Creating the Tanka

Many students have heard of and written the haiku, so students are familiar with the 5-7-5 syllable pattern that the haiku requires. Haikus are a good way to
teach students how to count syllables, and they are also a good way to teach students, on a more basic level, how structure and meaning come together to
form a poem. Afterall, the haiku is often inspired by an element in nature, a moment of beauty, or another emotional experience.
Today, I want to spend some time with syllable counts and meaning as we conclude our discussion on poetry so that each of you has an even better
understanding of why poetry is as powerful as it is. Many times, it maintains a strict structure, maintains rhythm and meter, and contains a powerful story
and/or message.
We will spend time working with an older form of Japanese poetry known as a tanka. It’s a little longer than a haiku. It contains thirty-one syllables instead of
the haiku’s seventeen. The syllabic line structure used in a tanka is 5-7-5-7-7.
Your job: Write a tanka about a memory. Before trying to pen the tanka that is inspired by a memory, take some time to brainstorm several memories. Use the
pictures that you have either in hard copy or on your phone or computer. Then select the one memory you would like to focus on and build into a tanka.
Here’s what this might look like:
Memories:
Being pregnant
Giving birth
Getting married
The first weeks of having a child
Teenage years—individualized, creative, young
Friendships of old
Bryar’s first Christmas
Bryar’s first birthday
My first day of teaching
My first time learning to drive a manual
My worst date
Losing my brother