Create a Sci-Ku for British Science Week 13–22 March 2015! This teaching pack links with the experiences and outcomes of English and Literacy at the 1st and 2nd levels of the Curriculum for Excellence.

Contents• CreateaSci-KuCompetitionaspartof

The Reading Experiment, Edinburgh International ScienceFestival2015

• AimsandLearningObjectives• WhatisaHaiku?• TeachingPlan• FurtherResources

Create a Sci-Ku Competition as part of The Reading Experiment at Edinburgh International Science Festival 2015EdinburghInternationalScienceFestivalisaneducationalcharity which aims to encourage people to discover the wonder of the world around them. The Reading Experiment isaprojectwhichrunsinconjunctionwithourannualFestivalin Edinburgh and aims to reunite the worlds of science and words by encouraging people to delve into science writing in allitsforms.Itreturnsforasecondoutingin2015andaspartofthiswe’rebringingbackourSci-Kucompetition.

Thisyearwe’rechallengingyoutowriteaSci-Kuonthetheme of light. It’s a broad topic, you could write about photosynthesis,solarenergy,thestars,light-basedtechnologiesandmore!HereisanexamplefromtheEdinburghInternationalScienceFestivalteam,wearesureyoucan do much better!

Light is seenLight cold and warm is feltLight is never heardSarah Thomas

Andhereareafewofthewinningandshortlistedentriesfromlast year’s competition: My ear cannot pickOnetonefromwhitenoise,butknowsYour voice anywhereBy Sandra Ireland

Bigbanghappened…YESUniverseexpanded…YESPhenomenal…WOWBy Liz Williamson

The mail has arrivedAparcelforSchrödingerAdeadcat…maybeBy Rosslyn

What is a Sci-Ku?

ASci-Kuisa3linepoemaboutscience.It’ssupposedtohaveasyllablepatternthatgoesfive-seven-five,butit’sokifitdoesn’tquitefit.Justkeepitshort,brightandgivethereadersomethingtothinkabout.Formoreinformationandtoenter,please see our website: sciencefestival.co.uk/sci-ku-competition

Buthurry,thecompetitionclosesonFriday3April2015.Submitentriesthroughourwebsite,byemailto:SarahThomas@scifest.co.ukor by post to:EdinburghInternationalScienceFestival,HarboursideHouse,110CommercialStreet,Edinburgh,EH66NF

Aims and Learning Objectives

This teaching pack can be used to achieve many experiences and outcomes in the English and Literacy section of the Curriculum for Excellence at 1st and 2nd level. Key links at 1st level are:

• ListeningandTalkingLIT1-06aandLIT1-10a,WritingLIT1-20aandENG1-31a

Key links at 2nd level are: • ListeningandTalkingLIT2-06aandLIT2-10a,WritingLIT

2-20aandENG2-31a

Creating a Sci-Ku for British Science Week will enable pupils to:

• Selecttheirownideasandorganisethemforapurpose• Buildtheirconfidenceandcommunicationskillswhen

engaging others• Enjoycreatinganewpieceofwriting• Exploreandpracticeanewgenre

What is a Haiku?

HaikuisatypeofpoetryfromJapan.Intheseshort3linepoemsthelinesfallnaturallyintoafive-seven-fivesyllablepattern.Haikusareappealingbecausetheymakeusthinkaboutwhatweseeandfeelintheworldaroundus.WhatmakesasyllableisdifferentinEnglishandJapanese.InJapanese,syllablesarecountedassounds.Forexample,theword‘haiku’is2syllablesinEnglish(hai-ku)and3syllablesinJapanese(ha-i-ku)!Buttheexactnumberofsyllablesisnottoo important as long as the second line of the poem is the longest: the most important thing in haiku is how the poem sounds.Haikusdonothavetorhyme.

Haiku Writing Guidelines

• Findmomentsineverydaylifeyouwouldliketowriteabout,remember that reality often has a magical side.

• Thinkaboutthemessageyouwanttogetacross.• Usesimplewordsandremoveanywordsyoudon’tneed,for

example, the bright golden amazing fantastic shining light.• Thebesthaikushaveasurpriseortwistattheend.• Readyourpoemoutloudtotesthowitsounds.• Aimforthe5-7-5syllablepatternbutdon’tworryifitdoesn’t

fit.

Teaching Plan

Resourcesrequired:youmaywishtoprintthefollowingactivitysheets or display them electronically.

1.Explainhaikupoetryandwhereitcomesfrom.Addanybackgroundinformationyouthinkyourclasswillfindinteresting.(5minutes)

2.Breakingwordsintosyllables(optional),ActivityCard1.(10minutes)

3.DescribethehaikustructureusingActivityCard2.Itisa3-linepoemwitha5-7-5syllablestructure.Makeitclearthatitisokifitisnotexactly5-7-5aslongasthesecondlineofthepoemisthelongest.(5minutes)

4.LookatsomeexamplesusingActivityCards3-6.ThesearewrittenbysomeofthegreatJapanesemastersofhaiku.Encourage group discussion about what they like/dislike in the poems,whatthepoemsareaboutandwordstheylike.(10minutes)

5.MakeahaikuusingthetemplateinActivityCard7.(15minutes)

6.CreateaSci-KufortheEdinburghInternationalScienceFestivalcompetitionusingActivityCard8asaguide.(15minutes)

Time Required

This teaching pack has been developed for completion within one lesson and can be adapted as required.

When should I use this teaching pack?This teaching pack can be used any time and is also available todownloadfromourwebsite.Howeverwewouldliketoencourage you to make the most of these resources and the Sci-KuCompetitionduringMarch2015.

Activity Card 1Breaking Words into Syllables

Alltogether,youaregoingtobreakwordsintosyllablesusingtheactionsfrom“Head,Shoulders,KneesandToes”.Gatherina space, making sure that everyone has room to move around. This is a repeat after me exercise – the teacher will read a word, repeat it in syllables whilst doing the actions and the classwillrepeat.Theteacherthenasks,“Howmany?”andtheclasscallsoutthenumberofsyllables.Oncetheyaregettingthe hang of it, the teacher can say the word and the class can breakitdownanddotheactionsthemselves.Aspupilsbuildtheirconfidence,theteachercangoaroundtheroomsayingwords and asking individuals to say it back with the actions.

Onesyllable–handonhead–“One!”

House Science Flamingo Yellow Grass Heart Summer Discovery Ship Swan Rainbow Birthday Cake Table Chicken Book Sofa Purple Swimming Umbrella School Explorer Body Painter Musical Frog

Twosyllables–handsonheadthenshoulders–“Two!”

Threesyllables–handsonhead,shoulders,knees–“Three!”

Foursyllables–handsonhead,shoulders,kneesandtoes–“Four!”

Forexample:Play:“Play”(handsonhead)–“One!”

Teacher:“Teach”(handsonhead)-“er”(shoulders)–“Two!”

Pussycat:“Puss”(handsonhead)–“see”(shoulders)–“cat”(knees)–“Three!”

Primaryschool:“Pri”(head)–“mar”(shoulders)–“ee”(knees)–“school”(toes)–“Four!”

Herearesomewordsyoucanuse,butfeelfreetoaddyourown or even use picture cards if you have them.

Activity Card 2

Petal by petalYellow mountain roses fallSound of rapids

Japanese haiku master Matsuo Basho , 1644-1694

Activity Card 3

A kite floatsAt the place in the skyWhere it floated yesterday

Japanese haiku master Yosa Buson, 1716-1784

Activity Card 4

Now and againIt turns to hailThe wind is strong

Japanese haiku master Masaoka Shiki, 1867-1902

Activity Card 5

Step by stepUp summer mountainSuddenly the sea

Japanese haiku master Kobayashi Issa, 1763-1827

Activity Card 6

Fresh young leavesThe sound of a waterfallBoth far and near

Japanese haiku master Yosa Buson, 1716-1784

Activity Card 7Pick Your Own HaikuChoose the word that you like the best from each box below. ThewordsinSet1willgiveyouline1ofyourhaiku,thoseinSet2willgiveyouline2andthoseinSet3willgiveyouline3.

Whenyouhavechosenthewordsyoulike,writethewholehaikuoutandsayitinyourhead.Doyoulikeit?Ifnot,youcanchange some of the words and see what you like best.Getreadytoreadyourhaikutotheclass.

Set1 swimming in the woods Line 1

floating city

running pond

flying sky

spying house

Set2 an eye sparkles in moonlight Line 2

a wing sunlight

a claw twilight

a tooth darkness

a leaf afternoon

Set3 lost into the mud Line3

sinks sand

slips night

darts crowd

glides trees

Activity Card 8Create a Sci-Ku CompetitionEdinburghInternationalScienceFestivalisbringingbackit’sSci-KucompetitionaspartofThe Reading Experiment, a projectdesignedtocelebratesciencewritinginallitsforms,atthe2015ScienceFestival.

Thisyearwe’rechallengingyoutowriteaSci-Kuonthethemeof light. There are great prizes up for grabs in three categories: primary school, secondary school and an open category for all ages, so you can even get your friends and family to enter as well.

Light is a broad topic and really important to life on earth. It comes from the sun and stars, makes our plants grow which gives us food to eat, and light is where all the colours of the rainbow come from. Light is also very important to scientists who use it all the time to look through microscopes and study theworldaroundus.Andthere’snotjustthetypesoflightwecansee,don’tforgetaboutultra-violetlightandinfra-red!

Wedon’twanttotellyouexactlywhattodobecauseyourownideasarereallyimportant,butifyougetstuckjustthinkabout:

• Animportantdiscovery• Anexperiment• Somethingyouseeineverydaylife• Ascientist• Somethingyoufindinteresting

ToenterthecompetitiongiveyourSci-Kutoyourteacherorenter at home on our website – sciencefestival.co.uk/sci-ku-competition

The deadline for entries is Friday 3 April.WinnerswillbecontactedfromMonday6Aprilwithdetailsofhowtheycanclaim their prize.

The2015 Edinburgh International Science Festival runs from 4-19April2015.Findoutmoreabouteventsandactivitieshappening at this year’s festival at sciencefestival.co.uk