Everyone loves a puzzle. I have a few puzzle type writing exercises that writers, especially reluctant elementary writers, dig into. There’s two parts to puzzle writing. The first is to give clues to your reader pointing toward the answer, and the second is to form the clues under the rules given. For example, haiku has to have three lines with the 5 - 7- 5 syllable scheme. The art of haiku is short and concise, the chosen words have to be juicy, and the punchline is usually irresistible. Often I challenge the students to try and use alliteration in one of the lines. Haiku riddles are exciting to share, with students hoping to stump the reader.
Syllables are not quite as fun, and they are hard to explain. You can’t compartmentalize them by counting vowels in our crazy English spellings. Clapping becomes boisterous, until hesitant claps are heard in crocodile and jewelry. I give a handout on syllables with criss-cross matching between syllables in words on the top and filling in the number of syllables/word on the bottom. We spend about 10 minutes on this. This gives me enough time to walk around the room and see if anyone’s having trouble. (Please see my post on Nonets for an examples of a handout on syllables.)
As with each writing exercise, I model it on the board with ideas from the students. I always start with a list of all the characteristics of the subject. We only choose animals for the haiku riddles during class. If the class chooses a koala, I ask for suggestions for the list: cute, nocturnal, eats poisonous eucalyptus leaves, Australian, gray, etc. Then we form the haiku on the board:
A gray teddy bear
Extra chubby, really cute.
Eats poisonous leaves.
Here’s one about a porcupine:
Brown, black, white mammal.
Forest home. Watch it puff up!
Long pokey spines hurt!
And about the critter pictured:
Perk up those long ears
Munching my garden lettuce
Watch the ping pong ball
I like to have a few in my pocket to put on the board while the students are forming their own. This motivates them to write a riddle too. At the end of class we share all the haiku. We also share them the following week when students return with their haiku riddle homework.
Waddle winter walk
Baggy pants cover surprise
Exclusive men’s club.
Giant vocalist
Fountain shooter, fin flapper
Underwater song.
Big mama, small dad
Measure time by hourglass.
Crazy stringy home.
Eyes like a cobra
Scratching wildly in bed
Wild long tail swishing.
Blue, black, and gold soars.
Search out large hairy victim.
Sting, drag home alive.
Plant and tree eater
Humungous social giant
Curious extra limb?
Handout for haiku riddles. KidZone has this on the web:
HAIKU
A syllable is a part of a word pronounced as a unit. It is usually made up of a vowel alone or a vowel with one or more consonants. The word "Haiku" has two syllables: Hai-ku; the word "introduction" has four syllables: in-tro-duc-tion.
"Haiku" is a traditional form of Japanese poetry. Haiku poems consist of 3 lines. The first and last lines of a Haiku have 5 syllables and the middle line has 7 syllables. The lines rarely rhyme.
Here's a Haiku to help you remember:
I am first with five
Then seven in the middle --
Five again to end.
Because Haikus are such short poems, they are usually written about things that are recognizable to the reader. Animals and seasons are examples of recognizable topics children might enjoy exploring.
What am I? Haikus:
The most popular Haiku exercise for children is a "What am I?" Haiku. These act like a riddle. The writer uses the Haiku to describe something. The reader can then attempt to guess what the poet was describing after listening to or reading the Haiku.
Here are two examples of "What am I?" Haikus:
Green and speckled legs,
Hop on logs and lily pads
Splash in cool water.
In a pouch I grow,
On a southern continent --
Strange creatures I know.
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