Haiku wrapping-up activity: using Japanese poetry to collect meaningful takeaways

At the end of an experiential learning activity, it’s important to help students identify their main takeaways. The “Haiku wrapping-up activity” it's a creative way to do this, incorporating elements of traditional Japanese poetry, characterized by a 5-7-5 syllable pattern. This activity encourages students to express their thoughts, emotions, and key learning insights in a concise and meaningful way. 

The Haiku Wrapping-Up activity is a creative and reflective exercise that allows students to summarize their learning or experiences in the form of haiku poems. Haiku is a traditional form of Japanese poetry consisting of three lines with a specific syllable pattern (5-7-5). This activity provides a concise and poetic way for students to capture their thoughts, emotions, or key insights.

Here's how the Haiku Wrapping-Up activity can be conducted:

1. Introduction:
   • Explain to students that they will be creating haiku poems to wrap up or summarize their learning or experiences.
   • Briefly introduce the concept of haiku poetry, emphasizing the 5-7-5 syllable pattern and the focus on nature, emotions, or capturing a specific moment.
2. Reflection Time (7 minutes):
   • Provide students with a quiet and reflective environment, allowing them time to think about their learning, experiences, or a specific topic you want them to reflect on.
   • Freewriting: ask the students to write on a piece of paper everything that crosses their mind in relation to the learning activity. The pen should not leave the paper for 7 minutes. If they don’t know what to write, they can write ‘I don’t know what to write).
3. Revision time:
   • Ask the students to read their texts and highlight some words that are important. 
4. Haiku Creation
   • Instruct students to create their own haiku poems based on the words they have highlighted. Remind them of the 5-7-5 syllable pattern.
   • Encourage students to choose words or phrases that succinctly capture their thoughts or insights, focusing on the essence of their learning or experiences.
5. Sharing and Discussion:
   • Create a supportive and non-judgmental atmosphere for students to share their haiku poems.
   • Allow volunteers to read their haikus aloud, one by one, while others listen attentively.
   • After each reading, invite brief reflections or discussions about the themes, emotions, or insights conveyed in the haikus.