Celebrate diversity with a toolkit designed to inspire young poets to develop their own voices. After examining poems by African American poets, individuals craft their own poetic stories. The packet features poems by Gwendolyn Brooks, Rita Dove, Yusef Komunyakaa, Michael S. Harper, Margaret Walker, Nikki Grimes, Langston Hughes, and Lucille Clifton.

Concepts

poetry, black history month, african art, african american history, african american culture, famous african americans

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Additional Tags

english language arts

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Instructional Ideas

• Use the resource as part of a celebration of Black History Month in February, or as part of April's Poetry Month

Classroom Considerations

• The activities do not need to be used in order
• A similar resource, designed for high schoolers, is also available

Pros

• The 21-page packet includes poems organized around the ideas of family and friends, sports, and dreams
• Background information on the poet, discussion questions, and activities accompany every poem

Cons

• None

Common Core

RL.6.1 RL.6.2 RL.6.4 RL.7.1 RL.7.2 RL.7.4 RL.8.1 RL.8.2 RL.8.4