Visualizations: Black poet, Langston Hughes

Third grade or fourth grade students will have an opportunity to read and appreciate selected poetry of the African-American poet, Langston Hughes.

A lesson plan for grades 3–4 English Language Arts, Information Skills, and Social Studies

By Floanna Long

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Related topics

• Learn more about African Americans, English language arts, literature, and social studies.

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Learning outcomes

Students will develop an understanding of selected poetry of the African-American poet, Langston Hughes and how his life influenced his style of writing. The students will reflect on assigned selections of poetry in order to delineate the author’s use of figurative language, such as simile or metaphor. Additionally, the students will review the author’s use of figurative language such as personification and hyperbole.

Teacher planning

Time required for lesson

6 hours

Materials/resources

• A variety of anthologies of poetry containing the works of Langston Hughes for students to browse during any free time in the lesson.
• Dream Variations worksheet.
• Po’ Boy Blues worksheet.
• Video: Langston Hughes. This excellent video also presents excerpts from his finest works, frequently read by the poet himself. The video contains footage of many primary source pieces. Visit Teacher’s Media Company for more information.

Technology resources

• Computer lab — one machine for each student
• digital camera
• smart television
• VCR
• word processing program
• white board and pens or chalkboard or chart paper
• diskettes — one per student
• data projector

Pre-activities

• Media–Technology Coordinator and classroom teacher should plan based upon background knowledge and mastery of the elements of poetry. Note: After reflecting and working with a 3rd grade teacher, I believe that the students will need extra pratice and instruction with identifying speakers as First Person, Third Person, etc. Ideally this lesson will reinforce a previous lesson covering elements of poetry.
• The students should fully understand the concepts of using graphic organizers to record information and character traits (Inspiration and/or Kidspirations are good software programs to use) as well as to contrast ideas in literature. Students will need a background in the preparation of a timeline to record important events in lives and in history.
• The teachers should prepare diagrams on the whiteboard (large charts or computer and data projector) illustrating significant events of Hughes’ life.
• Develop a class web of the different elements of poetry (note similarities to novels) as needed. See list of defined elements of poetry.

Activities

Hour One:

1. In the Library Media Center or Research Learning Hub, introduce the students to the life and times of African-American poet, Langston Hughes. Use selected portions of the video about Langston Hughes.
2. Instruct the students to use the note-taking strategy of webbing as they view the selected portions of the video. They should view/listen for events which influenced Hughes to become a spokesperson for the African-American community.

Teaching tip: Make the viewing/listening experience interactive by pausing the video at the first few places where students should take notes. Discuss why each particular item is noteworthy. As the video progresses, pause now and then at significant place, without discussion, to indicate that you consider this or that noteworthy.

3. Construct a class diagram on chart paper (whiteboard or computer and data projector) of the events in the poet’s life and career. Using a digital camera or regular camera, photograph the class diagram. Maintain some kind of a copy which you can refer to later.
4. Collect student notetaking papers, review, and return at a later date.

Hour Two:

1. Review last hour’s diagram.
2. Review the elements of poetry.
3. Read Hughes’ Dream Variations aloud as the children read silently.
4. Assist students with identifing and analyzing some of the poetic elements. Maintain a class list on a chart or the whiteboard.

Hour Three:

1. Review the last sessions. Use charts, digital images, etc. saved from those sessions.
2. Pass out the Dream Variations worksheet. Instruct students to use the knowledge they have gained during the last two sessions to analyze the figurative language in the selected stanza of poetry.
3. Use a digital camera or regular camera to photograph — up close — the students as they work. Save time at end of session for a few students to share their analyses. Collect the students’ work and review with their Reading Language Arts teacher.

Hour Four:

1. Review the analysis from last session.
2. Read Hughes’ Po’ Boy Blues aloud or have students read silently.
3. Pass out the Po’ Boy Blues worksheet and have students work on this assignment in class.
4. Assist students with identifing and analyzing some of the poetic elements covered, particularly the elements that many students seemed to struggle with.
5. When students have completed the worksheet, share finding as a group. Maintain a class list of elements on a chart or the whiteboard.

Hour Five:

1. In the classroom, the reading language arts teacher will take the composition piece through the procedure for Writers’ Workshop so that one or both of the writing pieces will be ready for publishing.
2. In the computer lab or at the classroom hub, the students will publish one or both of the pieces.

Hour Six:

1. The students will read/listen to classmates’ published works and make comments and constructive criticism.

Assessment

• Listening rubric
• Writing rubric

Supplemental information

Recommended books:

• The Block: Poems by Langston Hughes; collage by Romare Bearden, The Metropolitan Museum of Art: Viking Press, 1995.
• My Song Is Beautiful: Poems and Pictures In Many Voices. Ed. Mary Ann Hoberman. Little and Brown Co., 1994.
• Talking To The Sun: An Illustrated Anthology of Poems for Young People. Selected and Introduced by Kenneth Koch and Kate Farrel. The Metropolitan Museum of Art: Henry Holt, 1985.