Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Poetry of Langston Hughes

For Teachers 6th - 10th
Students read aloud Langston Hughes poems. They select a poem and read aloud to music.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Robert Henri, the Harlem Renaissance and You

For Teachers 7th - 8th
Young scholars examine the artwork of Robert Henri. Using his pieces, they compare and contrast it to the works during the Harlem Renaissance. They create a HyperStudio project showing the Ashcan School of Art with music accompanying the...
Lesson Plan
Maryland Department of Education

A Raisin in the Sun and Dreams Deferred

For Teachers 10th Standards
To conclude a study of A Raisin in the Sun and to prepare for a visit to the Lewis Museum, class members analyze Langston Hughes' poem "Harlem." Learners then draw connections to characters in the play and to their own experiences...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Langston Hughes: Artist and Historian

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students examine the life and works of Langston Hughes. In groups, they research the characteristics of the Harlem Renaissance and how Hughes' poems relate to the era. They use the themes in his writings and relate it to the Great...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

VH1 Driven: Jamie Foxx, Lesson 3

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students examine the blues, poetry, the Harlem Renaissance, and the 12-bar blues form. They watch a segment from the video, "VH1 Driven: Jamie Foxx," participate in a class discussion, and listen to songs by Ray Charles and a poem by...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Jazz in America

For Teachers 7th - 8th
Students explore the Swing Era and its implications. They answer questions and listen to music from the era.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Modern Dance and the Harlem Renaissance

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students create an artistic rendering based on what they have learned from the film and the lesson.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Performance Poetry as Social Commentary

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Young scholars explore poetry that examines social concerns. In this poetry lesson, students research poems and poets. Young scholars present their findings to their classmates.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Visual Art: Romare Bearden and Group 306

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Students examine the life and art of Romare Bearden. Using his "Mill Hand's Lunch Bucket" for inspiration, they write a first chapter for a book. Students observe numerous other works of his art and discuss them from artistic and...
Lesson Plan
Huntington Library

The Poetry and Prose of Langston Hughes

For Teachers 11th
Eleventh graders discover the poetry of Langston Hughes. In this social issues lesson plan, 11th graders experience the views of Langston Hughes. Students read Hughes' poetry and discuss the basic theme. Students evaluate the political,...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Electronic Poetry Project

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students create a digital project to go with a poem. In this technology lesson, students pick a poem and create images to go with it. They make background music for the narration of their poem and attach it to a PowerPoint...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Symbolism Lesson Plan

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Students define the terms symbolism and mood. In groups, they read a poem by Robert Frost and identify the concepts in the poem. As a class, they discuss how the two elements give a meaning to the writing. They also give their own...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Use of Symbolism to Convey the Author's Message - The Negro Speaks of Rivers

For Teachers 7th - 9th
Students identify the literary devices, symbolism, and first-person narration in the poem A Negro Speaks of Rivers. For this poem analysis lesson, students discuss African Americans and the Harlem Renaissance. Students watch a video...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Deep like Rivers: Four African American Poets of the 1920s and 1930s

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students examine work by outstanding African American poets from the time period of the 1920s and 1930s. They study aspects of American and African American social, cultural and artistic history that influenced the content of some of the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Lift Every Voice and Sing

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Young scholars analyze sculpture, poetry, and music to gain an understanding of historical events. In this critical thinking skills lesson, students take a closer look at African-American history as they examine "Lift Every Voice and...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Landforms

For Teachers K - 3rd
Students study how landforms affect all aspects of a community. Students work in groups to identify landforms from other works of art. In cooperative groups Students select a work of art depicting a particular land form and create a poem.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Langston Hughes

For Teachers 5th - 6th
Young scholars identify similarities between Hughes' poetry and music (jazz and the blues).
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Carson McCullers: Loneliness and Frustrated Love

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Students examine the themes of loneliness and frustrated love in the work of Carson McCullers. In this theme analysis lesson, students complete a comparison of patterns in the novels of McCullers as a part of a theme analysis.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Urban Concentration and Racial Violence

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students research one of the many urban race riots in U.S. history, from the New York City riots during the Civil War to the "Red Summer of 1919" or the hate-strikes of 1943. They present their findings in the form of a newspaper's front...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Romare Bearden

For Teachers K - 12th
Students examine and discuss a collage by the artist Romare Bearden. They analyze the impact of jazz on art, listen to jazz, and create an original collage.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Marian Anderson: From Page to Stage

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students become immersed in a compelling anecdote of the civil rights movement through the experience of constructing dramatic scripts. An added goal is to equip students, through this "hands-on" experience, to critique dramatic...
Lesson Plan
ReadWriteThink

Read Write Think: A Harlem Renaissance Retrospective

For Teachers 9th - 10th
In this activity, students work in collaborative groups to conduct Internet research and create a museum exhibit that highlights the work of selected artists, musicians, and poets of the Harlem Renaissance.
Lesson Plan
Huntington Library

Huntington Library: The Poetry and Prose of Langston Hughes [Pdf]

For Teachers 11th Standards
In this instructional activity, 11th graders explore how the poetry of Langston Hughes reflected political and social issues of the time and how literature can support social change.
Lesson Plan
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

Rock & Roll Hall of Fame: Sti Lesson 2: Langston Hughes and the Blues

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Explore relationship between music and poetry in this African-American history lesson on Langston Hughes, the Harlem Renaissance, and other artists such as Bessie Smith, John Hammond, the Beatles, and the Rolling Stones.