Oceans: A Sensory Haiku
How does sensory imagery connect you to a time and place?
In this 3-5 lesson, students will illustrate self-portraits to identify their senses. They will take a virtual field trip to the ocean to explore a sensory experience. Students will write a haiku poem about the ocean, bringing science and creative writing together as one.
Lesson Content
Learning Objectives
Students will:
Identify and describe the five senses.
Organize information using a visual map.
Describe the ocean using sensory imagery.
Describe the constant change that occurs at an ocean shoreline through erosion and deposition.
Write a sensory haiku about the virtual ocean visit.
Standards Alignment
Apply knowledge of available resources, tools, and technologies to investigate personal ideas through the art-making process.
Collaboratively set goals and create artwork that is meaningful and has purpose to the makers.
Identify and demonstrate diverse methods of artistic investigation to choose an approach for beginning a work of art.
Create personally satisfying artwork using a variety of artistic processes and materials.
Explore and invent art-making techniques and approaches.
Experiment and develop skills in multiple art-making techniques and approaches through practice.
Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, descriptive details, and clear event sequences.
Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, descriptive details, and clear event sequences.
Use concrete words and phrases and sensory details to convey experiences and events precisely.
Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, descriptive details, and clear event sequences.
Use concrete words and phrases and sensory details to convey experiences and events precisely.
Different sense receptors are specialized for particular kinds of information, which may be then processed by the animal’s brain. Animals are able to use their perceptions and memories to guide their actions.
Gather and synthesize information that sensory receptors respond to stimuli by sending messages to the brain for immediate behavior or storage as memories.
Recommended Student Materials
Editable Documents: Before sharing these resources with students, you must first save them to your Google account by opening them, and selecting “Make a copy” from the File menu. Check out Sharing Tips or Instructional Benefits when implementing Google Docs and Google Slides with students.
Video
Books:The recommended books for this lesson are suggestions and can be exchanged for other haiku poem books available at your public library, school library, personal collection, or digital book resource.
by Jane Yolen
(Jane Yolen)
by Pamela Michael and Robert Hass
Websites
Additional Materials
Sand (optional)
Saltwater (optional)
Seashells (optional)
Sea plants (optional)
Teacher Background
Teachers should review the videos and websites prior to teaching the lesson.
Student Prerequisites
Students should be able to identify their five senses.
Accessibility Notes
Adaptive ocean sensory resources can be used for students with disabilities. Explore the videos, 360° photos, paintings, and physical adaptations (sand, saltwater, seashells, and sea plants) to determine the best sensory experience for your students. Modify handouts, text, and utilize assistive technologies as needed. Provide preferential seating for visual presentations and allow extra time for task completion.
Engage
Capture the sound of the ocean. This exercise works best as students transition from another area of the school or between subjects (lunch, recess, art, etc.). Have only the audio of the playing as students enter the room.
As students begin to recognize the sounds, gesture to students to remain quiet. Bring students together in whole group. Model for students how to generate words in connection with what they hear. Write one word to describe what you’re hearing on the board and encourage students to add additional words.
Activate the 5 senses of students. Ask students: What are the five senses? How do we use our senses? When do we use our senses? Review the five senses with students (sight, hearing, touch, smell, taste).
Create a sensory portrait. Model how to draw a portrait. Have each student draw a self-portrait, showing only their five sensory locations (eyes, ears, hands, nose, mouth). Distribute available art materials to students and allow time for completion.
Build
Introduce haiku as a form of poetry to capture senses and moments in time. Tell students that a haiku poem is a traditional form of Japanese poetry.
Share the student-written, award-winning poem . Discuss McMullen’s nature haiku with the class. Ask students: What patterns do you notice in the poem?What elements of poetry or characteristics do you notice? Focus on the use of thoughts rather than complete sentences. Tell students that McMullen entered his poem into the youth poetry contest, and any student can submit an original poem as well.
Share the characteristics of a haiku. Tell students a haiku consists of 3 lines, with 17 syllables in total (five, seven, five).
Introduce children’s author and poet Jane Yolen. Share selected nature haiku poems from her books, and . Ask students to count the beats of each line as the haiku is read aloud. Ask them to identify sensory words. Note: This exercise can be used with any teacher-selected haiku or children's haiku book.
Apply
Take a virtual field trip to the ocean. Select a virtual ocean video to share with students. Have students use their five senses to capture the experience.
Have students write descriptive sensory words near the appropriate body parts on their sensory portraits. For example, the word “gritty” could be placed by a hand; the word “crashing” could be placed near an ear. Encourage students to use their imaginations to provide words for smell and taste. Ask them to notice any changes that occur throughout the videos as the ocean is in motion.
Reflect
Have each student write one or more nature haikus using the sensory portrait and corresponding words. Remind students that haiku poetry has a 5-7-5 pattern and involves thoughts and phrases, not complete sentences.
Create a classroom sensory haiku display. Have each student showcase their art and haiku on the display. Allow students to present their haiku to the class to learn how each student's senses created a different haiku.
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Grades 6-8
Visual Arts
English & Literature
Science
Kennedy Center Education Digital Learning
Eric Friedman Director, Digital Learning
Kenny Neal Manager, Digital Education Resources
Tiffany A. Bryant Manager, Operations and Audience Engagement
JoDee Scissors Content Specialist, Digital Learning
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