How to Haiku, Japanese 5-7-5 Haiku Poetry Worksheet, PDF & Google Drive, FREE!

Teach your students the simple pleasure of haiku poetry. This worksheet, available as both a printable PDF and interactive worksheet for Google Drive users, provides a brief overview of the haiku technique, three examples of well-written haiku, and three opportunities for students to create their own original poems inspired by compelling animal photography.

Perfect for any poetry unit, use this worksheet to introduce the traditional haiku 5-7-5 structure. As students work individually, I like to project the full-color images from the worksheet on the white board to inspire them. After the poems are written, students form groups of three or four and share their poems in the small groups, deciding which one of their original poems to share with the class. A quick presentation by each group is the final step to complete this 45-minute lesson. Finally, if time allows and your students have access to the internet (I allow my kids to use their smartphones/devices and/or my classroom computers for this part), I have them find out what their first names look like written in Japanese. This free website is a great tool to show your students what their names look like using the phonetic katakana Japanese alphabet. Ask students to write the katakana of their names (as best as they can, anyway) on the back of their haiku worksheets. It's always fun for them to try this out!

This FREE product includes:

1-page student worksheet (PDF & Google Drive versions)

3 high-resolution images (JPG & Google Drive versions) to display images while students work, if you wish

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This How to Haiku lesson is part of my full, 4-week poetry unit. Click HERE to check out my money-saving poetry lesson bundle.

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Cover image credit: Pixabay, Public domain

Image credit for all animal photos: Pexels, Public domain