Year 7 Poetry &

Introduction to Text
In previous lessons, students have defined:

what is poetry?

Poetic devices

Biopoems

Cinquain poems

This lesson aims to further establish students

understanding of the text through critical literacy,
the aesthetic, and creative writing.

Originally taught as a 50 minute lesson, given the opportunity this lesson is best
extended over two periods to allow students more time to understand Haiku poetry,
the images discussed within the context of the text, and to complete the activity.

Main Theory: the Haiku lesson encourages students to undertake an aesthetic reading
or interpretation of the text and images, attempting to create their own aesthetic text (Haiku Poem).

Learning Outcomes
Students will:
1.
2.
3.

Develop an understanding of Haiku poetry, identifying its structure and theme

Gain further insight into the themes and context of the text
create two Haiku poems about an illustration from the Lighthouse Girl

AusVels:

Understand, interpret and discuss how language is compressed to create layers of meaning in poetry, for
example haiku, tankas, couplets, free verse and verse novels (ACELT1623),

Plan, draft and publish imaginative, informative and persuasive texts, selecting aspects of subject matter
and particular language, visual, and audio features to convey information and ideas (ACELY1725)

Compare the ways that language and images are used to create character, and to influence emotions and
opinions in different types of texts (ACELT1621)

Discuss aspects of texts, for example their aesthetic and social value, using relevant and appropriate
metalanguage (ACELT1803)

Lesson 5: Haiku
Activity One:
Students were shown examples of Haiku poetry on the projector
As a class we discussed the language used to convey an image of
nature and the emotions it evoked, highlighting key words
In groups of 3 or 4, students were given examples of a nature image
and had to:
o
o
o

brainstorm 10 words that described the image

write a description of what was happening in the picture
write a reflection on what feelings the image evoke for
them

Theories:
Critical literacy in the classroom is centred on students analysing
representations, developing a critical understanding of how a text
constructs an image of the world, and essentially to understand what a
text is trying to do to its readers (Misson, 2004). Misson asserts that
although there is a tendency to ignore the importance of the aesthetic in
the classroom, English teachers need to incorporate both the critical and
creative within the classroom.

On a withered branch
A black crow has alighted:
Nightfall in Autumn.

Activity Two:

Students are instructed to choose an image, either an illustration or photograph from Dianne Wolfers novel
the Lighthouse Girl.

Using the Haiku Starter handout, students plan their Haiku poem by brainstorming a list of words about the
image, stating the syllables of each word

Continuing to use the Haiku Starter handout, students write a draft of their Haiku poem, and create a title

It would be good to reiterate to students the importance of editing their own work

On their laptops, students type up a final copy of their Haiku poem

Students work should be assessed for their ability to

o Understand the rhyming scheme of a Haiku poem
o Explore & identify the theme of nature in their poem and chosen image
o Display a further understanding of the novels context
o An emotional response to the novels themes & characters

Theories continued
The Aesthetic:
The aesthetic refers to the discussion of the experience and emotion that the text represents, as well as
experience and emotion it evokes from the students (Misson & Morgan 217).
Aesthetic texts provide an intense engagement with the piece, offer students illuminating interpretations of
experience, and allows the readers to negotiate the meaning (178).
Activity two displays an aspect of aesthetic teaching: recontextualisng. The students have taken a non-aesthetic
text (Lighthouse Girl), recontextualisng it (the images) to create an aesthetic treatment of a particular topic, that
is, the topic or emotions evoked from the images, from which they created their Haiku poem (198).
An aesthetic approach allows students to connect the message of the novel with the emotions they felt. The
intention was for students to develop a connection with the text on an emotional level, and develop a real sense
of what it is like to see and experience this context through the characters. The Haiku written by the students
should display an emotional element, someone or something experiencing emotion or generate an emotional
reaction
Imagination
Missons The Individual imagination in the English classroom (2003) identifies imagination as the basis of
creativity (25). Within the English classroom, imagination is considered to be used to develop understanding
Misson terms this as sympathetic imagination. Sympathetic imagination or understanding allows us to feel what
other people feel (29).

References:
Misson, R. & Morgan, W. (2006) Critical literacy and the
aesthetic: Transforming the English classroom. Illinois: National
Council of Teachers of English
Misson, R. (2003). Imagining the self: The individual imagination
in the English classroom. English in Australia, 138, 24-33.
Misson, R. (2004). What are we creating in creative writing?
English in Australia, 141, 32-40.

Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority. (2014) AusVELS

English Level 7. [Online] Retrieved from:
http://ausvels.vcaa.vic.edu.au/English/Curriculum/F-10#level=7