Lesson Title:  Lesson Eight, Day Eight:  Introduction to the Harlem Renaissance

 

Time Frame:  One Day, 50 minute period 

 

Unit Title:  The Black Experience: 1920s-1940s

 

Grade Level:  10th and 11th

 

Subject:  Language Arts

 

Submitted By:  Alsandyra Essien

 

Illinois State Goals and Cross Curricular Components:

 

Language Arts Goal Two:  Students will be able to read and understand literature representative of various societies, eras, and ideas.

 

B.M.2.A.4c:  Students will describe relationships between the author’s style, literary form (e.g. short stories, novels, drama, fables, biographies, documentaries, poetry, essays) and intended effect on the reader.

 

B.M.2.A.4d: Students will describe the influence of the author’s language structure and word choice to convey the author’s viewpoint.

 

Language Arts Goal Five:  Students will be able to use the language arts to acquire, assess and communicate information.

 

Standard A:  As a result of their schooling, students will be able to locate, organize, and use information from various sources to answer questions, solve problems, and communicate ideas.

 

Standard B:  As a result of their schooling, students will be able to analyze and evaluate information from various sources.

 

Standard C:  As a result of their schooling, students will apply acquired information, concepts and ideas to communicate in a variety of formats.

 

B  M 5. C. 4a:  Students will plan compose, edit and revise information (e.g., brochures, formal reports, proposals, research summaries, analysis, editorials, articles, overheads, multimedia)

 

B M 5. C. 4b:  Students will produce oral presentations and written documents using supportive research and incorporating contemporary technology.

 

Related Social Science Goal 16:  Understand events, trends, individuals, and movements shaping the history of the U.S.

 

B.M.16 B.4:  Identify political ideas that have dominated United States historical eras.

 

Social Studies Goal 18:  Understand United States Social Systems.

 

Learning Standard A.  Compare characteristics of culture as reflected in language, literature, the arts, and institutions.

 

Learning Standard 18 B:  Understand the roles and interactions of individuals and groups in society.

 

 

B.M. 18.A.4.  Analyze the influence of cultural factors including customs, traditions, language, media, art, and architecture in developing pluralistic societies.

 

Objectives:

 

To understand the significance of the Harlem Renaissance as a historical, cultural, and literary benchmark of the U. S. Black Experience

 

To understand the physical composition of the Harlem community and its strong sense of community identity

 

To understand the reasons Harlem became the hub of Black business, literary, artistic, social, and intellectual thought and pursuit

 

To identify principal political, social, artistic, intellectual, and literary figures associated with this period

 

To evaluate the contributions these figures have made to U. S. culture and society

 

To understand the influence these figures still have on U. S. culture and society

 

To understand the role the U. S. government played in starting this Renaissance through its establishment of the Works Project Administration and the Federal Writers Project

 

Materials:

 

Computer lab

Lap top

Projector

Lists of items to be researched

 

Research Subjects and Pertinent Websites:

 

Arna Bontemps

 

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/americancollection/cora/harlem_text.html

 

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/aaworld/reference/articles/arna_bontemps.html

 

Sterling Brown

 

http://www.poets.org/poets/poets.cfm?45442B7C000C04050E

 

Countee Cullen

 

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/aaworld/reference/articles/countee_cullen.html

 

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/americancollection/cora/harlem_text.html

 

http://www.poets.org/poets/poets.cfm?45442B7C000C0303

 

W. E. B. DuBois

 

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/americancollection/cora/harlem_text.html

 

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/ihas/icon/dubois.html

 

Duke Ellington

 

http://www.pbs.org/ellingtonsdc/noteMusicians.htm#Duke

 

http://www.pbs.org/jazz/biography/artist_id_ellington_duke.htm

 

Jessie Fauset

 

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/aaworld/reference/articles/jessie_redmon_fauset.html

 

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/americancollection/cora/harlem_text.html

 

Marcus Garvey

 

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/garvey/

 

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/garvey/tguide/

 

Langston Hughes

 

http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/feb01.html#hughes

 

http://www.loc.gov/rr/program/journey/hughes.html

 

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/americancollection/cora/ei_hughesbiography.html

 

http://www.poets.org/poets/poets.cfm?45442B7C000C0E01

 

Zora Neale Hurston

 

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/newyork/laic/episode5/topic2/e5_t2_s4-zn.html

 

http://www.pbs.org/immaw/Hurstonbio.htm

 

James Weldon Johnson

 

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/aaworld/reference/articles/james_weldon_johnson.html

 

http://www.poets.org/poets/poets.cfm?45442B7C000C0106

 

Jacob Lawrence

 

http://www.pbs.org/gointochicago/art/jacob1.html

 

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/aaworld/arts/lawrence.html

 

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/newyork/laic/episode5/topic2/e5_t2_s5-jw.html

 

Claude McKay

 

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/aaworld/reference/articles/claude_mckay.html

 

http://www.pbs.org/ktca/litandlife/chapters/chapter2main.html

 

http://www.poets.org/poets/poets.cfm?45442B7C000C0403

 

A.   Philip Randolph

 

http://www.pbs.org/weta/apr/aprbio.html#bio

 

http://www.pbs.org/weta/apr/aprbio.html

 

Jean Toomer

 

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/aaworld/reference/articles/jean_toomer.html

 

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/americancollection/cora/harlem_text.html

 

http://www.poets.org/poets/poets.cfm?45442B7C000C0107

 

Richard Wright

 

http://www.pbs.org/rwbb/rwtoc.html

 

James Van Der Zee

 

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/aaworld/reference/articles/james_van_der_zee.html

 

http://search.eb.com/blackhistory/micro/727/91.html

 

Carl Van Vechten

 

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/americancollection/cora/harlem_text.html

 

Harlem Renaissance: 

 

Exploration of the Renaissance and links to writers and artists

 

http://www.si.umich.edu/CHICO/Harlem/

 

http://www.csustan.edu/english/reuben/pal/chap9/9intro.html

 

 

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/americancollection/cora/harlem.html

 

http://www.nku.edu/~diesmanj/harlem_intro.html

http://www.questia.com/Index.jsp?CRID=harlem_renaissance&OFFID=se1

 

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/americancollection/cora/harlem_text.html

 

Preparation:

 

Reserve computer lab

 

Set up pertinent websites

 

Prepare list of items to be researched

 

Methods:

 

Journal Entry: 

 

Other Suggested Journal Topics for This Unit

 

o       Write your reflections on the topics we have been discussing.

 

o       Had you been alive and living in Harlem at this time, what would you have enjoyed most about your life?

 

o       If you could have dinner with a prominent figure of this period, whom would you choose and why?

 

o       In your opinion, why have so many of these writers and artists been largely ignored by the larger society?

 

1.     Give students a brief oral overview of  the Harlem Renaissance

 

2.     Give students the list of items to be researched

 

3.     Each student is to be assigned a figure to research based on the student’s interest.  For example, a student who is interested in music will be asked to research Duke Ellington.

 

4.     Each student will be required to prepare a poster on his research subject.

 

 Evaluation/Assessment:

 

The poster must include the following:

·        A picture of the person

·        A timeline that shows his/her accomplishments and their relationship to this particular timeframe

·        An attached report that includes a brief biography of the person, a sample of the person’s work, an evaluation of the person’s impact upon the Black Experience of his day, an evaluation of the person’s impact, if any, on present day American society

 

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