Since Hughes's poetry delves deep into the subjects of race and racism, teachers may wish to prepare students for this sensitive content and be aware of ways that certain themes may be distressing to students.
The thought questions in this lesson plan provide material and ideas that students can use to write short original essays and to develop their powers of analysis.
The questions provided for the final paper are most suitable for student essays. For the sake of improving their written expression, teachers should encourage students to write on topics that have been discussed in class, this time in the more formal writing style expected in a literary essay. At the same time, students...