Kiara Roberts
Professor Long
10/30/13
Topic of Lesson Plan:
Harlem Renaissance (Poetry)
Background to the Lesson:
In order to teach this lesson, it would be important for children to study about the transatlantic
slave trade and the contributions of enslaved Africans to American economy, language, music,
and dance prior to the Great Migration. Teachers must understand the basics of the Harlem
Renaissance, starting with the Great Migration and ending with the contributions from African
Americans during the Renaissance and the legacy seen well afterwards. Teachers must
understand the Harlem Renaissance is depicted as an African American artistic movement that
celebrated black life and culture with common themes such as the influence of experiences of
slavery, emerging African-American traditions of black identity, and effects of racism. Teachers
must also understand many historically “black” words coincide with African American struggles,
experiences, unique aspects of culture and traditions. Teachers must understand all students want
to feel affirmed in the classroom and different ethnicities, cultures, beliefs, and languages must
be represented in the classroom. “Often the children least affirmed for their culture, language,
and the historical contributions of their families, communities, and histories are African
American children and that schools have a responsibility, not just during Black History month
but across the year to change the current domination of whiteness in curriculum so that
contributions of African Americans to the world’s art, language, sciences, histories, inventions,
music, etc. are a part of curriculum on a regular, normalized basis” (Susi Long, 2013). Here are
some important resources to further your knowledge about the Harlem Renaissance:
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/255397/Harlem-Renaissance
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harlem_Renaissance
http://www.biography.com/tv/classroom/harlem-renaissance
http://www.history.com/topics/harlem-renaissance
http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/5657
http://historyoftheharlemrenaissance.weebly.com/index.html
Concepts to be Taught:
I want the children to understand that:
 Harlem Renaissance is depicted as an African American artistic movement in the 1920s
that celebrated black life and culture. (America’s Story from America’s Library:
Langston Hughes, James H. Billington) I want my students to learn this because the
professional literature and research tells us that originally, African American Language
(AAL) and society became regarded as inferior because people of African descent were
oppressed by White Europeans by conquest, divide and conquer, manipulation, and
cultural invasion. Now, the term AAL is confirmed by the Linguistic Society of America
as a legitimate language and because of the contributions from African Americans to the
nation/world, society is a more thriving place. (Boutte, Teaching AAL; Five Easy Pieces;
Delpit and Dowdy)
o The Great Migration: African Americans moved from southern states to north to
start a new life because their language and culture was seen as inferior to the
European-American society. (U.S. History: Harlem Renaissance)
o Harlem Renaissance lasted from 1918-1937 (Britannica)
o Common Themes of Harlem Renaissance: influence of experience of slavery,
emerging African-American traditions of black identity, and effects of racism.
(Wikipedia) (Academic Kids Encyclopedia) I want my students to learn this
because the professional literature and research tells us that many historically
“black” words coincide with African American struggles, experiences, unique
aspects of culture and traditions and social distinctions between themselves and
other races and their language was a way to distinguish between members of
their community and outsiders. (Spoken Soul, Rickford and Rickford)
o The “New Negro”, created during the Harlem Renaissance, would use intellect
and productions of African American literature, art, and music to challenge
racism and stereotypes in American society, and promote racial and social
integration in society. (Wikipedia) (Academic Kids Encyclopedia)
 The legacy of the Harlem Renaissance redefined how America, and the world, viewed
African Americans. (Wikipedia) (Academic Kids Encyclopedia) I want my students to
learn this because the professional literature and research tells us that many historically
“black” words coincide with African American struggles, experiences, unique aspects of
culture and traditions and social distinctions between themselves and other races and
their language was a way to distinguish between members of their community and
outsiders. (Spoken Soul, Rickford and Rickford)
o Harlem Renaissance led to more opportunities for African Americans to be
published by mainstream publishers. (Wikipedia) (Academic Kids Encyclopedia)
o Society earned positive attributes from the Harlem Renaissance (poets)/African
American culture. (Academic Kids Encyclopedia)
 Langston Hughes was one of the most important writers and thinkers of the Harlem
Renaissance. Hughes had a strong sense of racial pride, promoted equality, condemned
racism and injustice, and celebrated African American folk culture, humor and
spirituality. (America’s Story from America’s Library: Langston Hughes, James H.
Billington) I want my students to learn this because the professional literature and
research tells us that “ninety percent of African Americans use one or more aspects of
AAVE some of the time [and] research at Stanford University proves students that have
been taught using the Ebonics program have improved their ability to read and write
standard English” (Five Easy Pieces)
o The Sweet and Sour Animal Book can be used as a reference to learning to
alphabet. (The Sweet and Sour Animal Book)
Common Core Standards:
 CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.K.1 Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard
English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.
o CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.K. 1a Print many upper- and lowercase letters.
 CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.K.2 Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard
English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing.
o CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.K.2a Capitalize the first word in a sentence and the
pronoun I
o CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.K.2b Recognize and name end punctuation.
o CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.K.2c Write a letter or letters for most consonant and shortvowel sounds (phonemes).
o CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.K.2d Spell simple words phonetically, drawing on
knowledge of sound-letter relationships.
Teacher Resources
 http://childrensbooks.about.com/gi/o.htm?zi=1/XJ&zTi=1&sdn=childrensbooks&cdn=pa
renting&tm=69&f=00&su=p284.13.342.ip_p504.6.342.ip_&tt=6&bt=1&bts=14&zu=htt
p%3A//www.americaslibrary.gov/aa/hughes/aa_hughes_subj.html (America’s Story from
America’s Library: Langston Hughes, James H. Billington)
 http://www.poetryarchive.org/childrensarchive/singlePoet.do?poetId=1551 (The
Children’s Poetry Archive)
 The Collected Works of Langston Hughes: Works for Children and Young Adults:
Poetry, Fiction, and Other Writing (Dianne Johnson)
 http://www.ushistory.org/us/46e.asp (Harlem Renaissance History)
 http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/255397/Harlem-Renaissance/272827/Poetry
(Britannica)
 The Sweet and Sour Animal Book by Langston Hughes
 http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/usa_game/harlem_renaissance/harlem_renaissance_la
ngston_hughes.htm
Materials Needed
 The Sweet and Sour Animal Book by Langston Hughes
 Brain Pop Video: Harlem Renaissance (basic overview)
 http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/usa_game/harlem_renaissance/harlem_renaissance_la
ngston_hughes.htm (Powerpoint on Langston Hughes) (intro)
 Colored Construction Paper
 Markers/Crayons/Colored Pencils
 Rulers
 Letter Stencils
 Teacher created page in the classroom alphabet book (modeled from Hughes’ book)
Procedures
 Boys and girls, please come to the carpet and direct all of your attention to me.
 I have a question. What does the word fairness mean? As a person, do you want to be
treated fairly? Can you think of any instances where you were not treated fairly? Can
being treated fairly be like being treated equally?
 Do you want other people to think your work is special?
 Well boys and girls, there was a time where some people were not treated fairly because
of the color of their skin and their work was not appreciated. Fortunately, there was a
group of people that worked together, African Americans, to make sure all of the United
States and the world recognizes how important these people were.
 So now, boys and girls, we are going to learn an important new term. And guess what,
this is something you usually don’t learn until you are in the 9th grade! How cool is that?
 Has anyone ever heard of the Harlem Renaissance? Boys and girls, what does the word
Renaissance mean? Renaissance means “rebirth” or having a change in what is normal.
There are many changes that were seen in the culture and the atmosphere surrounding
African-Americans.
 Boys and girls, let’s direct our attention to the SmartBoard so we can watch a fun Brain
Pop Video about the Harlem Renaissance. (Play Brain Pop Video: Harlem Renaissance)
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So, what are some important facts that you can remember from the video about the
Harlem Renaissance?
o Teach Harlem Renaissance through interactive powerpoint/prezi and video.
 The Harlem Renaissance was an artistic movement that started in the
1920s that celebrated black life and culture. The Harlem Renaissance was
attempting to make the world see the important things that African
Americans added to the United States.
 The Harlem Renaissance lasted from 1918-1937.
 The Harlem Renaissance began with the Great Migration. Migration is
when people or animals move from one place to another. Can you guys
name an animal that migrates? (bird) Well, African Americans moved
from southern states to north to start a new life because their language and
culture was seen as lesser than that of the European-American society.
Was that fair?
 Common Themes of Harlem Renaissance: influence of experience of
slavery, emerging African-American traditions of black identity, and
effects of racism.
 The “New Negro”, created during the Harlem Renaissance, would use
intellect and productions of African American literature, art, and music to
challenge racism and stereotypes in American society, and promote racial
and social integration in society.
 The legacy of the Harlem Renaissance redefined how America, and the
world, viewed African Americans. Society began to appreciate African
American people more and like different types of art, literature and music.
 Harlem Renaissance led to more opportunities for African Americans to
be published by mainstream publishers. This means African American
writers were given the same opportunities to be successful and write books
that the European Americans were given. They were being treated fairly
now, right?
 (important to spread this information over the course of a few days/a
week because this is a lot of information and students will not be able to
retain all of this information in one day)
There were many, many great people who did amazing things for our country during the
Harlem Renaissance. We’re going to learn about a lot of them this year but today, I want
you to meet Mr. Langston Hughes
o (read picture books)
 Langston Hughes by Milton Meltzer
 Coming Home: from the Life of Langston Hughes by Floyd Cooper
 Love to Langston by Tony Medina
o Langston Hughes was one of the most important writers and thinkers of the
Harlem Renaissance. Hughes had a strong sense of racial pride. He wanted to
make sure all people were treated equally and given the same chances and
opportunities. He did not like when people were not treated fairly, especially
when that was because of the color of their skin. Does anybody know what it
means when people are treated differently because of the color of their skin?
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Good, it’s called racism. In his poetry, Langston Hughes celebrates African
American folk culture, humor and spirituality.
o The Sweet and Sour Animal Book can be used as a reference to learning to
alphabet.
Now, we are going to read The Sweet and Sour Animal Book by Langston Hughes. Boys
and girls, what stood out to you about this book? How did it make you feel?
Now, we are going to read Children’s Rhymes by Langston Hughes together. (pull it up
on SmartBoard). What type of words did he use in this poem? How did these words make
you feel? What do you think Mr. Hughes wanted you to get from this poem? What
message was he trying to send? Do you think you can use these words and rhymes in
your own poems?
We are going to make a classroom “Sweet and Sour Animal Book” and everybody will
have their own page. It is important for each student to use similar words and rhymes that
Mr. Hughes used because we are trying to make a book similar to him. We will use some
of his words and ideas, and use some of our own words and ideas. How much fun will
that be? It can either be a rhyming poem or a free verse poem.
Assign students one letter of the alphabet and have them create a page in the classroom
alphabet book, including (on the page) the letter, a picture, and a sentence describing the
picture (may be written by teacher depending on age).
Collect pages and bind book together. Share with the class and possibly use for other
activities in the classroom.
Boys and girls, here are some other books about important people in the Harlem
Renaissance you can read throughout the year:
o Zora! The Life of Zora Neale Hurston by /Judith Bloom Fradin
o Poetry for Young Children: Langston Hughes by Langston Hughes
o Celeste’s Harlem Renaissance by Eleanora E. Tate
o Shimmy Shimmy Shimmy Like My Sister Kate: Looking at the Harlem
Renaissance Through Poems by Nikki Giovanni
o Harlem Stomp!: A Cultural History of the Harlem Renaissance by Laban Carrick
Hill