Langston Hughes and Geography: A Poet in Time and Place

Teach how to analyse text to support conclusions through the songs "The Negro Speaks of Rivers" and "Litany"

By: Patricia Finn & Dr. Susan Key
Estimated Time: 40 - 50 Minutes
Specific Reccomendation: AP United States History

Download Lesson Plan (PDF @ 150KB)

Lesson Details

Goals/Objectives:

  • Compare/contrast point of view in two texts from The Crisis
  • Identify how the music of “The Negro Speaks of Rivers” supports the text

Common Core Standards:

  • RH.11-12.7 Integrate and evaluate multiple sources of information presented in diverse formats and media in order to address a question or solve a problem
  • RH.11-12.1 Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources, connecting insights gained from specific details to an understanding of the text as a whole.
  • W.11-12.1 Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence

This lesson includes a “Going Further” activity with Langston Hughes’s essay “The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain” and the poem “Prayer [2]” (set to music by John Musto as “Litany”).

Poets & Writers

Composers

Songs

Audio

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