Won Ton and Chopstick is a cutie-pie story in haiku. I shared it with my students this week and a funny thing happened. They were compelled to read it chorally. These short verses about Won Ton, the cat, and his new friend (maybe) Chopstick, the puppy, are clever and witty.
When searching for a website, I came across this great activity for kids. Wish I had found it sooner!
We quickly figured out that it’s not so easy to write a story in haiku. I tried a few drafts about my cat Mimi.
Bow tie mustache bites
at open faucet, waiting
for drip-water to fall.Oh, that Christmas tree,
lights and hanging ornaments
a feline playground.Rip, tear, gnaw, paw, rip
Ribbon scatters, glitter rains,
Here’s the cardboard box.–Margaret Simon
Lynzee, first grade, and I worked together. She’s been studying pandas for her passion project, so she wanted to write a panda story.
Two Pandas
Brother panda eats
bamboo leaves high on a shoot
Chomp! Chomp! Delicious!The Unexpected Surprise
Brother pounces hard
wakes Sister with a Beep! Beep!
Then he runs away.Mother Saves the Day
Sister yawns lazily
runs inside to Mother
who holds mug of warm tea.–Lynzee
Emily is in gifted art class. She is working on a hero art project. Her hero is Cynthia Lord who wrote A Handful of Stars. This post tells why.
a handful of stars
all shades of blue and purple
blueberries fill pagepatterns and designs
with stars,stripes,splatters, and dots
it’s a masterpiecefinalizing it
adding the stars on top
Cynthia Lord, proud–Emily
Madison, 2nd grade, chose Atlantis on Wonderopolis this week and made her poem into an Animoto video.
Oh my goodness, Mimi is adorable! I love how I can see her adventures in your poem at that feline playground. Thank you! And much to love in those panda adventures and those blueberry Cynthia Lord stars. Nice. xo
love that ‘feline playground’, Margaret. Brings back memories when we had a cat and had to anchor the tree. The students’ haiku are wonderful, each one unique in capturing that one moment.
I love everything about this post. It’s funny how you and I are always doing the same things. I’m reading Santa Clauses with my kids today and writing haikus.
I need to know more about the passion project!
I’ve written about the passion projects on two DigiLit Sunday posts. Check em out. Santa clauses of course!
How could I not like a post that features cats? And haiku! The kids’ writing is lively and fun. Please tell them we appreciate their work!
Such an amazing variety!
I am so honored. 🙂 I love Emily. And you.
Delightful! I love how you bring out the creativity in your students — and yourself.
So glad you and your students were inspired by my book Won Ton and Chopstick. You might also want to take a peek too at the first book Won Ton – A Cat Tale Told in Haiku. =^..^= If you send me an email with your mailing address, I’ll send enough haiku Poems for Your Pocket so that each of your students has one. Season’s Purrings, Lee Wardlaw author@leewardlaw.com
Wow, Margaret! This was quite a challenge, but you and your students did a fabulous job. Love that picture of Mimi!
Haikus sprouting all over-love this post.
Great work by all on the challenge of haiku stories!
I can tell you must have to keep an eye out for Mimi. We used to have a cat that liked to eat the Christmas light wire. For a number of years we just went without lights on our trees!