Lesson 1: Who We Are and Where We Come From
In this introductory lesson, the instructor’s objective is to link the present to the past. To introduce the unit, the instructor will begin by having the students read work by Walter Dean Myers. The first work the students will be presented with is a short story entitled Sometimes a Dream Needs a Push (2007). In this story, the son of a famous basketball player is asked to join a wheelchair basketball team after becoming paralyzed in a car accident. This unit has been written for eighth graders who would have previously read Kwame Alexander’s “The Crossover” as seventh graders in my class. Leaning into those connections (basketball / famous parents / overcoming obstacles) will allow easy access to the students.
Before students start reading the story, students will be asked to write a list about their own identity. Students will be given an initial five minute period to write as many thoughts or idea down about their identity. Then, as a class, students will identify the different parts of identity as a class. After completing this, students would take an additional few minutes to jot down any other ideas they have about their own identity. Later, students would be asked to take their list and to write a 7 – 9 sentence journal about which element of their identity do they think is most important to them and why.
After completing the identity journal, students will be asked to examine the author’s life a bit more. To accomplish this, students will read two different biographies, About Walter Dean Myers and Walter Dean Myers Biography, and watching two videos about the man,Interview with Walter Dean Myers and Walter Dean Myers Discusses. For each video and reading, the students would be expected to determine three key details about the man’s life. The videos and readings for this activity can be located in the Reading List Subsection by lesson.
After building background on the author, the students would read Sometimes a Dream Needs a Push with a focus on characterization and determining how Myers develops Chris as a character by identifying different parts of Chris’ identity. As they read, students will note which moments seem important to Chris’ identity in a graphic organizer that has them include: (a) character’s actions, (b) element of identity/definition, and (c) explanation. When identifying the element of identity (i.e. basketball player), the students should consider what this element requires them to do (i.e. not only play ball, but commit to helping your team mates). The students should have at least three examples of identity in their organizer.
At the end of the story, students will be asked to identify which element they feel is most important to the character in the story in a response similar to the one they wrote about themselves. Students should have a claim, at least two supporting pieces of evidence from the text, and explaining the evidence by connecting it back to identity. Students will be encouraged to use their journals as models for this writing assignment.
Finally, students will be asked to compare the identity of Chris in the story to the author Walter Dean Myers and consider what elements Myers may have connected with. For example, Myers had a speech impediment which may have been one of the reasons that he felt he could write about Chris dealing with a disability. In the culminating assignment, students would then be asked to consider why the author felt this was the identity most important to focus on in this story.
Lesson 2: Harlem throughout the Years
Working from the present to the past, it is important to establish that Walter Dean Myers comes out of the vibrant legacy of literary and other types of artists from Harlem, New York. In doing so, it will be important to have students gain background knowledge on the history of the Harlem Renaissance movement. Students would first engage in an examination of history in a three part method.
Students will examine a piece by Walter Dean Myers entitled Harlem. In this poem, Walter Dean Myers describes how the city of Harlem developed into a mecca for African American culture. After a mini-lesson on motif, students will read and be asked to identify places color is mentioned in the poem Harlem. The students should be able to recognize the value that race and color play in the identity of Harlem. Based on this understanding, students will be asked to determine what they think the poem means.
In the second part, students will receive a mini-lesson on allusions, students will be asked to find examples of allusions in the story. They will generate a list of allusions in a group, which they will use as a source of research about the Harlem Renaissance. In groups, students will work to create a Google slide presentation representing some of the allusions made in the poem as well as generating a list of their own, as a group, of 5-10 additional important people, places, or works to the Harlem Renaissance. The presentation may include screenshots of the written work of others as long as it is cited as this isn’t intended to be an extensive research task and the screenshots will work as an introductory assignment to found poetry project later on. Complete work will be shared with the class as a model of what will be expected at the end of the unit.
In the final part of the lesson, students will be asked to consider what they have learned and to respond to the last line of the poem, “A journey on the A train that started on the banks of the Niger and has not yet ended.” Students will respond in 10-15 sentences.
Lesson 3: The Many Hats of the Reader’s Identity
Reader will consider what impact their identity has as a reader on a text. For this lesson, students will continue to examine Walter Dean Myers’ Harlem. The objective of this unit will be to consider the impact that the readers’ identity plays in understanding the work.
To begin this lesson, students should use their previous journal about identity to consider what role they think their identity as a reader may play in how they read a text. Students should be given about 10 minutes to do this task. Sentence starters could be provided as a tiered instructional tool as well as working in small groups with students for whom writing may be difficult (especially students who are still working on writing in English). Students will share their thoughts with their classmates in small groups before discussing as a class.
Once this is completed, students will re-read the poem Harlem identifying with three parts of the poem that they identify with as a reader. Once they have identified these three, they should use these three parts to demonstrate their understanding of the meaning of the poem. Students should be able to explain how each of their identifying parts relate to their understanding of the poem. Afterwards, students should look at their initial identity essay and consider which of their identities came into play in understanding the poem. Finally, students would consider how their understanding based on themselves differed on their understanding from knowing about Walter Dean Myers.
As a wrap up, students should create a second draft of their initial journal adding new thoughts and reflections they have gathered based on their experience during this lesson. Prior to the new reflections, students will have the opportunity for another student to look over their work for editing and revision errors as well as a chance to examine their work using a journal writing rubric. The final journal will be the culminating assessment in this lesson.
Lesson 4: The Work of Langston Hughes and Countee Cullen
Students will look at the poetry of two poets from the Harlem Renaissance, Langston Hughes and Countee Cullen, and examine the role identity could play in the writing of those poems. Furthermore, they will examine how their own identities as readers impact their understanding of the poem as they did in the previous lesson.
In the first day of this lesson, students will read about the life of Langston Hughes. When reading, they will gather information about his birth, early life, schooling, family, career, and what made him famous. They will read two articles and watch a video: (1) Biography.com article on Hughes, (2) The Life and Legacy of Langston Hughes from History.com, and (3)1920s Harlem: Langston Hughes. Students will be instructed to use these notes while reading Hughes work.
In the next part of the assignment, students will read a series of poems from Langston Hughes’ Montage of a Dream Deferred. My suggestions are as follows: Movies, Tell Me, Not a Movie (these first three grouped together), Dream Deferred, Numbers, Green Memory, Ballad of a Landlord, and Theme for English B. Before reading, students should first list all of Hughes identities (male, African American, poet, son, etc.). While reading, they will take notes on what the meaning of the poem is by looking for people, places and things. After reading, using their identity list and their notes, they will look for connections in the poems to Hughes’ work and determine which identity is most closely aligned with Hughes in any given poem based on both sets of notes.
On the second day, the students will do the same for Countee Cullen. They will read three articles about Countee Cullen: (1) excerpts from Poetry Foundation biography, (2) the Biography.com entry on Cullen, and excerpts from MyBlackHistory’s biography on Cullen. Using excerpts serves two purposes. The first is some of the articles are longer or may include things that students may or may not be ready for based on grade level. Also, given that the students will be doing a found poetry project, this will be in a way of an example of how you could use parts of a whole.
In the next part of the assignment, students will read a series of poems from Countee Cullen. My suggestions are as follows: Tableau, Fruit of the Flower, The Loss of Love, The Wise, For a Poet, and To Certain Critics. This part of the assignment follows the same pattern the previous part did. Before reading, students should first list all of Cullen’s identities (male, African American, poet, son, etc.). While reading, they will take notes on what the meaning of the poem is by looking for people, places and things. After reading, using their identity list and their notes, they will look for connections in the poems to Cullen’ work and determine which identity is most closely aligned with Cullen in any given poem based on both sets of notes.
If time permits, have students consider how the meaning changes when you consider the poem through a different identity. For example, how would the poem read differently if you think of one of the writers as a man or as a poet?
As a wrap up to this, students would write out a biography for one of the poets using all sources, plus additional sources if they want. They will then rewrite their response for one of the poems by their chosen poet and include elements of their biography in how they are reading the poem using the author’s identity.
Lesson 5: Marriage of Perception and Reality – Cullen & DuBois
In this lesson, students will examine the nature of truth as it relates to identity. For this assignment, students will be given multiple informational sources describing the marriage between poet Countee Cullen and Yolanda Du Bois, the daughter of W.E.B. Du Bois. Students will consider what information is included, what information isn’t included, and why the information is chosen. Once they have done this, they will be asked to take multiple sources and write their own account of the wedding between Cullen and Du Bois.
To begin the lesson, students will be asked to examine three different sources. In the first, a blog posting on Black brides, the second being a biography of Countee Cullen including information on the wedding, and finally an article on the play “Knock Me a Kiss,” covering a recreation of the events leading up to the wedding. Students should be considering the purpose of each of the informational texts being presented to them. Also, they should identify what information is included about the wedding, and what information isn’t included about the wedding. Finally, students would consider how each article helps to shape the identity of Countee Cullen.
As an assessment, students will take information from all three sources and write their own account of the wedding. This can be told as an informational or literary text including all the information they felt is relevant. Additionally, four to five sentences should be included to explain why they chose to include information regarding the breakup of Countee Cullen’s marriage to Yolanda DuBois. In this response, they will answer is it important to know all the details about Countee Cullen’s life?
Lesson 6: Celluloid Reality --- God’s Step Children
In one of the final lessons, students will examine the work of Oscar Micheaux, a prominent African American film maker during the Harlem Renaissance. Prior to watching his work, students will do the sort of pre-work that was done with similar lessons by examining more about his life. In this lesson, we will also explore the contribution of his wife, Alice B. Russell, who is not only one of the film’s stars, but the writer behind the work. These juggling identities for Micheaux (producer, husband) and Russell (writer, actress, wife) will come into play later in the lesson. Also, it might be worth noting if the students have previously identified Cullen and Hughes as queer if they’ve recognized Russell and Micheaux as straight. It would be an opportunity to consider what is considered a societal norm and how societal norms may impact identity or view of identity.
Allow students to watch the opening slide to “Murder in Harlem.” Pause on the slide and point out the producer: A. Burton Russell. Let the students figure out who the producer is and have them consider why the production credit is occurring in this manner.
Then, present students with information on the film God’s Step Children. Explain the first half of God’s Step Children is a combination of two popular films made for white audiences, Imitation of Life and These Three. Imitation of Life features the story of a young girl (and later woman) who struggles with her racial identity. These Three told the story of two women, Karen and Martha, who operate a school in which a pupil spreads a vicious rumor about one of the women carrying on with the local doctor.
Students will examine two plot summaries of the other sources, Imitation of Life and These Three. While viewing the film, God’s Step Children, students will look for occurrences where the story overlaps with one of the other two films. Summaries are provided in a subsection at the bottom of the lesson.
Then, provide students with a summer of a play called The Children’s Hour, which is the original source material for the film These Three. In The Children’s Hour, the lie is that the two women are involved in a romantic relationship. Students should consider what difference it would have made if God’s Stepchildren had maintained the original storyline. Or would there have been a difference? Why was the change made?
As an extension activity, the teacher could discuss how the idea of passing as white is unique to people of color. In terms of passing, there are also connections to the LGBTQIA+ community as some people passing (both positively and negatively) in other identities. The extent to which this is discussed would be up to the educator and the level of background knowledge students have with other communities.
As a culminating activity, students would consider how identity shapes the characters in the film, particularly Naomi. To pre-write, have students generate a list of all of Naomi’s identities. Then, have the students consider the title in terms of identity. The final journal should be about 7-9 sentences.
Lesson 7: Lost and Found – A Poetry Celebrating Identity
In the culminating activity, students will be asked to create a found poem to demonstrate their understanding of the Harlem Renaissance, identity, and the connection between the two. Students would be provided multiple examples of found poems and allowed to work in groups to find some, but not all, the pieces required for their found poem project. Students will understand that the final project will include a piece that demonstrates their understanding accompanied by words that show that their new learning.
Regarding the form of the final project, students will need to have a visual representation of their learning. This can either be a poster, a video, Google slides, or some other visual media to demonstrate all the learning that has occurred. Students would be given class time as well as encouraged to utilize their intervention block time.
After the projects are finished, students will do a learning walk where their work is on display and they will go through and examine the pieces that each made. A final written reflection will require students to reflect on what they did, what they saw others do well, and what they would do differently next time. These written reflections would be used next year with new class of eighth graders.
