PBS
The Harlem Renaissance
A reading of Walter Dean Myers' "Harlem" sets the stage for studying the literature, art, and music of the Harlem Renaissance. The lesson begins with a review of the social, political, and economic conditions of the 1920s and 1930s that...
Smithsonian Institution
Smithsonian In Your Classroom: The Music in Poetry
Take poetry off the page and put it into terms of movement, physical space and, finally, music with this series of three lessons from the Smithsonian Institution. This resource introduces students to two poetic forms that originated as...
Curated OER
1920s Variety Show
To better understand the cultural achievements of the Harlem Renaissance and become familiar with its major figures, class members examine a painting by Aaron Douglas and a poem by Langston Hughes and compare how the artists develop...
Library of Congress
The Harlem Renaissance
The Harlem Renaissance brought forth many American art forms including jazz, and the writings of Zora Neale Hurston and Langston Hughes. Using a carefully curated set of documents from the Library of Congress, pupils see the cultural...
Oklahoma City of Museum Art
Harlem Renaissance
Individuals expressed the Harlem Renaissance in diverse forms of art, ranging from poetry to photography to painting. Learners explore pieces using a carefully curated collection from the Oklahoma City Museum of Art. Included lessons ask...
Curated OER
Rhythm and Improv, Jazz and Poetry
Connect the ideas of jazz improvisation and art to writing poetry. Learners collaborate and write different lines of poetry, imitating the jazz styles of improvisation and freewriting. Take a close look at the poems "Tenebrae" by Yusef...
Pace University
The Harlem Renaissance - The Journey to Freedom: An Interdisciplinary
The Harlem Renaissance if the focus of a carefully crafted, interdisciplinary unit designed to introduce middle schoolers to the contributions key figures made to American art and culture during the period. Class members select...
Curated OER
The Harlem Renaissance
Did you know that the Harlem Renaissance was also known as the New Negro Movement? This presentation is fully of interesting facts and pictures to help your class understand the literary movement and how these changes also affected music...
Curated OER
Renaissance Music 1450 -1600
Hand it out and let them read all about the music of the Renaissance. The class will discscover basic terminology that developed during the time period, musical style, and how music was linked to the church and everyday life.
Curated OER
The South, the North and the Great Migration: Blues and Literature
Here is a complex lesson plan that interweaves the history of the Jim Crow South and the Great Migration with the study of poetry, art, and blues music from the Harlem Renaissance. The plan helps young historians develop a deep...
Curated OER
Poets Got Them Blues
Contemplate what music learners listen to and why they listen. Can they find poetry within music lyrics? Specifically hone in on blues lyrics and ruminate upon the social issues prevalent in the themes. Particular song lyrics coincide...
Curated OER
Harlem Renaissance and Toni Morrison's Jazz
Young scholars study the historical time of the Harlem Renaissance, including key events and figures. They read literature that weaves fiction and history and survey some of the references to the Harlem Renaissance in the novel, Jazz, by...
Curated OER
Visualizing Jazz Scenes From the Harlem Renaissance
Students identify themes of selected nonfiction, fiction, poetry and art to Harlem Renaissance jazz and describe the impact of jazz on African-American literature of the Harlem Renaissance
Curated OER
Harlem Renaissance
Students discover the Harlem Renaissance. In this early 20th century instructional activity, students use various primary sources including handouts, worksheets, maps, music, and poetry to examine aspects of African American culture....
Curated OER
Jazz Scenes of the Harlem Renaissance
Students identify and connect themes of selected nonfiction, fiction, poetry, and art to Harlem Renaissance jazz. They compare and contrast historical and fictionalized versions of the jazz scenes of the Harlem Renaissance. They...
Curated OER
Harlem Renaissance Research Project
High schoolers complete a group research project on the Harlem Renaissance. In this Harlem lesson, students pick from a list of topics all related to the Harlem renaissance. They create a PowerPoint presentation, topic outline, and...
Curated OER
Harlem Renaissance: Pivotal Period in the Development of Afro-American Culture
Students examine the time period of the Harlem Renaissance. In groups, they compare and contrast the type of art before and after the movement along with the state of society at the time. After reading a book on the topic of their...
Curated OER
The Education Element of the Harlem Renaissance and Its Impact on the New Negro
Students investigate African American history by researching culture. In this Harlem Renaissance lesson, students identify the teachings, music and art associated with African Americans in Harlem in the early 20th century. Students...
Curated OER
On Stage Tonight . . .
Eleventh graders explore the World Wide Web for information concerning the period known as "The Harlem Renaissance." They study the contributions made by African Americans in the areas of literature, art, and music during this period in...
Curated OER
Jazz's Beginnings
Pupils examine jazz's roots and their hybridization in New Orleans in the early 20th century. They listen to ragtime and jazz recordings, then complete worksheets imbedded in this plan.
Portland Public Schools
Teaching Tone to Teenagers
Tone is a tough topic to teach to teenagers. But never, fear, help is here in the form of a unit plan that takes advantage of their interest in music to set the stage for a series of activities that lead them to understand how setting,...
Curated OER
The Harlem Renaissance
The Harlem Renaissance inspired a group of writers, musicians, and artists whose influence is still seen today.
Curated OER
Guild Hall
Incorporate a research project into your study of Shakespeare and the Renaissance Period. Class members assume the role of an apprentice seeking membership in one of the various guilds that existed during the Renaissance period. After...
Alabama Learning Exchange
"The Inside Search" from Dust Tracks on a Road by Zora Hurston
Who is Zora Neale Hurston? Read the autobiography the best known female writer from the Harlem Renaissance. After reading the novel Dust Tracks on a Road, have your class complete this packet. There are 12 multiple-choice questions...