KWalsh

Katie Walsh March 9, 2011 Education 448: Literacy Practices for Content Subjects Dr. Julie Coiro

**//Annotated Text Set: Poetry, Langston Hughes//**

The grade level for which the following text set is intended for is a ninth grade, English classroom. The ability level of the students within this class varies greatly. The students have different reading levels and learning styles. Thus, teaching all of the students about the poet, Langston Hughes, will prove to be difficult. The solution to the varying reading levels and learning styles will be providing a diverse set of texts to enable them to learn about the poet. Print resources such as biographies and poems will be provided. Several biographies will be provided that will range in the difficultly level. Several books of poetry will be provided that show the varying types of poems that Hughes wrote though out his life. The media resources I provide will be easy to use for all the students, regardless of their individual learning styles and reading levels, and the online interactive resources will be as well.
 * __Context for using the text set:__**


 * __Print Resources__**

1. Walker, A. (1974). //Langston hughes, american poet//. New York, NY: Thomas Y. Crowell Company. 2. Myers, E. (1970). //Langston hughes: poet of his people.// New York, NY: United Press International. 3. Hughes, L. T//he ways of white folks//. (1990). New York, NY: Random House Inc. 4. Hughes, L. //Don’t you turn back//. (1960). New York, NY: Random House Inc. 5. Hughes, L. (1995). //The collected poems of langston hughes//. New York, NY: Random House Inc. 6. Pitkethly, L. & Janows, J. (1988). //Voices and Visions.// New York, NY: The New York Center for Visual History Inc. 7. Dkadagain. (2007, January 20). //Poetry by Langston hughes: the weary blues// [video file]. Retrieved March 4, 2012 from [].
 * Citation:**
 * Text Summary:** This book is a biography of Langston Hughes that begins when Hughes is six years old, and ends when he dies in 1967. It takes poems that he wrote and weaves them into his biography. For example, a women he met named Susana was the inspiration for one of his poems. This biography talks about Susana, and incorporates the actually short poem within the text. Each page has excellent illustrations that convey what the text on the page is talking about.
 * Rationale:** I choose this biography because it is easy to read. Even lower level readers will be able to read and understand the content because of the pictures and basic sentences. I also choose it because it incorporates Hughes’ life story with his actual poems; it will help the students realize that inspiration for poetry can come from real people and experiences.
 * Use of Text:** I will ask the students to read this text in groups of four or five. This will provide them with a basic background of who Langston Hughes was a person.
 * Attachment:** This was a 33-page book, so I did not include it here.
 * Citation:**
 * Text Summary:** This book is both a biography of Langston Hughes and an account of the time period in which he was living. It describes the racism that existed in America during his lifetime and why that affected his writing. It also includes actually photographs of Hughes throughout his life.
 * Rationale:** I chose this book because it places Hughes in the historical context in which he was writing. It is important for students to understand the way that America was when he was writing his poems. It will help them realize why Hughes was so passionate about equality and peace.
 * Use of Text:** I will not ask the students to read this entire text. Rather, I would read selected passages out loud to the students and have a class discussion on the passages and pictures that go along with them. I will use this text to remind students how far we have come from Hughes’ time with racism in this country, and remind them how much work still needs to be done to combat racism.
 * Attachment:** This was a 144-page book, so I did not include it here.
 * Citation:**
 * Text Summary:** This book is a collection of short stories written by Hughes for the more advanced reader that wishes to extend his or her knowledge on the poet. The stories within this book are about blacks and whites colliding within a racist society and the tragedies that occur because of such racism.
 * Rationale:** This book is not a book of poetry; however, this book of short stories is written by the poet that we would be learning about in this unit. Also, the themes of the stories directly correlate with the themes of the poems Hughes writes that we will be reading in class.
 * Use of Text:** I will not utilize this text in class because it does not deal with the focus of the unit, which is poetry. However, for the more advanced reader I might ask them to read one of the short stories, and write a paper for extra or credit, or simply read it for their own pleasure and interest in the subject matter.
 * Attachment:** This was a 225-page book, so I did not include it here.
 * Citation:**
 * Text Summary:** This is a book filled with poems selected by Hughes. I will ask my students to read one poem in particular entitled “Dreams” by Hughes.
 * Rationale:** I choose dreams because it is an extremely short poem and is easy to read. The poem is short and simple so it will easy to comprehend by diverse learners. However, the theme of the poem is timeless so even advanced readers will appreciate reading the poem.
 * Use of Text:** I will use this poem to spark ideas within my students. After they read this poem I will ask them to write a two paragraph response to the poem in their journal. I will have them start the response in class; however, if they do not finish the response in the time allotted I will allow them to finish the response at home.
 * Attachment:** See attachment # 1 for a copy of this poem.
 * Citation:**
 * Text Summary:** This book is a collection of every poem that Langston Hughes wrote throughout his lifetime. The total number of poems is 860, and they are listed in chronological order.
 * Rationale:** This book is useful because it provides the students with access to every poem Hughes has ever written. It is a good source for them to utilize if they are extremely interested in his work.
 * Use of Text:** I will not use this text during class time; however, I will tell the students it is in the classroom and they can use it as a resource or borrow it to bring home and read on their own.
 * Attachment:** This was a 736-page book, so I did not include it here.
 * __Media Resources__**
 * Citation:**
 * Text Summary:** This video focuses on thirteen influential American Poets; however, for this unit’s purpose we will only view the section on Langston Hughes. The section includes clips of Hughes and the time period he lived in.
 * Rationale:** This clip will provide the students with a video in which others attest to Hughes’ influence and legacy. It will provide the students with more background knowledge on the racist period Hughes was writing poetry in.
 * Use of Text:** I will use this video during class time to try to stimulate the minds of my students through the motion picture. Hopefully the images, sounds, music and topics of the film will inspire the minds and hearts of my students for an intellectual conversation following the film clip.
 * Attachment:** This is an hour long video program, so I did not include it here.
 * Citation:**
 * Text Summary:** This short clip shows Hughes’ poem “The weary blues” being put to song. The images that come with the song are of singers throughout the Harlem Renaissance.
 * Rationale:** This source is important because it shows the students how poetry is closely related to song lyrics. How in fact, poetry can become a song when put to music because it already has a beat.
 * Use of Text:** I will show this clip during class time and then have a short class discussion about how poetry and song is closely related. I will use it as an inspiration for students to ultimately compose a poem of their own.
 * Attachment:** See attachment # 2 for a copy of this website page.


 * __Online Interactive Resources__**

8. N/A. (2011). //Magnetic poetry//. Retrieved March 10 from [].
 * Citation:**
 * Text Summary:** This website provides students with multiple words they can pull from the right side of the website and place on what is supposed to be a magnetic surface. The words are random and can be creatively placed amongst one another to create a poem.
 * Rationale:** This source is helpful for the students when they are asked to write a poem of their own. They can find inspiration from the words they use to form a poem on this website. It will help students that feel they are not creative enough to write a poem.
 * Use of Text:** I will ask all students to visit this website and create at least one poem with twenty words or less. They will realize that a poem is not as difficult to construct as they might think. They will then transcribe their poem into their journal and write a reflection about the poem they constructed.
 * Attachment:** See attachment # 3 for a copy of the homepage of this website.

9. Patton, S. (2011). //Langston hughes quia quiz//. Retrieved March 9, 2011 from [].
 * Citation:**
 * Text Summary:** This is a short, 10 question quiz about Langston Hughes.
 * Rationale:** This is a useful tool to use at the end of the unit to see how much the students have remembered about Hughes. It asks questions about his life and works that are simple and should be easy for any student that was attentive throughout class time.
 * Use of Text:** I will use this quiz at the end of the unit. I will give the students the website link and ask them to complete it at home and bring the results to class the next day. They are only allowed to take it once, so it will be away to show me they have been paying attention. It will also be a good review for them for the final in class quiz about Langston Hughes. It will enable them to realize what they know and what they need to study more.
 * Attachment:** See attachment # 4 for a copy of this quiz.

10. Booth, D. //Poetry goes to school: talking about poetry//. (2004). Ontario, CA: Pembroke Publishers.
 * __Instructional Resource__**
 * Citation:**
 * Text Summary:** This book helps teachers teach poetry within their classroom. It provides varies strategies for teaching students how to read and write poetry. The aspect I choose to utilize was how to talk about poetry.
 * Rationale:** This is useful for the teacher because it reminds them of the steps it takes to have your students understand the topics and themes of the poems you choose to read in class.
 * Use of Text:** This checklist is useful to teach with because it reminds you of the small steps you need to take in order to teach poetry. I will begin by dividing the class into groups of four and telling them they have to decide who will be the note taker of the group. Then I will assign each group a poem by Langston Hughes. Then, I will have them read the poem on their own silently. Then, I will have then read the poem aloud by taking turns reading. As they read I would walk around to ensure the students are on task. When everyone is finished reading the writer of the group will be asked to write down what their group members feel about the poem; everyone in the group has to contribute. Then, each group writer will report for their group. They will explain how their group felt after reading the poem.
 * Attachment:** See attachment # 5 for a copy of this instructional checklist.

I will use a majority of these texts within the classroom. I will begin the unit by providing the class with poetry journals that they will be required to write in throughout the unit. Then, I will ask the students to divide into groups of four or five where they will read aloud, together, the short biography of Hughes’ life entitled, //Langston Hughes, American Poet//. When the groups are finished reading the short biography, I will read passages of the more extensive biography of his life entitled, //Langston Hughes: Poet of his People//, out loud to the class. Following the reading of the two books, I will show the students the video clip from the movie, //Voices and Visions//. Following the movie we will have a discussion about the Harlem Renaissance and Hughes as a person. After the discussion I will ask the students to respond to what they have learned in their journals. I will give them the journal prompt: after reading about Hughes’ life and learning about the time period he lived in, write a short paragraph about what inspired you from this man and the time period he wrote during. I will begin the next class by splitting the class into groups of 4 and following the instructional resource I found regarding “Talking about Poetry.” I will use the poem “Dreams” by Langston Hughes and have the students work in groups of four. They will read the poem silently at first; then, they will select the group’s writer. After that, they will read the poem out loud together, and go around the group to discuss how each of them felt while reading the poem; the group writer will write everyone’s responses down. When all of the groups are finished reading and writing, the class will come back together and each group’s writer will report to the class how their group felt about the poem. After each group has reported the class will discuss the poem together. Following the group discussions, I will end the class with the video of Hughes’ poem “The Weary Blues” put to music. I will ask them to write a response to what they have learned today in their journals and inform them that tomorrow they will be asked to write a poem of their own. The third day of this Langston Hughes and Poetry unit, I will ask the students to write a poem of their own. I will provide them with the books with used in class filled with examples of poetry; for example, //The Collected Poems of Langston Hughes//. I will tell all of the students to visit the “Magnetic Poetry” website, and ask them to use the site to create at least one poem. I will ask them to write that poem in their journal and write and explain their individual poem. However, if the students want to create a poem without the website I will, of course, allow them to do so. The website will be used for the students that are unsure where and how to start writing a poem. At the end of the class I will tell them to complete the //Quia Quiz// about Hughes’ at home, to help them study for the text on Hughes that will be given tomorrow. The next day is the day of the quiz. We will spend the first half of the class reviewing what we have learned about the poet and then have the quiz. The quiz will be twenty questions about who he was and questions about his poems. I will then ask the students to hand in their journals with the responses from class and their poem. The poetry unit on Hughes will be over. If any student is nervous that they did not do as well on the in class quiz as they had hoped, I will tell them they can read a story from Hughes’ //The Ways of White Folks// and write a response for extra credit.
 * __Using the texts together in the classroom:__**

and independently questioning, offering, counter examples) to engage students in learning to promote student learning of collecting and sharing information, to enrich discourse in the classroom and the school discussion, listening and
 * __Learning Objectives:__**
 * RIPTS :**
 * 2. 1** Teachers know their discipline/content areas and understand how knowledge in their discipline/content area is created, organized, linked to other disciplines, and applied beyond the school setting.
 * 2.2 ** Teachers design instruction that addresses the core skills, concepts, and ideas of the disciplines and content areas to help all students meet Rhode Island’s learning standards
 * 2.3 ** Teachers select appropriate instructional materials and resources (including technological resources) based on their comprehensiveness, accuracy, and usefulness for representing particular ideas and concepts in the discipline/content areas.
 * 2.4 ** Teachers engage students in a variety of explanations and multiple representations of concepts, including analogies, metaphors, experiments, demonstrations, and illustrations, which help all students, develop conceptual understanding.
 * 4:** Teachers create instructional opportunities that reflect a respect for the diversity of learners and an understanding of how students differ in their approaches to learning.
 * 6.5:** Teachers create learning groups in which all students learn to work collaboratively
 * 8.1:** Teachers use a variety of communication strategies (e.g., listening, restating ideas,
 * 8.2: ** Teachers use a variety of modes of communication (e.g., verbal, visual, kinesthetic)
 * 8.3: **Teachers use technological advances in communication, including electronic means
 * 8.4: **Teachers emphasize oral and written communication through the instructional use of

Comments by Kristin Orabone: I would suggest to find other ways to incorporate readings into the text set other than by simply just having them read the book or a section of something. Try to think of another step the students can take to further their understanding of the topic. For example, maybe ask them to journal or write a quick paragraph about their first initial reactions to what they just read and then maybe go over each as a class or in small groups and then have the students critique each other on what they know and understand from what they just read.

Peer Review: I have to agree with Kristin about incorporating readings. Definately think about some in class, maybe even some out of class assignments that would help the students apply information from the text. But I do really like the interactive websites you used, especially the magnetic word choice one. Its definately something fun for the students to do in anticipation for writing their own poems. Good job! Nicole Dubois