World History- Project #6- Poems
Overview:
Young men and even some young women trained to become samurai warriors in feudal Japan. Their training included learning the art
of warfare, and later, the ways of peace. To become a samurai demanded strict training in the martial arts. Many samurai developed
great skill handling a sword. But a samurai also learned other lessons, such as the proper way to conduct a tea ceremony and how to
write poetry. Above all, a samurai trained to overcome his or her fear of death.
Task:
Like the samurai, you will be working with poetry. The style of poetry to be used for this project is called acrostic poetry.
To create an acrostic, follow these five easy steps:
1.
Decide what to write about.
2.
Write your word down vertically.
3.
Brainstorm words or phrases that describe your idea.
4.
Place your brainstormed words or phrases on the lines that begin with the same letters.
5.
Fill in the rest of the lines to create a poem.
Your word choices for your acrostic poem are samurai or bushido. Write an acrostic poem on
either the word Bushido or Samurai. Explain, describe, and show what the term means in your
poems. Remember poetry is an art form and Japanese during the Heian period spent a lot of time
making their poems look as beautiful as they sounded!
Sample:
Ice Cream
I love every flavor.
Cookies & Cream.
English Toffee.
Chocolate Chip.
Rocky Road.
Even Strawberry and
Almond Fudge.
Mmmmmmmm.
Color your samurai, and rewrite your acrostic poem- as neatly and beautifully as possible- in the space provided next to the picture. Or
draw your own samurai and color it!
Your project will be part of your notebook grade! Do your best!
Materials Needed:
Samurai handout, pencil, crayons, colored pencils (Please do not use markers!).
(Other optional items listed above)
(See the website for a sample- http://www.cnusd.k12.ca.us/Page/31955 )
Honors:
Please answer the following prompt on the project page in your notebook: Write a Haiku about something we learned about in Japan
(Bushido, Samurai, nature, the ocean- usually a Haiku is beautiful, peaceful, and thought provoking.) A Haiku is 17 syllables long,
and American versions of the Haiku are usually written in a 5 syllable, 7 syllable, 5 syllable format. (See sample). Color your samurai,
and rewrite your acrostic poem- as neatly and beautifully as possible- in the space provided next to the picture. Or draw your own
samurai and color it!
Shoelaces untied
become a tripping hazzard.
Hope she falls for me.
Flowers withering
beneath the weight of the sun.
Yet the weeds stand proud.