Objectives:
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1. Students will be able to briefly explain what the Afro-Cuban poetry movement, Négritude and Harlem Renaissance are as well as why and how they came about.
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2. Students will be able to identify common aspects of the poetry within especially the Afro-Cuban movement including el choteo and the theme of discrimination.
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3. Students will be able to visualize the difficult work of cutting sugar cane.
Activities:
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1. Listen to a brief explanation of the poetry movements.
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2. Listen to and read along silently with a portion of the poem “Notes on a Return to the Native Land” and the poem “Ca–a.” Listen to an introduction to the movie.
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3. Watch a portion of the movie “Sugar Cane Alley.”
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4. Discuss the term el choteo in reference to the movie and the process of cutting sugar cane.
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5. Listen to and read the poem “Negro Bembón.” Work with a partner to translate a portion of it into English.
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6. Share translation with rest of class and discuss poem in reference to el choteo and discrimination.
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7. Listen to and read poem “I, too.”
Homework: Write a sentence in Spanish with each of the following terms that shows you understand their meaning. Be as descriptive as possible.
El choteo, ca–averal, negro bembón, poes’a afrocubana.
Materials:
Copies of 4 poems:
“Ca–a” by Nicolás Guillén
“Negro bembón” by Nicolás Guillén
“Notes on a Return to the Native Land” by Aimé Césaire
“I, too” by Langston Hughes
Video of movie “Sugar Cane Alley”
Video viewing equipment
Suggestions: This lesson has a lot of possibilities for collaboration with a French class. The French students could learn portions of the Césaire poem and teach it to the Spanish students. A History, Geography or Social Studies teacher could provide a lesson on the Caribbean nations, slavery, and sugar economy.
