For teachers · explanatory slides
Haiku sequence
Project this deck before handing out the worksheet. Difficulty band: Building. Then try the form in the builder, or pick a follow-up move from the technique repertoire.
Haiku sequence · slide 1 of 5 · what
What is a haiku sequence?
A haiku is a three-line poem of about five, seven and five syllables built from one clear image — no explaining, no moral. A sequence strings three such moments together without joining them up.
Say: Read this slide, then ask: who has seen one before? Take two answers only.
Arrow keys work too. Printing lays out every slide, one per page.
Haiku sequence · what
What is a haiku sequence?
A haiku is a three-line poem of about five, seven and five syllables built from one clear image — no explaining, no moral. A sequence strings three such moments together without joining them up.
Say: Read this slide, then ask: who has seen one before? Take two answers only.
Haiku sequence · how
How it works
1. Pick one moment you can picture exactly: a place, a time of day, something happening.
2. Count syllables on your fingers: roughly 5, then 7, then 5. Near enough beats forced.
3. Write three haiku for three linked moments (morning, noon, night), then try reordering them.
Say: Walk the steps slowly. Students will follow them on their worksheet.
Haiku sequence · example
Worked example — one haiku from a sequence (original)
frost on the bike shed —
five syllables, nearly; now seven:
breath smokes, the gate clicks shut.
One image only (a cold morning, a gate). Nothing is explained; the reader feels the cold from the details.
Say: Read the example aloud twice. Ask what the writer chose — and what they left out.
Haiku sequence · traps
Common traps
• Writing a story in miniature instead of one image per haiku.
• Padding with adjectives to reach the count ('very, very cold') instead of finding a sharper noun.
• Explaining the feeling in the last line ('I felt so sad') — cut it and trust the image.
Say: Name the traps now so students can laugh when they spot one in their own draft.
Haiku sequence · try
Before you start
Count one example aloud on fingers as a class, then ban explaining: image only, for the first draft.
Scaffolding: A 5–7–5 count and one clear image per poem; the sequence links moments without joining them.
Say: Do the first move together, out loud, before handing out worksheets.