If all of the elements of this lesson plan are employed, students will develop the following powers, skills, and understanding:
- 1
Students will research the Harlem Renaissance, exploring how key figures, works, and events influenced Hughes's poetry.
- 2
Students will trace key themes throughout Hughes's work, and will examine how his poetry developed over the course of his career.
- 3
Students will make their own creative works based off of Hughes's poetry, and will connect his poetry with their own experiences.
- 4
Students will examine the formal elements of Hughes's poetry, noting how it mimics key aspects of blues and jazz music.
