+
Unit Plan
Annenberg Foundation

Annenberg Learner: American Passages: Poetry of Liberation: Amiri Baraka

For Students 9th - 10th
Poet and playwright Amiri Baraka is featured in this brief biography for his radical views and contributions during the Black Arts Movement in America. See "Amiri Baraka Activities" for related resources.
+
Website
National Women's Hall of Fame

National Women's Hall of Fame: Maya Angelou

For Students 9th - 10th
Read a biography of African-American writer Maya Angelou, a woman whose career has inspired and affected millions of people.
+
Website
Academy of American Poets

Poets.org: Amiri Baraka

For Students 9th - 10th
Provides some key facts and accomplishments in the life of African American poet and writer, Amiri Baraka.
+
Website
Academy of American Poets

Poets.org: Etheridge Knight

For Students 9th - 10th
A brief biography of Black Arts poet Etheridge Knight.
+
Handout
Academy of American Poets

Poets.org: Reading Guide to Langston Hughes

For Students 9th - 10th
This guide discusses Langston Hughes's body of poetry, as well as briefly analyzing characteristics in several individual poems. The site also offers an interview with writer Afaa Weaver regarding Hughes's works, discussion questions, a...
+
Lesson Plan
Varsity Tutors

Varsity Tutors: Web English Teacher: Langston Hughes

For Teachers 9th - 10th
This resource focuses on the works of famous African-American author, Langston Hughes.
+
Lesson Plan
Varsity Tutors

Varsity Tutors: Web English Teacher: Paul Laurence Dunbar

For Teachers 9th - 10th
This Web English Teacher site compiled links to learn more about Paul Laurence Dunbar's work. Explore this informative resource to learn more about his poetry and life.
+
eBook
University of North Carolina

Documenting the American South: Memoir and Poems of Phillis Wheatley

For Students 9th - 10th
This site from the University of North Carolina provides the full text of Phillis Wheatley's poetry, and her memoirs.
+
Unit Plan
CommonLit

Common Lit: Akron at Night by Teri Ellen Cross Davis

For Students 7th - 8th
Teri Ellen Cross Davis is a poet who draws upon small, personal moments to explore large themes. Common subjects in her poetry include the experiences of women and people of color in America. This poem is from her 2016 collection Haint....
+
Handout
Black Past

Black Past: Baraka, Amiri

For Students 9th - 10th
This is a very brief encyclopedia entry about Amiri Baraka, born as Everett Leroi Jones. He is an impassioned poet and playwright who wrote about the black racial identity. A link to a website for more information is provided.
+
Handout
Black Past

Black Past: Brooks, Gwendolyn

For Students 9th - 10th
A short biographical encyclopedia entry about Gwendolyn Brooks, prize-winning black poet.
+
Handout
Black Past

Black Past: Grimke, Angelina Weld

For Students 9th - 10th
This encyclopedia article gives a brief accounting of Angelina Weld Grimke's life and her writings.
+
Handout
Black Past

Black Past: Hughes, Langston

For Students 9th - 10th
This encyclopedia article is a brief biography of Langston Hughes, the influential poet during the Harlem Renaissance.
+
Unit Plan
CommonLit

Common Lit: Walking Down Park by Nikki Giovanni

For Students 7th - 8th
Nikki Giovanni is one of the foremost authors of the Black Arts Movement and has won numerous awards. Her work ranges from covering topics on race, gender, the African American experience and social issues to children's literature and...
+
Activity
University of Illinois

University of Illinois: Modern American Poetry: On "The Weary Blues"

For Students 9th - 10th
This site features four different reviews of Langston Hughes' debut award winning volume of poems "Weary Blues". Compiled by the University of Illinois.
+
Primary
University at Buffalo

Univ. At Buffalo: Circle Association's Rita Dove Page

For Students 9th - 10th
Site from the University at Buffalo is still under construction for a mini biography and bibliography. However, site does have an interview of Rita Dove from 1997 and thirteen writings or poems by Dove. Links to other African American...
+
Website
Other

Women in History: Phillis Wheatley

For Students 3rd - 8th
This fact sheet provides dates and details about the life and work of the poet Phillis Wheatley.
+
Handout
Mocomi & Anibrain Digital Technologies

Mocomi: Maya Angelou

For Students 3rd - 8th
Read about the inspiring life story of Maya Angelou, an African American poet and author.
+
Unknown Type
My Hero Project

My Hero: Langston Hughes

For Students 3rd - 8th
This introduction to the life and writing of Langston Hughes profiles the poet who emerged with the Harlem Renaissance to earn "a place amongst the greatest poets America has ever produced."
+
Primary
Other

Poems by Phillis Wheatley

For Students 9th - 10th
A collection of poems by Phillis Wheatley available as an entire online text. Search by specific poems. With preface and illustration.
+
Website
African American Literature Book Club

African American Literature Book Club: Paul Laurence Dunbar

For Students 9th - 10th
This site focuses on Paul Laurence Dunbar including a biography that includes a poem in dialect "Negro Love Song" illustrating how well the author used this format. It also includes links to eight of his books.
+
Handout
Encyclopedia Britannica

Encyclopedia Britannica: Michael S. Harper

For Students 9th - 10th
This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Michael S. Harper, an African-American poet whose sensitive, personal verse is concerned with ancestral kinship, jazz and the blues, and the separation of the races in America.
+
Handout
Encyclopedia Britannica

Encyclopedia Britannica: George Moses Horton

For Students 9th - 10th
This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features George Moses Horton, an African American poet who wrote sentimental love poems and antislavery protests. He was one of the first professional black writers in America.
+
Handout
Encyclopedia Britannica

Encyclopedia Britannica: Margaret Walker

For Students 9th - 10th
Biographical details on Margaret Walker, an American novelist and poet who was one of the leading black woman writers of the mid-20th century.