Learning Objectives 

Students will: 

• Identify the geographical location of Japan on a map. 
• Analyze and describe features of landscape art.
• Identify the syllabic count in a haiku poem.
• Describe the structure and form of a haiku.
• Write an original haiku.
• Create original landscape art.

Standards Alignment

National Core Arts StandardsNational Core Arts Standards

Common Core State StandardsCommon Core State Standards

Recommended Student Materials

Editable Documents: Before sharing these resources with students, you must first save them to your Google account by opening them, and selecting “Make a copy” from the File menu. Check out Sharing Tips or Instructional Benefits when implementing Google Docs and Google Slides with students.

• Criteria for Success: You Too Can Haiku
• Haiku Examples

Websites

• ​​Map of Japan
• ​​Mt. Penglai (Mountain of Immortals) By Tomioka Tessai
• Mt. Penglai (Mountain of Immortals) by Yokoyama Taikan
• Japanese Landscape Art
• Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives by Frederic Edwin Church
• Welsh Landscapes
• Morris Heights, N.Y. City by May Howard Jackson
• Thomas Moran Landscape Art
• Landscape Background by George Catlin
• My Landscape II by Joan Mitchell
• Landscape by Angèle Delasalle
• Telephone Poles by Jane Freilicher
• Peace by Jacob Lawrence
• MET Museum Landscape Art

Teacher Background

Teachers should be familiar with haiku poetry. Review the article, Poetry and Puppets: Learning English, to support oral language and vocabulary building with ELL students. The Collection: Japan may also offer a deeper understanding of Japanese art and culture.

Student Prerequisites 

Students should be familiar with types of poetry and poetry elements.

Accessibility Notes

Provide assistive technologies during research and the art-making process. Allow sufficient space for movement around the room for the gallery exercise.

Engage

1. Ask students if they remember a time when they had a very important idea to express but just couldn't find the words. If possible, cite an example of your own. 

2. Ask students if they remember having to say something really important but could only use very few words. Explain to students that the Japanese form haiku expresses significant ideas using very few words. Tell them that a traditional haiku has just three brief lines. Ask students: Can a whole idea be expressed using only 3 lines or 17 syllables? What about seven syllables? Or even five?

3. Have students practice condensing their ideas by relaying the following experiences in less than 17 syllables. Propose the following scenarios to students and have them share their ideas: 

- You are very angry at a younger sibling for spilling milk all over your homework that is due today.

- You would like to thank a role model for supporting and mentoring you. 

- You are overcome with joy as you learn that your best friend gifted you a season pass to the local amusement park.

4. Now have students share their condensed ideas with the class. Discuss the challenges of squeezing their thoughts into such a small space. Discuss how they met the challenge. Discuss what they discovered about their ability to express grand ideas in small spaces. 

Build

1. Introduce or review the following vocabulary.

island: landmass that is surrounded by water 

archipelago: a group of many islands in a large body of water 

hemisphere: half of the terrestrial globe 

latitude: the angular distance between an imaginary line around a heavenly body parallel to its equator and the equator itself

longitude: the angular distance between a point on any meridian and the prime meridian in Greenwich, England

2. Share and display a Map of Japan. If possible, use a large class map as a visual aid at the front of the room. Explain to students that Japan is made up of four large islands and thousands of smaller islands. Tell students this is an example of an archipelago. Ask students: What bodies of water surround Japan? (North Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Japan.) In what hemisphere is it located? (Northern hemisphere.) What are Japan’s latitude and longitude? (Latitude 36.2048° N and Longitude 38.2529° E)

3. Show students two landscape paintings of Mt. Penglai in Japan: ​​Mt. Penglai (Mountain of Immortals) By Tomioka Tessai and Mt. Penglai (Mountain of Immortals) by Yokoyama Taikan. Have students describe some of the characteristics of Japanese landscape painting. Share the resource, Japanese Landscape Art, from the National Museum of Asian Art. Allow time for students to explore the landscape art collection. 

4. Ask students to share some examples of landscape paintings that they may have seen. Some students may remember paintings they have seen at museums, in books, or their own homes. Share other examples of landscape art from around the world, for example: 

- Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives by Frederic Edwin Church

- Welsh Landscapes

- Morris Heights, N.Y. City by May Howard Jackson

- Thomas Moran Landscape Art

- Landscape Background by George Catlin

- My Landscape II by Joan Mitchell

- Landscape by Angèle Delasalle

- Telephone Poles by Jane Freilicher

- Peace by Jacob Lawrence

- MET Museum Landscape Art

5. Select a landscape painting to compare with one of the two ​​Mt. Penglai paintings. Discuss the commonalities among the artists and paintings. Ask students to compare how this style of painting compares to landscapes from around the world. They should be as specific as possible when they are describing pieces of art, noting, for example, whether the Japanese paintings set a particular mood (give them a particular feeling).

6. Explain to students that a unique form of poetry called haiku was created in Japan around 1200 A.D. Many of the types of landscapes seen in Japanese paintings are referred to in traditional haiku. 

Apply

1. Tell students that a haiku has a special poetic rhythm: it consists of seventeen syllables written in three lines. The first line contains five syllables, the second line contains seven syllables, and the third line contains five syllables. Tell students that haiku is usually written about something in nature and that animals are frequent subjects of haiku. A well-written haiku should also include a kigo. A kigo is a word that hints at a particular season of the year without actually naming the season. For example, a reference to squirrels might indicate that a haiku is set in autumn.

2. Share an example of haiku with the class. Post the chart paper with the example haiku. First, read it aloud to students. Then have them clap out and count the syllables of each line. 

The least of breezes 
Blows and the dry sky is filled 
With the voice of pines
-Issa

3. As a class, analyze the haiku using the Criteria for Success: You Too Can Haiku. Read two or three more examples of haiku to the class with the resource, Haiku Examples. Display the haiku on chart paper or an interactive board so students can read along as you read aloud. Have students clap and count the syllables in each. Continue with the same discussion questions outlined above.

4. Explain to students that they will now write an original haiku. Review the Criteria for Success: You Too Can Haiku again with students. Have a brief brainstorming session to generate a list of possible nature topics or research landscapes around the world. 

5. Allow time for students to write an original haiku. You may wish to play traditional Japanese music or nature sounds to inspire students as they write. Have peers edit their haiku’s using the Criteria for Success: You Too Can Haiku. 

6. Tell students they are going to create landscape art to go with their poems. Have students plan a sketch of their landscape, keeping in mind that they will be using watercolors for their final painting.

7. Have students practice using the watercolors. Tell students watercolors are thinner than tempera paint. There are two methods for applying color to the paper. They can wet the paper with plain water first and then add the color. Or, they can apply the water and color at the same time. The students might want to experiment with this process for a few minutes before applying the watercolor to their final scroll.

Reflect 

1. Have students create a landscape watercolor painting onto a scroll. Using the watercolors, students should paint a scene in the style of the Japanese paintings they have viewed and discussed. (Note: Paintings should use muted colors, broad brushstrokes, etc.)

2. After the painting drys, have students neatly copy their haiku onto the scroll. Students can lightly copy the poem onto the scroll with a pencil, then trace over the pencil lines with a permanent black marker. Note: Be sure to use permanent markers; a water-soluble marker could smear.

3. When the scrolls are ready, students should glue thin dowels to the top and bottom of the paper so that they can be rolled up like a scroll. Dowels should extend beyond the edges of the paper on each side. The thin cord can be tied to either side of the dowel at the top to create a hanger for the poem.

4. Display the completed scrolls in the classroom. Engage students in a “Gallery Walk” to view the landscape art and haiku poems. Assess your student’s poems with the Criteria for Succes: You Too Can Haiku resource.