Haiku: An Introduction to Writing and Discussing Poetic Form
Judith J. Katz
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Target Student Populations
I primarily teach 10th graders, in an urban, arts-magnet public high school. These students have chosen writing as their major course of study so they are taking creative writing and writing fundamentals in addition to their academic subjects including literary arts. Their command of Standard English is moderate. They have a preference for speaking (and writing) in slang, Spanglish, and Ebonics. Their spelling is often phonetic and incorrect. As with most teenagers from time immemoriam they are absorbed with their love lives, fashion, music, school and parents (mostly as pertains to restrictions imposed by same). They are most certainly moved by the events and emotions of their lives and the lives of those around them and much of their writing is inspired by the hormonal swings and emotions that sweep through them. In this regard they are like all writers. While the depth of their life experience limits them they are expansive in their innocence and willingness to try new things.
I have also taught Haiku as a workshop unit to 6th, 7th and 8th graders at a private parochial grammar school as a visiting writer to their regular literary arts curriculum. These students carry a bilingual (English/Hebrew) curriculum. The command of Standard English is good to excellent. Their spelling is often phonetic and incorrect. They do not have the range of life experience that the high school students possess and have a great deal of trouble distinguishing between observation, opinion, and statement. Their attention span tends to be shorter than the high school group.
