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Unit Plan
CommonLit

Common Lit: "If We Must Die" by Claude Mc Kay

For Students 7th - 8th
A learning module that begins with "If We Must Die" by Claude McKay accompanied by guided reading questions, assessment questions, and discussion questions. The text can be printed as a PDF or assigned online through free teacher and...
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Unit Plan
CommonLit

Common Lit: Thank You Ma'am

For Students 7th - 8th
A learning module that begins with the short story "Thank You Ma'am" by Langston Hughes, accompanied by guided reading questions, assessment questions, and discussion questions. The text can be printed as a PDF or assigned online through...
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Unit Plan
Library of Congress

Loc: America's Story: Langston Hughes

For Students 3rd - 8th
A concise window into the world of Langston Hughes. He used his own life experiences to write poetry. Photographs help to engage the reader.
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Unit Plan
Library of Congress

Loc: America's Story: Langston Hughes

For Students 3rd - 8th
A concise window into the world of Langston Hughes. He used his own life experiences to write poetry. Photographs help to engage the reader.
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Website
University of Groningen

American History: Outlines: Outlines: Clash of Cultures

For Students 9th - 10th
Although brief, this discussion of the clash of cultures in the 1920s covers all the reasons for cultural discordance.
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Handout
Encyclopedia Britannica

Encyclopedia Britannica: Dorothy West

For Students 9th - 10th
This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Dorothy West, an American writer who explored the aspirations and conflicts of middle-class African Americans in many of her works and was one of the last surviving members of the...
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Handout
Encyclopedia Britannica

Encyclopedia Britannica: Rudolph Fisher

For Students 9th - 10th
This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Rudolph Fisher, an American short-story writer and novelist associated with the Harlem Renaissance whose fiction realistically depicted black urban life in the North, primarily Harlem.
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Handout
John F. Kennedy Center

The Kennedy Center: Arts Edge: Fats Waller

For Students 9th - 10th
This resource presents a brief biography about jazz pianist and composer Fats Waller. Also featured in this resource are a couple of audio clips of his music.
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Handout
John F. Kennedy Center

The Kennedy Center: Arts Edge: William Grant Still

For Students 9th - 10th
Read about composer William Grant Still in this resource. This brief biography highlights the career of this African American composer.
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Handout
John F. Kennedy Center

The Kennedy Center: Arts Edge: James P. Johnson

For Students 9th - 10th
Stride pianist James P. Johnson is featured in this resource with a brief biography highlighting his career. It includes an audio clip showcasing his piano playing style.
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Handout
Smithsonian Institution

Smithsonian American Art Museum: Malvin Gray Johnson

For Students 9th - 10th
As part of the Smithsonian Art Museum's database of artists, this site provides biographical information on African American artist of the Harlem Renaissance Malvin Gray Johnson. In addition, an extensive listing of his works as...
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Handout
Encyclopedia Britannica

Encyclopedia Britannica: Guide to Black History: Zora Neale Hurston

For Students 9th - 10th
This entry from Encyclopedia Brittanica's Guide to Black History features Zora Neale Hurston, an American folklorist and writer associated with the Harlem Renaissance who celebrated the African American culture of the rural South. This...
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Handout
Encyclopedia Britannica

Encyclopedia Britannica: Alice Dunbar Nelson

For Students 9th - 10th
This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Alice Dunbar Nelson, a novelist, poet, essayist, and critic associated with the early period of the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s and '30s.
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Handout
Encyclopedia Britannica

Encyclopedia Britannica: Charles Spurgeon Johnson

For Students 9th - 10th
This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Charles Spurgeon Johnson, a U.S. sociologist, authority on race relations, and the first black president (1946-56) of Fisk University, Nashville, Tenn. (established in 1867 and long...
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Handout
Encyclopedia Britannica

Encyclopedia Britannica: May Miller

For Students 9th - 10th
This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features May Miller, an African-American playwright and poet associated with the Harlem Renaissance in New York City during the 1920s.
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Website
Other

G. Schirmer, Inc.: Edward K. (Duke) Ellington

For Students 9th - 10th
Brief biography of the famous American Jazz composer, pianist, and band leader, Duke Ellington (1899-1974 CE). The site describes "Duke's" personal and professional life.
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Website
Independence Hall Association

U.s. History: The Decade That Roared

For Students 5th - 8th
A very brief overview of the decade between the end of World War I and the Great Depression.
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Primary
Academy of American Poets

Poets.org: "The Negro Speaks of Rivers" by Langston Hughes

For Students 9th - 10th
Contains an audio recording and a text of the poem "The Negro Speaks of Rivers" by Langston Hughes provided by the Academy of American Poets.
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Activity
Shmoop University

Shmoop: Langston Hughes: "I, Too, Sing America"

For Students 9th - 10th
An in-depth analysis of "I, Too, Sing America," a poem by Langston Hughes.
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Article
Ohio State University

E History: Clash of Cultures: African American New Women

For Students 9th - 10th
An article on the cultural and political experiences of African American women in 1920s America.
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Handout
African American Literature Book Club

African American Literature Book Club: Langston Hughes

For Students 9th - 10th
This site gives a short biography of Langston Hughes's life, a "Mini Bio: Langston Hughes" video [3:33] and links to 20 of his books.
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Article
Siteseen

Siteseen: American Historama: Women in the 1920s

For Students 9th - 10th
A comprehensive overview with detailed facts about the changing role of women in society. Provides lists of famous women of the 1920s.
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Handout
Encyclopedia Britannica

Encyclopedia Britannica: Jessie Redmon Fauset

For Students 9th - 10th
Brief biographical account of the life and career of poet and writer Jessie Redmon Fauset (married name: Harris).
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Handout
Encyclopedia Britannica

Encyclopedia Britannica: Benny Carter

For Students 9th - 10th
This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Benny Carter, an American jazz musician, an original and influential alto saxophonist, who was also a masterly composer and arranger and an important bandleader, trumpeter, and clarinetist.