Pepper BakerProfessor Alex MuellerENGL 464December 14, 2016

Unit Plan ProjectRationale:

My unit plan will focus on the Harlem Renaissance that will span over about a two-week period for a ninth grade English class. The first week, each day there will be a major, influential person introduced to the class along with a piece of their work. We will explore different works including poetry, music, art, and literature that will encapsulate an overall depiction of what the Harlem Renaissance represented to African Americans of the time. For the first week of the unit, I will introduce one person each day that will be the topic for the class, and we will discuss a major work by them and hold classroom discussion, group work, in class activities, and comparisons to how modern day culture and entertainment is influenced by the Harlem Renaissance.

I find it important to teach a more in depth, closer look into the Harlem Renaissance to ninth graders, because they are beginning high school which is the beginning of reading and analyzing more mature content. Racism is a very controversial topic and can be trivial when exposing racism of the past to students, but high school is the beginning of exploring texts that raise awareness to social issues. The Harlem Renaissance is a great start into students learning about social issues in America from the past and see how they’ve evolved, changed, or remain prevalent today. The way I plan to approach each lesson will engage the class and intrigue their interests in learning about the culture.

My pedagogical approach comes from Sheridan Blau’s book, The Literature Workshop, in chapter 1, “Lessons on Learning Literature.” He explains the difficulty of requiring students to uphold their own interpretive responsibility from literature, “Our students may do the reading themselves, but return to our classes prepared to take notes from us on what constitutes the correct interpretation of the text. Of course, whenever we cooperate in this well-established system, we may be encouraging many students not to read the text at all. We are certainly encouraging all of them to read it without any particular interpretive responsibility.” (Blau 20) My objectives are to give the students information of a person with background knowledge of the time and that person’s upbringing, but to have the student come to their own interpretations of how they decipher the reasoning behind the person’s work. I want to encourage students to think for themselves, spark debate, and be able to find evidence to support their interpretations.

During the second week, we will work on the essay assignment. The essay prompt will be to form an argument or opinion to support their interpretation of any of the people or their works we covered from the previous week and apply it to present day culture. They can argue that the culture has significantly changed from then to present day, it’s stayed relatively the same, or there’s similarities and differences of the past and present day. They can draw conclusions from the music, art, poetry, or literature samples that will help their topic. Freedom of expression exploded among African Americans during the Harlem Renaissance, and that’s exactly what I want the students to feel while going through this unit. They should be able to exercise their own freedom of interpretation and formulate an argument and evidence that will support it in the essay. After this unit, they should be able to accomplish the ability to interpret a work in their own creative way.

Lesson Plan 1:Introduction to the Harlem Renaissance, applying historical context to meaning of poems

5 mins Warmup - Open up by asking students what they know about the Harlem Renaissance and write down their key words or ideas on the board. If no one has any ideas, then write key words on the board and then have the students say aloud more information under them.

Key words/ideas: 1920s, New York City, African-American Culture, Music, Writers, etc.

10 mins Introduction – Open the prepared introduction power point on the overhead projector. Ask the students to say aloud what they notice from the pictures on the first slide. Write down their answers underneath the key term it falls under.

Slide 1:

Then, have students take notes on the key facts given about the Harlem Renaissance on the second slide.

Slide 2:

20 mins Group Activity – The third slide of the power point introduces Walter Dean Myers, who’s life span was shortly after the Harlem Renaissance and is not one of the major authors we will specifically focus on, but his written work was influenced by the culture of the Harlem Renaissance and his poem, Harlem: A Poem is a great introduction to the unit for students.

- Students will get a copy of Harlem: A Poem by Walter Dean Myers, break into groups of 3 (4 if necessary), and read the poem once all the way through.

- After they read it all the way through, have them circle, underline, or highlight all the places and locations mentioned in the poem and see if they can decipher what the locations represent and how it enhances the setting of the poem.

- Ask the students who the intended audience is- Lastly, have their group pick a particular part of the poem that gives them a clear picture

in their mind that they will be able to describe to the class out loud.

15 mins Ending Discussion – The students will volunteer to speak aloud what their group came up with and share. After they contribute their ideas, the teacher will tie together last comments and observations that the students might not have observed.

Homework: Read Langston Hughes’s poem Harlem and Claude Mckay’s America. Come to class tomorrow with 3 interesting facts of each poet.

Harlem: A Poem - Poem by Walter Dean MyersThey took the road in Waycross, GeorgiaSkipped over the tracks in East St. LouisTook the bus from Holly SpringsHitched a ride from Gee's BendTook the long way through MemphisThe third deck down from TrinidadA wrench of heart from Goree Island A wrench of heart from Goree Island To a place calledHarlem

Harlem was a promiseOf a better life,of a place where a manDidn't have to know his placeSimply becauseHe was Black

They brought a callA songFirst heard in the villages ofGhana/Mali/SenegalCalls and songs and shoutsHeavy hearted tambourine rhythmsLoosed in the hard cityLike a scream torn from the throatOf an ancient clarinet

A new sound, raucous and sassy

Cascading over the asphalt villageBreaking against the black sky over1-2-5 StreetAnnouncing HallelujahRiffing past resolution

Yellow, tan, brown, black, redGreen, gray, brightColors loud enough to be heardLight on asphalt streetsSun yellow shirts on burnt umberBodiesDemanding to be heardSeenSending out warriors

From streets known to beMourning still as a lone radio tells us howJack JohnsonJoe LouisSugar RayIs doing with our hopes.

We hopeWe prayOur black skinsReflecting the face of GodIn storefront temples

Jive and Jehovah artistsLay out the human canvasThe mood indigo

A chorus of summer herbsOf mangoes and bar-b-que

Of perfumed sistersHip strutting pastFried fish jointsOn Lenox Avenue in steamy August

A carnival of childrenPeople in the daytime streetsRing-a-levio warriorsStickball heroesHide-and-seek knights and ladiesWaiting to sing their own sweet songsLiving out their own slam-dunk dreamsListeningFor the coming of the blues

A weary blues that Langston knewAnd Countee sungA river of bluesWhere Du Bois wadedAnd Baldwin preached

There is liltTempoCadenceA language of darknessDarkness knownDarkness sharpened at MintonsDarkness lightened at the Cotton ClubSent flying from Abyssinian BaptistTo the Apollo.

The uptown ARattles past 110th StreetUnreal to realRelaxing the soul

Shango and JesusAsante and MendeOne peopleA hundred different peopleHuddled massesAnd crowded dreams

SquaresBlocks, bricksFat, round woman in a rectangleSunday night gospel"Precious Lord…take my hand,Lead me on, let me stand…"

Caught by a full lippedFull hipped SaintWashing collard greensIn a cracked porcelain sinkBacking up Lady Day on the radio

Brother so black and bluePatting a wide foot outside theToo hot Walk-up"Boy,You ought to find the guys who told youyou could play some checkers‘cause he done lied to you!"

Cracked reed and soprano sax laughterFloats over

a fleet of funeral cars

In HarlemSparrows sit on fire escapesOutside rent partiesTo learn the tunes.

In HarlemThe wind doesn't blow past SmallsIt stops to listen to the sounds

Serious businessA poem, rhapsody tripping alongStriver's RowNot getting it's metric feel soiledOn the well-swept walksHustling through the hard rain at two o'clockIn the morning to its next gig.

A huddle of hornsAnd a tinkle of glassA noteHanded down from Marcus to MalcolmTo a brotherToo bad and too cool to give his name.

Sometimes despairMakes the stoops shudderSometimes there are endless depths of pain

Singing a capella on street corners

And sometimes not.

Sometimes it is the artistlooking into the mirrorPainting a portrait of his own heart.

PlaceSoundCelebrationMe mories of feelingsOf place

A journey on the A trainThat started on the banks of the NigerAnd has not ended

Harlem.

Lesson Plan 2:Langston Hughes and Claude McKay, reading emotion and dissecting imagery in poetry

10 min warm up : Have the students go around the class one by one and read one of their facts out loud. They cannot repeat one of their facts if a student before them had the same one. Write the two poet’s name’s on the board and list each new fact said under each poet.

15 min Notes : Show the background information of each poet on prepared slide on power point overhead and have students take notes from the warmup activity and the notes on the board.

25 min in Class Activity : distribute copies of each poem to the class. Start with Langston Hughes’s poem Harlem. Have a student read it one time through, out-loud. and then ask the class to circle each punctuation mark. Have another student read it out-loud again, but this time, ask them to read it with emphasis on the purpose the punctuation mark serves in the poem. Explain how punctuation enhances what the author wants the reader to take away from the poem.

o Play the oral reading of Harlem on youtube, twice. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYKiXg4rNOYOpen the discussion to the class by asking if the reader’s voice conveyed more meaning to the poem and is so, in what ways was it different than when the student read it previously.

o Open discussion for the pictures that were displayed with the oral reading by asking the students what the pictures showed. Define imagery on the board and have the students individually pick parts of the poem where Hughes used sight, hearing, taste, smell, or feeling. Discuss what they picked out loud.

o Close the discussion by reiterating how important it is when authors include punctuation or any type of elements that convey emotion or deeper meaning in a poem

Homework: Have students read Claude McKay’s poem America and have them annotate the poem by dissecting the emotions and imagery conveyed in the poem.

HarlemBy Langston HughesWhat happens to a dream deferred?

      Does it dry up       like a raisin in the sun?       Or fester like a sore—       And then run?       Does it stink like rotten meat?       Or crust and sugar over—       like a syrupy sweet?

      Maybe it just sags       like a heavy load.

      Or does it explode?

AmericaBy Claude McKay Although she feeds me bread of bitterness, And sinks into my throat her tiger’s tooth, Stealing my breath of life, I will confess I love this cultured hell that tests my youth. Her vigor flows like tides into my blood, Giving me strength erect against her hate, Her bigness sweeps my being like a flood. Yet, as a rebel fronts a king in state, I stand within her walls with not a shred Of terror, malice, not a word of jeer. Darkly I gaze into the days ahead, And see her might and granite wonders there, Beneath the touch of Time’s unerring hand, Like priceless treasures sinking in the sand.

Lesson Plan 3Billie Holiday – Learning HR influence on culture today

5-7 min Warm Up – ask for about 2-3 volunteers to share their findings of emotions and imagery from the Claude McKay homework. Collect the annotated poems for a homework grade.

15 mins Background Information – introduce Billie Holiday and Louie Armstrong on Power Point slides overhead with a few facts to add to their background notes for the week. Make sure to touch lightly on the role of women during this time and how women in music were

portrayed.

25 mins in Class Lecture and Group Work Distribute copies of the lyrics to “God Bless the Child” and read it out loud to the class once all the way through. Then, give them about 3 minutes to circle anything that stands out to them, that they understand, or don’t understand about the song. Come together as a class and talk about what they found. Clarify anything they are confused about and dig further into anything they seem to understand.

- Ask them how the lyrics of the poem relate to society today or if they can display any examples they might have personally or know from others (i.e. celebrity lifestyles)

- Show the youtube clip of Billie Armstrong singing “God Bless the Child”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wc4JvGfRLpA

- Ask students to explain anything that stands out to them that pertains to the Harlem Renaissance (i.e. clothing, the genre of the song, the instruments in the background, the stage set up, etc.)

- Show the clip of Whitney Houston singing “God Bless the Child” in 1997https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IoHtH6OjsUk

- Ask the students the same question. Have them distinguish similarities or differences between the two videos and how the times have changed.

Homework : Have the students watch “The Blues are Brewin” which is a collaboration with Louie Armstrong and Billie Holiday. Look up the lyrics of the song and construct your own

contemporary version of a music video with the same song. Cast the singers, choose the setting, decide what instruments you’d use, costumes they’d wear, and the target audience.

"God Bless the Child"Billie Holiday

Them that's got shall haveThem that's not shall loseSo the Bible says and it still is newsMama may have, Papa may haveBut God bless the child that's got his own, that's got his own

Yes the strong get smartWhile the weak ones fadeEmpty pockets don't ever make the gradeMama may have, Papa may haveBut God bless the child that's got his own, that's got his own

Money, you've got lots of friendsThey're crowding around your doorBut when you're gone and spending endsThey don't come no moreRich relations give crusts of bread and suchYou can help yourself, but don't take too muchMama may have, Papa may haveBut God bless the child that's got his own, that's got his own

Money you've got lots of friendsThey're crowding around your doorBut when you're gone and spending endsThey don't come no moreRich relations give crusts of bread and suchYou can help yourself, but don't take too muchMama may have, Papa may haveBut God bless the child that's got his own, that's got his own

Here just don't worry about nothing cause he's got his ownYes, he's got his own

Lesson Plan 4Aaron Douglas and Lois Malou Jones

15 min Warm Up- Have the students bring in their homework and give 2 extra credit points to 4-5 students who are willing to share their contemporary versions of their music videos. Have them stand in front of the class and share their ideas.

- After they share, open up the new topic with the question: How does one express themselves through art?

- 15 min Background Information – introduce Aaron Douglas and Lois Malou Jones.

Have the students take notes on the prepared power point slides on the overhead that will be added to their notes from the week.

15 mins Display and Analyzing Artwork from Each Artist – I will include artwork

from Aaron Douglas and Lois Mailou Jones. Specifically, these paintings:

- I will ask the students to point out specific details in the paintings they would associate with the Harlem Renaissance. We will have a class discussion about what aspects of the Harlem Renaissance are illustrated through these paintings and what similarities they have to the African American culture we’ve discussed with the previous lessons.

Homework: Students will either draw, google images, or clip images from magazines and put together a mini-collage that exemplifies the artwork in the Harlem Renaissance. They must be prepared to talk about why they choose their images and the inspiration behind each image.

Lesson Plan 5Essay Workshop: Drafting a thesis, creating an argument, and finding support

15 min Warmup : Have each student go around the room and give a very brief explanation of their collage and how it fits in the Harlem Renaissance culture.

30 mins: Essay Workshop The essay on the topic of their choice will be 3-4 pages long. The students will reflect on their notes and previous handouts from the lectures and decide which person they want to focus on for their essay. Then as a class, we will explore possible essay prompts:

- Research more background information of one of the artists/authors lives and compare how their personal life experiences and African American culture during the time were conveyed or illustrated through their work. Include information not given in the lectures that would help enhance their connection to the person they choose.

- Write about the Harlem Renaissance’s influence on modern day entertainment, written works, art, music, etc. Research famous performers or writers who have reenacted or written similar works that express influence from the Harlem Renaissance and explain the similarities and differences. Explain why it’s important for performers or writers to study those who were successful before them.

- Analyze a written work by distinguishing the different literary elements used to convey emotion and imagery for the reader to gain a better sense of the meaning of the poem as a whole. Form an argument that supports your interpretation.

- Give a reflective essay of your entire interpretation of The Harlem Renaissance as a whole, tying together all of the people we’ve discussed and what you’ve taken away from their works. Relate a personal experience that is similar to African Americans seeking freedom of expression in Harlem.

After we read the essay prompts out loud the students will get into groups of 2 (no more than 3) and talk about possible ideas they can think of off the top of their heads and have them write down all of their brainstorming ideas.

Homework: Have students create an outline with a working thesis statement, major points, and supporting ideas that will help them get started on their essay.

The essay outline should be assigned on the Friday of the first week of the unit or no later than the Monday that begins the second week of the two-week unit. They should ideally have a full week to write their essay, but if the outline is done two days prior to the final due date, then they should be able to finish it by the Friday of the second week of the unit. Once the essay is turned in, the Harlem Renaissance unit is finished.

Works Cited

Billie Holiday - God Bless the Child (film). Perf. Billie Holiday. Youtube.com. The Chicago

Blues Museum, 29 July 2013. Web.

"Claude McKay." Biography.com. A&E Networks Television, 08 Feb. 2016. Web. 10 Dec.

2016.

Garran, Daniella K., and Marston Mills. "Lesson Plans." PBS. PBS, 15 Feb. 2013. Web. 10 Dec.

2016.

Harlem by Langston Hughes. Dir. Howard Zinn and Anthony Arnove. Perf. Danny Grover.

Voices of a People's History of the United States, 2007. Youtube.com. 3 Mar. 2012. Web.

Knopf. "Langston Hughes." Poetry Foundation. Poetry Foundation, n.d. Web. 10 Dec. 2016.