables and metric phrases of Haiku.
• www.kidzone.com – This website gives kids a brief history of Haiku, a few examples and some great printable worksheets for them to begin working on a Haiku masterpiece of their own.
• www.pbskids.org – A great resource for Haiku poems for kids, written using their favorite PBS cartoon characters.

Aside from the above listed websites, there are many, many books available that focus on Haiku poetry, either written by children or geared toward teaching children. The next time you're in a bookstore (either online or in person), here are a few great titles you may want to keep your eye out for:

• Haiku Picture Book for Children – Written by Keisuke Nishimoto and Kozo Shimizo, this book offers not only the meted phrases so important to Haiku, but also gives children a visual reference to the poem with beautifully illustrated pictures.
• Haiku: Asian Arts and Crafts for Creative Kids – Written by Patricia Donegan, this book offers great writing projects and lessons to help get kids interested in Haiku.
• The Haiku Handbook: How to Write, Share and Teach Haiku – This book is perfect for older children who may have already developed a keen interest in this traditional Japanese poetry. The 331 page book is written by William J. Higginson, an author and poet who studied at the very prestigious Yale University.
• Baseball Haiku: The Best Haiku Ever Written About the Game – Who says sports and art don't mix? Certainly not Nanae Tamura and Cor Van den Heuvel! These co-authors collaborated on a book of Haiku poetry all about baseball.

At first, it may seem as though Haiku doesn't offer a lot of creative freedom for kids to develop a real interest in poetry, but this couldn't be further from the truth! The concepts and ideas behind Haiku are relatively simple and easy to understand, and there is a world of creative freedom that can be explored through writing Haiku. Afterall, the subject matter of each line doesn't even have to have anything to do with one another.

Finally, Haiku is a fantastic way to introduce children of any age, to poetry. It is short and easy enough to keep them interested, with loose enough guidelines to make writing them fun..

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