Lesson 1 - LearningThroughMuseums

Day 2: Interpreting a Poem and a Painting
● Time Allotment
45–60 minutes
● Materials
Materials for each student:
Copy of Haiku Reader organizer
Copy of Haiku Writer organizer (optional)
● Vocabulary
descriptive
haiku
image
poetry
● Procedure
1. Give students copies of the Haiku Reader. Read the first poem aloud. If students are not
familiar with this form of poetry, explain that haiku is a short poem that has a special pattern
and that it originated in Japan, which is a country where they also would see magnolias. Then
read the second poem aloud.
2. Ask the students to select one of the poems and to draw a picture, or image, in the box
provided, showing what the poet has written about in the haiku.
3. Then have students exchange their drawings and decide which of the two haikus the other
student drew. Ask the students what words in the poem helped them to decide what it looked like.
4. Point out that the words the poets use are like the elements the artist uses. The artist used line,
color, and shape to help us understand what the flower looked like just as the poet used words.
5. To extend the learning about poetry and images, you may distribute the Haiku Writer and ask
students to create their own haiku poems.
Day 3: Reading and Writing about Plants and Places
● Time Allotment
45–60 minutes
● Materials
Materials for each student:
Copy of the reading “Plants and Places”
Copy of Words and Writing organizer
14 • Lesson 1: The Southeast ‒ Picturing, Reading, and Writing about American Environments