Setting the Scene  We live in a beautiful country which is very different to other places on Earth. People often use poetry to describe things. Have you read this poem about Australia ? I love a sunburnt country, A land of sweeping plains, Of ragged mountain ranges, Of droughts and flooding rains. My Country By Dorothea Mackellar.
	Read these poems
Soap bubbles! My face is flying too!  -Masahiro Suzuki, Japan, Gr. 4	Where I buried the little bird, only there the ground bumps up.  -Norikako Miyashita, Japan, Gr. 6    What do you think these poems describe ?	Mr. Ant, do you mind if I set you on my leaf boat? -Norimasa Oikawa, Japan, Gr.1

If you guessed nature and Japan you were right !

---

Tasks

So how would you describe Australia to someone from another country (like Japan) using poetry?

A. Japanese children love to write special poems called haiku. Read some of these poems, print off and complete the work sheet. View the worksheet here

B. It is now your turn to try to write a haiku poem about Australia. Print out this work sheet to learn how to write Haiku. View the worksheet here.

C. Once you have mastered this form of writing you are ready to make a poetry book about Australia and your community for children in Japan.

You and your team are to

1. Find 5 images of Australia to copy that you can write haiku poems about. Paste each picture onto a page of your "book".

2. Write 5 poems describing the image.

3. Publish as a book using either pencil and paper or kidpix or perhaps as a powerpoint presentation for your classmates.

The images can be from the internet or cut out from a magazine or old book.

4. The final task will be to decide which poem you like the most and explain why you like it to your class and team mates.
  Print out the checklist worksheet to help you. View the worksheet here