Recommended for elementary school students! Ideas for composing summer haiku
Haiku are short poems that express nature and the seasons.
It may seem difficult, but even elementary school students can write them.
A haiku consists of 17 syllables in a 5-7-5 pattern, and it must include a “kigo,” a word that evokes a season.
Using this as a guide, think about what you saw and felt during summer vacation, and give it a try.
By simply putting your feelings into words that match the 5-7-5 rhythm, you can create your very own haiku.
It’s fun to freely express what you think!
Use words to capture your wonderful summer memories and experiences, and enjoy writing haiku.
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Recommended for elementary school students! Summer haiku-making ideas (11–20)
Scolded for playing Pokémon GO during summer vacation
Pokémon GO, where you head outside to search for Pokémon, is a game beloved as a reason to get moving and is known across generations.
This haiku portrays outings during summer vacation with Pokémon GO, while comically depicting the little incidents that happen along the way.
It also conveys the sense of missed opportunity when you end up staring only at the screen because you’re so focused on Pokémon GO during an outing.
Going out is indeed a perfect chance to advance in the game, but this piece reminds us that it’s also important to take in the real scenery.
Me, lazing around again tomorrow during summer vacation.
There are elementary schools where the summer vacation is longer than spring or winter break, right? During long vacations, children tend to fall into irregular routines.
This haiku seems to capture those kinds of days.
Especially during summer break, perhaps because of the heat, it’s easy to feel sluggish about moving the body.
Kids end up wanting to lounge around doing nothing.
It expresses children’s honest feelings.
Many parents probably get irritated seeing their kids lazing about, too.
You can even read into the family dynamics behind it, which adds a sense of uniqueness.
Will I win? I lick the ice pop stick again.
In hot weather we crave cold foods, and ice cream feels like a classic among them.
Here, the focus is on those ice creams that come with a prize, and the haiku expresses the anticipation for a win that lies beyond the delicious taste.
Since the winning mark is printed on the stick, it portrays the idea of licking the ice cream while wondering whether an ideal awaits at the end.
The word “again” is another key point: it conveys repeatedly eating ice cream in hopes of a win, and also gives the impression of a heat so intense that you can’t help reaching for another ice cream.
Coolness of the river—learned from my beloved dog
With each passing year, the summer heat grows harsher, and clever products that help us stay cool—like handheld fans—are becoming popular.
Playing in rivers or going to the pool, simply touching water, is another way to cool down.
In the haiku, were the owner and their beloved dog camping in the mountains and playing in the river? Or perhaps they were just taking a walk near the river.
You can sense from the haiku that the dog, feeling the heat, went into the river and played.
Seeing their dog romp about, delighted by the cold water, must have made the owner happy as well.
Thanks to the dog, you can also feel how the coolness of the river reached the owner.
The assigned reading with a fan-shaped sticky note fluttering
One of the summer vacation assignments is writing a book report, right? A book report involves two steps: reading the book and then writing your thoughts about it.
Some children may feel they’re not good at this kind of assignment.
From the haiku, you can picture a summer scene: reading indoors while the fan spins in the heat.
The sticky notes fluttering in the breeze from the fan convey a sense of coolness.
Or perhaps it shows a book left open mid-reading, with a sticky note still attached.
Either way, it feels like a haiku that conveys the feelings of a child working on homework during summer vacation.
Rereading my diary, smudged, in the morning glow
In some places, summer vacation may last quite a long time, right? For children, it’s a period when they can play a lot and make many memories.
Some elementary schools even assign diary-writing as homework.
Those diaries often end up filled with entries about time spent with family during the summer break, playing with friends, and memories of outings.
By the end of the vacation, the cover and the pages with entries may be smudged or dirty.
From the haiku, we can also sense someone looking back over their diary, reflecting on the summer break and savoring the lingering joy once again.
The whole town is being dyed the color of the evening glow.
During summer vacation, kids often go out to play, and some may take the feeling of evening approaching as the cue to head home.
This haiku expresses the gradual passage of time toward dusk and the scenery that conveys it.
Since the evening sun differs in color from the midday sun, the description of the town being dyed in that hue evokes a distinctive atmosphere.
Because it portrays the town’s colors changing little by little, it emphasizes the sense of time slowly passing.
Chatty Haiku
Learn with a teacher who is both a haiku poet and an essayist! Let me introduce some ideas for “chatty haiku.” When people hear “haiku,” some may find it intimidating, but calling it “chatty haiku” might make it feel more approachable, don’t you think? In the video, you’ll find haiku that use words a two-year-old might say to their caregiver, as well as haiku that capture the honest feelings of lower-elementary school children.
The unique ideas that make you smile are utterly charming!
Let’s compose haiku and tanka
Something you can even submit as a summer vacation assignment! Here are some ideas for creating haiku and tanka.
Many of you may be thinking, “I want to work on something over the summer!” If so, we recommend trying your hand at haiku or tanka.
The video introduces many tips for composing them! If you’re not sure how to get started, try making haiku or tanka while watching this video.
Be sure to take this opportunity to give it a try.
Haiku Challenge
Learn from haiku masters! Here are some ideas for trying your hand at haiku.
The three great haiku poets of the Edo period include Kobayashi Issa, Matsuo Basho, and Yosa Buson.
A haijin is someone who composes haiku, and many haijin are active today as well! Why not try writing haiku while keeping in mind the key points taught by haiku masters? Everyone starts with no experience.
If you give it a try, you might discover a sense of excitement.
Go ahead and give it a shot!