Unit Plan Template

LOGISTICS

STATEMENT OF PURPOSE AND RATIONALE

· To distinguish what themes arise in Zora Neale Hurston's "Sweat" and how they are indicative of themes within the Harlem Renaissance.· To recognize how Hurston and other Harlem Renaissance writers use structure, tone and other literary devices in their writing to convey meaning. · To analyze how two or more works by artists contributing to the Harlem Renaissance are alike and different as well as what effects are achieved by different devices employed.· To exhibit deep understanding of how the use of certain literary devices contribute to a text or set that text apart by creating their own short stories, essays or poems in order to express a need, their identity, or the details of an event from their own community.

The literature and art of the Harlem Renaissance offer high school students a look at a complex and exciting time in American History as well as a look at an important literary movement within American Literature. The work of seminal writers such as Zora Neale Hurston, Alain Locke, W.E.B. Du Bois and Langston Hughes cover an array of formats, from poetry and fiction to informational and theoretical essays. A study of the convergence of these different writer’s modes and methods at the cross section of the cultural movement we now know as the Harlem Renaissance challenges students to recognize the uses of literary devices, the development of theme, and the power of rhetoric within writing. Because of the rich artistic, social and political movements happening during this time period, the Harlem Renaissance is a particularly fascinating piece of American History which has easy tie ins to history, art, music, and theater. Asking students to consider how and why artist or writers create in order to express the needs, ideas, events or identity of their community within this framework is a particularly meaningful task for students with easy links to their own self-expression. In this unit, students will not only read and analyze the works of seminal writers of the time, but will be asked to apply their knowledge of how writers use language to express themselves or the needs of their community by creating their own piece of writing. Students will work collaboratively on this project by first creating the rubric by which they will be graded and by then working in peer

Teacher: Katie ZeppGrade Level: 11th Grade English Language ArtsTitle of Unit: Self Expression and the Harlem RenaissanceLength of Unit: 7 days

critique workshops to help each other refine their individual works of art so as to meet the criteria of the rubric.

Reading Standards, Grades 11-12, Integration of Knowledge and Ideas 9- Demonstrate knowledge of eighteenth-, nineteenth-, and early-twentieth-century foundational works of American Literature, including how two or more texts from the same period treat similar themes or topics.

Reading Standards, Grades 11-12, Key Ideas and Details 2- Determine two or more themes or central ideas of a text and analyze their development over the course of the text, including how they interact and build on one another to build a complex account; provide an objective summary of the text.

Writing Standards, Grades 11-12, Production and Distribution of Writing 4- Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development organization and style are appropriate to task, purpose and audience.

Speaking and Listening Standards, Grades 11-12, Comprehension and Collaboration 1- Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one on one, in groups and teacher led) with diverse partners on grades 11-12 topics, texts and issues, building on others ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.

UNIT ESSENTIAL QUESTION(S) How do writers develop a theme in a story? What tools would you use to develop a theme in your own piece of art? How do the themes that you see in "Sweat” fit into the context of the Harlem

Renaissance? How do artists that you like (musicians, painters, writers, photographers) convey their

themes or meanings in different ways? How can you use language to express the needs of your community? Your identity? A

problem or situation? What does a scholarly discussion sound like? How can we talk about potentially sensitive

subjects in a thoughtful, respectful way?

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UNIT OVERVIEW

Plan for Integration (Mind Map or Graphic Organizer)

Prerequisite Teacher Content Knowledge (May be bullet points; include essential vocabulary) Time line of events leading up to the Harlem Renaissance, including dates, events and

publications that officially sparked the movement (1895, WWI, the great move to the city by African Americans and other internationals, Alain Locke’s “The New Negro.” Etc)

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Basic information on writers, musicians, artists, and other prominent figures at the time W.E.B Du Bois-1868-1963 wrote "The Souls of Black Folk" Alain Locke- 1886- 1954 The New Negro Langston Hughes 1902 -1967, poet Zora Neale Hurston- 1891-1960, folklorist, born Florida - Anthropology Countee Cullen-1903- 1946 poet Claude McKay- 1889- 1948 Jamaican poet/writer Jean Toomer- 1894-1967 American Poet James Weldon Johnson- 1871- 1938 NAACP leadership, writer intellect Marcus Garvey- 1887-1940 UNIA against ideas of Locke and DuBois/ Jamaican Billie Holliday - Singer 1915-1959- American Jazz singer Romare Bearden- 1911- 1988 painter and writer cartoons and oil painting Duke Ellington- jazz musician and composer 1899- 1974 "Take the A train" Terms such as “New Negro,” racial consciousness, Post-Reconstruction Critical analysis of texts being read: Zora Neale Hurston’s “Sweat,” Langston Hughes’

“A Dream Deferred,” Alain Locke’s “The New Negro” so as to contribute to and challenge students during discussion.

"Sweat"- Themes present: Domestic abuse, the working life of the Negro, karma or fate. Characters: Sykes (abusive husband) Delia (abused wife, worker, discoverer of independence). Important symbols - clothing, snakes, chinaberry tree

CONSIDERATIONS ABOUT THE LEARNERS

Prior Knowledge

Students will have come to the 11th grade with knowledge of the legacy of slavery and African American history in the United States. Formal Pre-assessment will not be necessary, but a review/formative assessment in the form of a White Board splash, will be conducted after lesson one which introduces the Harlem Renaissance and places the movement within the context of American history. Students will be reading, analyzing and writing about the texts they read and so will need to be comfortable reading fiction as well as informational texts in order to discover meaning and theme. Students should be familiar with literary terms such as metaphor, tone, point of view, voice, etc. Students will be asked to stretch themselves and do some creating in which they apply many of the same techniques that they discover in the texts read. While this will require some creativity, it will be outlined well enough so that students with varying levels of comfort with creativity can succeed.

Additionally, the subject matter in this unit often focuses around race and the experiences of African Americans in American society. Students will need to understand that we are approaching this subject in an effort to openly explore our history as Americans as well as the contributions that have been made to American Literature during this fascinating movement. All student’s will need to be aware that our conversations will be respectful, scholarly, inquisitive and conducted with an air of open mindedness and the genuine search for greater understanding.

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Unique Learner Characteristics (accommodation and differentiation)

Struggling Learner/Reader English Language Learner Advanced Learner

CONSIDERATIONS ABOUT THE LEARNING ENVIRONMENT

Physical Space

For the lessons that comprise this unit, the space within the classroom will be adequate. Students will need to rearrange desks for some of the lessons so as to create groups. For the most part, any seating arrangement will work (at some points, students will need to face all in the same direction to watch short video clips). A white board or large writing surface will be necessary for some of the activities.

Temporal Resources This unit will be covered in 7 lessons, during 7 days of 90 minute classroom periods.

Learning Materials

Each student will need access to a copy of Zora Neale Hurston’s short story “Sweat,” Langston Hughes’ “A Dream Deferred,” and Alain Locke’s essay “The New Negro.” All of these are short enough to make copies for the students, or are available online. Video clips of Billie Holliday, recordings of the music of Duke Ellington and other videos can all be accessed online. Teacher will need to have rubric outlines for students in order for them to create their own rubrics for the final assessment. Teacher will also need to create note-taking outline for first lesson on the Harlem Renaissance and guiding question handouts (or at least the questions themselves for discussion) for each of the texts being read.

Personnel Resources

None Necessary, though a visit from a local published writer or other artist would be nice.

Technological Resources

Teacher will need access to computer with Internet and projecting capabilities with sound (in order to play videos and music from the Harlem Renaissance). Video of Billie Holiday is to be used as a hook, introducing students to themes and emotion of the Harlem Renaissance, and can be found on YouTube here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4ZyuULy9zs

Other potential resources: Duke Ellington video:

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHRbEhLj540The Negro Speaks of Rivers: Langston Hughes http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5mFp40WJbsA

UNIT OVERVIEW AND TIMELINEDAY 1 DAY 2 DAY 3 DAY 4 DAY 5

Specific expectations (goals/objectives)

Establishing Context-

Students will be able to name

some of the key events leading up to the HR,

major contributors to the movement, and write about the big picture

idea of what the HR was.

Alain Locke: “The New Negro”-

Students will be able to distinguish

main ideas, arguments, and themes in “The New Negro,”

analyzing use of language and

rhetoric and the effect on the

reader.

Hurston, Hughes and

other HR writers-

Students will be able to

explain how different

writers convey similar

messages

“Sweat”- Students will

identify themes in “Sweat” as

well as how the author uses tone,

imagery and other literary

devices to convey meaning.

Wrap up discussion and

Rubric Creation-Students will be able to create a rubric which

identifies what a successful piece

of written or performed art for the final project will look like.

Teaching & Learning Strategies (in brief)

Hook: Billie Holliday video:

Strange Fruit.

Guided note taking

session on HR.

Students will work in pairs on the internet to conduct

some additional

research and then

summarize by writing a post to the

class blog to someone who has

Students will read, in

groups, "The New Negro" and answer questions

regarding the text, focusing specifically

on their assigned

section. Using the jigsaw method,

students will then teach

each other the different

sections of the text,

summarizing main points, arguments,

etc. Then we

Hook: Duke Ellington and

other Jazz music videos. As a class, we

will read selected

poems from the Harlem Renaissance (Langston Hughes in particular)

and compare them to what

we have learned about the HR so far. We will talk

about the final project

so that students can

begin to think

Students will come to class prepared to discuss the

ways in which Hurston's work fits within the framework of the Harlem

Renaissance. We will

debrief by using a Confer,

Compare, Clarify activity

and then having a class

discussion (Cold Calling) about the short

story, the themes therein,

the literary devices used,

Discussion: What has made the

works we've read

effective? They were all different, but

they each achieved a goal, how?

Begin discussion

with an Everybody

Writes activity where each student

comes up with answers to the abovequestions.After we talk about

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never heard of the

Harlem Renaissance.

will hold a class

discussion(Cold

Calling) about the

text to wrap up the day.

about how they will express

themselves. In comparing

the informational

text, the poetry and

then introducing students to the short

story "Sweat" which they

will read for homework,

we will cover some of the

different ways that

artists expressed

themselves, tools used. As an exit ticket, students will write an idea for the final project on note card.

the effectiveness of Hurston's writing, etc.

We will highlight the differences in

the ways Hurston,

Hughes, Locke and other writers

expressed themselves. Exit ticket:

another final project themes

or idea, or a more in depth explanation of the previous day's idea.

how these writers

captured the spirit of

their community

or expressed their need,

we will write a rubric

together that will be

used to grade each student’s own work

of self expression.

Formative or Summative Assessment type-strategy-tool

Blog Post (informal participation in lecture activities)

Completion of guided reading

handout, teacher listening in as

students work and converse in the jigsaw activity

Discussions, Exit Ticket- idea for final

project

Discussion, Cold Calling, Exit

Ticket

Rubric creation, participation,

everybody writes

Learner Considerations

Teacher will have completed notes page on

hand for students who

need it.

Students working in groups and

jigsawing will be able to support

each other. Teacher will visit groups and look

In class reading,

providing assistance as

necessary

Special sessions during Exit ticket

for students struggling to form ideas

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for signs of struggle or boredom, providing

assistance and additional thought

provoking questions about the text when

necessaryEnvironmental Considerations

Students will need to work

together in pairs at computers.

Desks arranged in groups

Desks in circle or somehow facing each

other for reading and discussion

Desks in circle or somehow facing

each other for discussion

Desks in circle for discussion

Material Resources

Notes handout prepared, video

of Billie Holliday,

resources list for internet

search.

Guided reading handout, copies of “The New Negro”

Video- Poems copied for students, “Sweat,”

guided reading handout for “Sweat”-

sample final project

Confer, Compare, Clarify

handout-“Sweat”

Blank rubricOverhead

projector or document cam to

display ideas

Other Resources

Internet/ computers

UNIT OVERVIEW AND TIMELINEDAY 6 DAY 7

Specific expectations (goals/objectives)

Peer workshops-Working together, students will peer

evaluate final project drafts,

advising each other (based on the

rubric) on how to revise and finish

final projects.

Presentation- Students will demonstrate

understanding of what it takes to convey meaning in art by creating their own

work of art and presenting or

performing it to the class. Student will

also be able to judge the work of their

peers, based upon the

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previously created rubric.

Teaching & Learning Strategies (in brief)

Students will have created a draft

version of their final project (poem, short story, essay or other

mode of self-expression in which they express their identity, the needs or spirit of their community, etc.

Working in group’s students will

compare each others work to the rubric

providing suggestions.

Students will present their final projects to the class and be given time to explain their

project as well as their community or identity

or whatever theme inspired it. Each

student will assign a preliminary grade to each other student,

based upon the rubric. Teacher will also grade based upon

rubric and compare all grades for a final

grade.

Formative or Summative Assessment type-strategy-tool

Teacher observations

Rubrics, Final Project

Learner Considerations

Students will be paired based on

choice for the first round. Teacher will

monitor for necessary changes

in grouping and then pair students in

different groups based on need

Environmental Considerations

Classroom rearrangement to facilitate group

work

None

Material Resources

Copies of final rubric for students

Blank Rubrics

Other Resources

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Lesson Plan 1:

Grade/Class: 11th Grade Subject Area: English Language ArtsUnit Topic: Zora Neale Hurston and the Harlem RenaissanceDay 1: The Context of the Harlem Renaissance

Desired Learning Outcomes: Students will identify contextual information regarding the Harlem Renaissance

including historical events that led to the movement, major contributors to the art, literature and music of the time and achievements/goals of the movement.

Students will, performing a quick search of multiple sources of information, write a summary of the movement known as the Harlem Renaissance.

Essential Questions from Learning Objectives: What causes a movement, a revolution or for a community to band together for change? How would you explain the Harlem Renaissance to someone who had never heard of it

before?

Common Core Standards: Writing Standards, Production and Distribution of Writing, Grades 11-12. 7: Conduct

short as well as more sustained research projects to answer a question (including a self-generated question) or solve a problem, broaden or narrow the inquiry when appropriate: synthesize multiple sources on the subject, demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation.

Learner Prior Knowledge: Students will need to be able to recall some of the basic knowledge of the history of

African Americans and slavery in the United States in order to participate in discussion during note taking. Students will need to be able to take notes effectively, provided with minimal guidance. Students will need basic background knowledge necessary for using a computer and the internet to conduct research, and to write and post successfully on the class blog.

Materials and Resources Needed: Notes Handout Guide Web Research lists along with instructions on Blog Post assignment (class blog will need

to have already been set up). Access to1 computer for every 2 students Video of Bille Holliday – accessible on YouTube here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4ZyuULy9zs

Teaching Strategies:

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Anticipatory Strategies: (15 minutes) Hook- Students will watch Billie Holliday perform “Strange Fruit” (video on YouTube). In a brief conversation to follow, students will be asked the following questions:

What emotions is Holliday conveying in this video (sadness, anger, rage) and how can you tell?

What is this song about?

Developmental Strategies: (30 minutes) Begin note taking session on the HarlemRenaissance. Students will be instructed to take notes on the provided handout.

Figure, Work or Event

Notes and Key Ideas to Remember

History/Social Context

Civil War and Emancipation Proclamation

Jim Crow

WWI

15th Regiment

Great Depression

Contributing Events

Great Migration

Rise of Klu Klux Klan

Boll weevil

Opportunity

Rise of African American Scholars & Writers

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Major Players

W.E.B Dubois

Alain Locke

James Weldon

Johnson

Marcus

Garvey

Langston

Hughes

Zora Neale

Hurston

Claude

McKay

Others

Important Works

Literature

Music

Dance

Visual Art

Critical

Theory

Big Concepts

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“New

Negro”

High

Art/Folk

Art

Social

Equality

Back to

Africa

HR Impact

Concluding Strategies: (45 minutes) Students will work in pairs, using a list of suggested sources to do light research on the Harlem Renaissance. Students will look at an issue of “The Crisis” on Google Books and use wikipedia/other listed resources to write a post to someone who has never heard of the Harlem Renaissance before. Students must answer the following questions in their note: What was the Harlem Renaissance? Why did it take place? Students will post this note to the class blog. The teacher will wrap up the day in the last 5 minutes of class, asking for a group to volunteer to read their summary of the Harlem Renaissance. Teacher will encourage students to spend some time reading each others blog posts, if they are able to, at home.

Assessment:Assessment will come in the form of informal teacher assessment during note taking

session and discussion as well as more formal and formative assessment in the form of the Blog Post. Working in groups, students will compose a note to someone unfamiliar with the Harlem Renaissance and will be responsible for pulling together information from notes and independent research to summarize the movement. Students will be given a handout with directions for the assignment. Pairs will be given feedback and a participation grade.

Accommodations/Modifications to strategies or assessments:Since most of the work for this lesson will be done in pairs, students will have the support

of peers to complete the work. This will allow for struggling readers and English language learners to work in collaboration with other students. The teacher will either assign partners or allow students to choose partners for themselves (based on the groups of students). The teacher will be involved in each group, walking around the class during research time to make sure that

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students are not only completing the assignment, but that both in the group are participating equally. The teacher will pause to assist when groups appear to be in need or ask for clarification. During the note taking session, the teacher will move at a moderate discussion level pace and will not explicitly state what students are to take notes on. A guided note taking page will assist struggling note takers in organizing and taking relevant notes. Students who are unable to keep up with the pace of the discussion will be allowed to take a copy of a completed notes page home to copy onto their own notes page.

Wrap Up and Reflection by the Students:In the final exercise, the students will be asked to synthesize the information learned in

the note taking and discussion session with information gathered independently through an internet search. Students will have to write a brief post for the class blog, summarizing the movement we now call the Harlem Renaissance. Students will be writing as if they were telling someone about a literary, cultural, and historical moment that the recipient had never heard of before. In so doing, the students will be able to approach the texts that will come later in the unit with a deeper understanding of the context in which they were created. Students will also have access to all of the other HR summaries on the Blog page and will thus be able to see how their peers are thinking about the HR.

Reflection (Teacher)

N/A

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Lesson Plan 2:Grade/Class: 11th Grade Subject Area: English Language ArtsUnit Topic: Zora Neale Hurston and The Harlem RenaissanceDay 2: Alain Locke and “The New Negro”

Desired Learning Outcomes: Students will analyze Alain Locke’s essay “The New Negro” and be able to explain how

the author’s use of language and rhetoric inform and persuade a reader, as well as to name the author’s purpose and main ideas.

Students will closely analyze one section of the “The New Negro” and be able to teach their peers about how the author conveys main ideas in that particular section, how that section fits into the argument or purpose of the larger text and to describe any short comings or weaknesses in the exposition.

Essential Questions from Learning Objectives: What makes something powerful or moving? Think about a piece of art, music or writing

that moves you, what does that artist do that affects you?

Common Core Standards: Reading Standards for Informational Texts, Grades 11-12, Craft and Structure 5. Analyze

and evaluate the effectiveness of the structure an author uses in his or her exposition or argument, including whether the structure makes points clear, convincing and engaging.

Reading Standards for Informational Texts, Grades 11-12, Craft and Structure 6. Determine an author’s point of view or purpose in a text in which the rhetoric is particularly effective, analyzing how style and content contribute to the power, persuasiveness or beauty of the text.

Learner Prior Knowledge: Students will need to understand how the jigsaw activity works- teacher will either need

to explain in depth as sections and groups are assigned or it will have to be a strategy students are intimately familiar with.

Because student’s will have already learned about the context in which this text was written, they will have some idea about the goals of the Harlem Renaissance, the cultural shift taking place and the way the text under scrutiny fits into the context. Students will need this background knowledge in order to place certain statements in context and/or understand the use of certain phrases (ie. Locke’s statement that the Negro has been more of a “formula than a human being.” )

Materials and Resources Needed: Copies of Alain Locke’s “The New Negro” with clearly designated sections (numbered) Accompanying questions guides to organize thoughts for Jigsaw Numbered note cards to assign students to sections and groups for jigsaw

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3-2-1 Quick Write note card

Teaching Strategies:

Anticipatory Strategies: (10 minutes) Quick discussion around EQ of the day. Teacher will ask students to think about pieces of art, music, or even just a favorite artist whose work moves them. In a quick discussion, students will have a moment to connect what makes the artists they like powerful to them. Teacher may even write some suggestions, key phrases or ideas on the board as students discuss.

Developmental Strategies: 60 minutes Teacher will remind students of the jigsaw process. Students will get into groups and read Alain Locke’s “The New Negro.” Each group will then answer the set of questions for their assigned section. After this is done, students will use their 2nd assignment to change into groups composed of one representative for each section of the text. Students will each recap their sections for the new group and then discuss the text as a whole within the 2nd group.

Questions:

What is Locke’s main argument or point from your section? What facts or ideas did he use to support that point? How does your section describe or contribute to a definition of a “New Negro?” What ideas from your section are puzzling or not explained well? What is powerful about Locke’s way of writing?

Concluding Strategies: 20 minutes Discussion and 3-2-1 Quick Write. Class will wrap up with a whole group discussion in which students are asked to share some of their findings from the jigsaw. As a final strategy, students will complete the Quick Write Exit Ticket.

Assessment:In this section, assessment will come from each individual’s completion of the question

sheets that accompany the essay. Each group will work together, but each individual will turn in a worksheet. Additionally, each student will complete an Exit Ticket which assesses which is a formative assessment piece that allows the teacher to see what each student gleaned from the exercise and what students are sill struggling with or not understanding.

Accommodations/Modifications to strategies or assessments:Because students will be working in groups, there will be support for all students. Each

student will be required to become an expert on his/her chapter, but will have the support of their group 1 peers in getting there. The teacher will also be circulating throughout the room during the jigsaw activity and prompting groups with more questions or asking them to clarify their statements (why?) while providing guidance and support where necessary.

Wrap and Reflection by the Students:Students will be asked to reflect on the reading and their analysis of “The New Negro” by

completing a 3-2-1 Quick Write as an Exit ticket. Following a discussion in which each section

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will be synthesized into the text as a whole and students will pull together the main ideas, arguments, strengths and weaknesses of the text, students will be asked to reflect on the ways in which this particular text fit within the Harlem Renaissance. The Exit Ticket will give students the summarize and reflect:

Write 3 ways in which “The New Negro” either surprised, delighted or angered you.

Write 2 ways in which “The New Negro” changes your understanding of the Harlem Renaissance.

Write one question you still have about the text or one dilemma/problem you found within it.

Reflection (Teacher)

N/A

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Lesson Plan 3:Grade/Class: 11th GradeSubject Area: English Language ArtsUnit Topic: Zora Neale Hurston and the Harlem RenaissanceDay 3: Hurston, Hughes and other HR Writers

Desired Learning Outcomes: Students will be able to explain how different writers convey similar themes or

messages

Essential Questions from Learning Objectives: How do different writers convey similar themes? What makes a writer’s style unique

or particularly compelling?

Common Core Standards: Reading Standards for Literature 6-12. Integration of Knowledge and Ideas, 9.

Demonstrate knowledge of eighteenth- nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century foundational works of American literature, including how two or more texts from the same period treat similar themes or topics.

Learner Prior Knowledge: For this lesson’s discussion to be successful, students will need to have attended the

other two days of the unit and have some context as well as the previously read informational text, “The New Negro,” to make comparisons and pick out themes and ideas.

Materials and Resources Needed: Students will need copies of the Langston Hughes, Claude McKay, Paul Lawrence

Dunbar and other poets we will read during class, as well as a copy of “Sweat” and the accompanying reading guide.

Teacher will need to have the videos (Duke Ellington, etc) queued and ready to play Final project handout*

Teaching Strategies:

Anticipatory Strategies: 15 minutes As an introduction to this lesson, the teacher will play a video of Duke Elliington’s “Take the ‘A’ Train.” And a quick video of dancers at the Cotton Club. This will prompt a discussion on emotion and the ways that we express it and convey meaning or themes in often very different ways. Because the Harlem Renaissance was a movement of dance, music, and art in addition to literature, this will help students to think outside of the box when brainstorming for their final project for the unit (which will be introduced in class).

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Developmental Strategies: 40 minutes During class, students and teacher will all sit in one large circle or square and read a series of poems selected from the Harlem Renaissance. After each poem, students will lead a discussion in which they analyze the work read, picking out images, metaphors, themes, and the literary devices used to create effect or to convey the themes. As we progress through the poems, we will compare them to each of the ones read before as well as to Alain Locke’s “The New Negro” and the videos we have watched in class thus far.

Poems to read: Langston Hughes: “ A Dream Defferred,” “The Negro Speaks of Rivers” Claude McKay: “Harlem Shadows” Paul Lawrence Dunbar: “We Wear The Mask”

Concluding Strategies: 35 minutes In the remaining 35 minutes of class, students will be given the assignment to read “Sweat” at home and complete the provided reading guide, coming to class the next day ready for discussion. Students will also be given the assignment for the final project and the teacher will not only go over the assignment in detail, but give students the chance to ask questions. As a way to get students to start thinking seriously about the final project, each student will turn in an Exit Ticket with at least one idea for a final project (be it theme or mode of delivery, or both!).

Reading Guide Questions for “Sweat”

In what person does Hurston write “Sweat?” How does this affect the story? Where does this story take place and how does Hurston clue you in as to the socio

economic status, beliefs, and culture of those in the community? What themes do you pick out in “Sweat?” How do the following contribute to the story as symbols: snakes, the bull whip, the

sun, China Berry Tree, baskets of laundry. How does Hurston’s use of dialect contribute the the story? What comments or ideas do you have about the character’s names? Describe how Delia’s interactions with Sykes change throughout the story. Pick out your favorite passage from “Sweat.” Be ready to talk about how it

contributes to the story and why it struck you. What is the significance of the title? Think about the larger context of the Harlem

Renaissance. Why do you think Sykes is really upset about the work that Delia does? How does the conversation that the village men have on Joes Clarke’s porch

contribute the story? Why did Hurston include that part? What do you think about the fact that it was Sykes own doing that caused his

demise? What does this add to the story?

Assessment:Assessment in this class will be formative and happen mostly in the form of participation

in discussion and reading. Teacher will use Cold Call to ensure that all students are participating and thinking deeply about the readings and their connections to previous material. Exit Ticket assessment will be used to get students thinking about the final project.

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Accommodations/Modifications to strategies or assessments:In class reading, providing assistance as necessary.

Wrap and Reflection by the Students:Students will be asked to spend some time thinking about how all of the readings and

activities reviewed during the unit up to this point might inform their own final project for the course. With an Exit Ticket exercise, students will be asked to brainstorm about how they would like to approach the final project with either a potential theme they would like to convey or a mode in which to do so (see final project outline for details).

Reflection (Teacher) N/A

*Final Project Handout

The final project for our unit on the Harlem Renaissance will be a creative one. In the medium of your choice (visual art such as a collage, painting, series of photographs, sculpture; performance art such as dance, song, or drama acted out; written art such as a short story or poem) you will express yourself in much the same way the artists of the Harlem Renaissance expressed themselves. Think about the themes we havce discovered and the events that pushed the artists of the Harlem Renaissance to creation. What in your own community or your personal life begs to be expressed? This can be as simple as describing your identity or as complex as highlighting a need or struggle in your community. Be creative! We will create a rubric together that outlines the expectations of this project, but the following are things you can and should do now:

1. Think about what mode of expression you would like to choose. Remember that you will be presenting this to the class. If you decide to write a song, we want to hear it. If you paint a picture, we want to see it. If you write a short story, we want to hear the synopsis and the reasons you wrote what you did and how the themes tie into the assignment.

2. All ideas must be approved by me. You will have time to develop the project and even have input from your peers, but only after I approve your project.

3. Think about what made the artists of the Harlem Renaissance so successful. What elements must your project have in order to convey the message you need to convey?

4. You may work individually or in a small group. Please let me know the details of the project before you begin. If you work in a group and create only one final product, all members of the group will have to present and write a final reflection about the project and the dynamics of working as a group.

5. Again, be creative!!! All non written projects must be accompanied by a written statement in which you explain how your piece of art or performed product meets the requirements of the assignment.

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Lesson Plan 4:Grade/Class: 11th GradeSubject Area: English Language ArtsUnit Topic: Zora Neale Hurston and the Harlem RenaissanceDay4: “Sweat”

Desired Learning Outcomes: Students will identify and discuss themes in “Sweat” including how the author uses tone,

builds characters, uses imagery and symbols and other literary devices to create a theme or message

Students will connect the themes they find in “Sweat” to the larger context of the Harlem Renaissance and compare this particular work to the poetry and informational texts read so far.

Essential Questions from Learning Objectives: How do the themes, imagery, emotions, etc that you saw in reading “Sweat” remind you

of what you have learned about the themes and goals within the Harlem Renaissance as a whole?

Common Core Standards: Reading Standards for Literature, Grades 11-12, Craft and Structure. 5. Analyze how an

author’s choices concerning how to structure specific parts of a text (e.g., the choice of where to begin or end a story, the choice to provide a comedic or tragic resolution) contribute to it’s overall structure and meaning as well as it’s aesthetic impact.

Speaking and Listening Standards 6-12. Comprehension and Collaboration, 1.a. Come to discussions prepared, having read and researched material under study; explicitly draw on that preparation by referring to evidence from texts and other research on the topic or issue to stimulate a thoughtful well reasoned exchange of ideas.

Learner Prior Knowledge: Students will need to have read “Sweat” by Zora Neale Hurston as homework and have

completed the reading guide in preparation for discussion

Materials and Resources Needed: Confer Compare Clarify activity guidelines Copies of ‘Sweat”

Teaching Strategies:

Anticipatory Strategies: 15 minutes Students will unpack the previous night’s reading by participating in a Confer, Compare, Clarify activity based on “Sweat.”

Students will receive a slip of paper with the following prompts for the Confer, Compare, Clarify actvivity:

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Confer: Recap for your partner the main themes and events in “Sweat.” Be sure to discuss what you found moving, confusing, or interesting about the text and how you think it fits into the larger context of the Harlem Renaissance.

Compare: Using your guided reading handout, talk about the answers to some of the most difficult questions or parts of the text. What different answers did you come up with. Discuss how you got to those answers.

Clarify: Do you see any major differences in your answers to the guided reading handout? What questions or discussion points can your group bring to the larger discussion.?

Developmental Strategies: 55 minutes After the Confer, Compare, Clarify activity students will come back together as a class and rearrange desks for discussion. Students will use their reading guides that they completed while reading “Sweat” as well as the information from the Confer, Compare, Clarify activity to lead a discussion on the themes found in “Sweat.” The discussion will continue much like the previous day’s discussion and students will be expected to situate “Sweat” within the context of the Harlem Renaissance, including how they believe or see that it fits and or does not, what devices Hurston uses to convey meaning or themes, how she develops themes, and what her writing does to set “Sweat” apart from the poetry and informational texts we have already read.

Concluding Strategies: 20 minutes As a wrap up to the class, students will be asked to turn in another Exit Ticket building upon the idea they previously presented for their final project. Students who choose a different route will need to spend more time developing the project. In so doing, students will begin to seriously think about how to complete the project and perhaps even begin to experiment with how it will take shape.

Assessment:Assessment in this class will come in the form of completion of the Confer, Compare,

Clarify activity worksheet as well as the reading guide completed independently as homework. Students will also be expected to participate in discussion and come to class with contributions to make to the conversation. The teacher will moderate and prompt, but the discussion will take place amongst the students and thus formative assessment will be taking place as the teacher listens and takes notes.

Accommodations/Modifications to strategies or assessments:For students struggling to come up with or develop ideas for the final project, during the

Exit Ticket exercise students can instead opt to have a brief teacher conference in order to work on some ideas and strategies

Wrap and Reflection by the Students:Students will be asked to pull together many ideas during the discussion exercise. In the

last few minutes of discussion, the teacher will ask for student summaries and cover any important themes or ideas that were not brought up in discussion. Students will have the last 20

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minutes of class to continue brainstorming ideas for their final project and to expand on one idea proposing the format and theme to be presented in the form of another Exit Ticket.

Reflection (Teacher) N/A

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Lesson Plan 5:Grade/Class: 11th GradeSubject Area: English Language ArtsUnit Topic: Zora Neale Hurston and The Harlem RenaissanceDay 5: Establishing Criteria/ Rubric Creation

Desired Learning Outcomes: Students will collaborate to write a set of expectations for what a successful piece of

written or performed art for the final project will look. Students will create a class rubric by which their own final projects will be evaluated.

Essential Questions from Learning Objectives: What will a successful final project (which expresses either a need or identity of a

community or an individual or captures the spirit of a group or movement) look like?

Common Core Standards: Speaking and Listening Standards, Grades 11-12, Comprehension and Collaboration 1.

Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, teacher-led) with diverse partners on grades 11-12 topics, texts and issues, building on others ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.

Learner Prior Knowledge: The learners will need to have the context that was provided in the lessons preceding this

one. Without understanding the historical context of the HR, having read the varying texts that were examined as a part of the unit or participated in the discussion, a student would have a hard time coming up with any substantiated or meaningful contribution to the standards used to create the rubric.

Materials and Resources Needed: Blank rubric* Overhead projector or document cam to display ideas from rubric creation

Teaching Strategies:

Anticipatory Strategies: 20 minutes This lesson will begin with an Everybody Writes in which students are asked to respond to the essential question as well as to answer this question: What has made the work’s we’ve read effective. Students will be told to take their time on this as they must be ready to start discussion about the final project with the ideas they jot down.

Developmental Strategies: 55 minutes The bulk of this lesson will be a discussion in which students pull together all of the things they have learned in the Harlem Renaissance unit in order to understand the different ways in which artists convey meaning (particularly writers) and to understand how an underlying goal or idea can move a collective community to action and to expression through art. The students will conclude the discussion by working in conjunction with

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the teacher to to create the set of criteria by which their final project will be judged (the rubric). The teacher will work with students as a sort of classroom scribe and questioner, prompting students to support their suggestions and keeping track of rubric ideas as the develop and change.

Concluding Strategies: 15 minutes The concluding strategies for this lesson consist of a brief question and answer/information session about the final project. This will allow for students to ask any remaining questions about the project. Those students struggling with the project can schedule appointments with the teacher for assistance.

Assessment:Formative Assessment will be taking place as students discuss and participate in the

rubric creation activity. The Everybody Writes activity will also be used as an assessment piece to see how students are drawing lines between the authors and artists they have studied and the techniques and tools those artists use to achieve their effects.

Accommodations/Modifications to strategies or assessments:N/A

Wrap and Reflection by the Students:Really this whole lesson is a wrap up and reflection lesson, asking students to synthesize

the various aspects of the art of expression that they have learned about through studying the artists of the Harlem Renaissance and to define how they might successfully utilize many of the same tools to create a piece of art or writing of their own. With the last 15 minutes of class dedicated to clearing up any last minute questions or struggles before students are asked to come to the next class with a draft or extensive outline of their project, students are given a chance to self check their progress and get extra help if necessary.

Reflection (Teacher) NA

Rubric*

*Ratings*Criteria for project

Excellent Good Fair Poor

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**The final two lessons for this unit are outside of the scope of this project and will not be given full lesson plans. The final two days within this unit are peer workshop and presentation days. With only the basic structure provided by the teacher, the students will work together to critique each others work and provide feedback on day 6. On the final day of the unit, students would present their final projects to the class. Students would use the rubrics they created to grade each other and reflect on how each different project expressed it’s theme. In order to see how the lesson will conclude, I have added these two lessons on the time line, but they will not be explained in further detail.

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References:

Primary Texts

Dunbar, P.L. (1913) “We Wear the Mask.” Retrieved from http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/173467

Hughes, L. (1951) “A Dream Deferred.” In X.J Kennedy, D. Gioia (Eds.), Backpack Literature (pp 524). New York, NY: Pearson.

Hughes, L. (1921) “The Negro Speaks of Rivers.” In X.J Kennedy, D. Gioia (Eds.), Backpack Literature (pp 523). New York, NY: Pearson.

Hurston, Z. (1926) “Sweat.” In X.J Kennedy, D. Gioia (Eds.), Backpack Literature (pp 237-248). New York, NY: Pearson.

Locke. A. (1925) “The New Negro.” In A. Locke (Ed.), The New Negro: Voices of the Harlem Renaissance. (pp. 3-16). New York, NY: Touchstone.

McKay, C. (1922) “Harlem Shadows.” Retrieved from: http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/173959

Videos

Billie Holliday Video (n.d). Retrieved from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4ZyuULy9zs

Duke Ellington Video (n.d). Retrieved from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHRbEhLj540

Information

Himmele, P. & Himmele, W. (2011). Total Participation Techniques. Alexandria, VA: ASCD Press

Huggins, N. (1971). Harlem Renaissance. New York, NY: Oxford University Press

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