Thank you for your purchase! This should turn out to be an engaging and fun activity for your students to learn more about some of the famous figures of the Harlem Renaissance. Depending on how much space you have in your classroom and how many students you have, this can be used as 6 stations or 3. I generally have larger classes, so I split it up into 6 stations around the room: 1. Art Info Page 2. Examining paintings 3. Literature Info Page 4. Examining poems and excerpts 5. Music Info Page 6. Listening to music and genre specific pages (Jazz, Swing, Blues) * A good selection of Harlem Renaissance-era music can be download for free by clicking here. Depending on what resources you have available, you can create a playlist of all the provided songs to play throughout and have students focus on them at that station or you could provide headphones and a computer or CD player at the music station. I generally play them throughout the lesson for the whole class to hear. Two graphic organizer sheets are provided. The first allows more room for students to go into greater detail. The second is more of an interactive notebook style in which students cut and paste it into their notebooks. I have had success using both in my classes, but generally use the interactive notebook one with younger students. After completing the stations, I have students move on to the worksheet (page 6). This can be completed with a partner/group to promote discussion or individually as a homework assignment to foster more indepth thought. If it is done for homework, I would recommend a class discussion on their answers the next class period as many of the questions are open-ended and intended to promote discussion. If you are looking for extension activities, please click on these resources in my TpT store:
Name Directions: Take notes in the appropriate boxes below as you move through the stations on musicians, artists, and authors of the Harlem Renaissance. Music Swing / Jive Jazz Blues Art Artists Subjects Styles Literature Authors Styles Subjects Students of History - https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/store/students-of-history
Directions: Take notes in the appropriate boxes below as you move through the stations on musicians, artists, and authors of the Harlem Renaissance. Swing / Jive Strong and fast rhythm section that includes brass instruments, including trumpets and trombones. Band leaders include Cab Calloway and Count Basie. Songs include Minnie the Moocher, & Sing, Sing, Sing. Artists William H. Johnson Palmer Hayden Archibald Motley Music Jazz Popular style with use of improvisation, many rhythms, and swinging notes. Musicians include Dizzy Gillespie, Duke Ellington, and Ella Fitzgerald. Songs include Take the A Train and It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing) Dizzy Gillespie s hits were A Night in Tunisia and 52nd Street Theme. Art Subjects Urban life, cities, African Americans in society, night clubs and dancing, injustice, etc. Blues Vocal and instrumental form of music based on blue notes sung or played at a lower pitch. Artists include Robert Johnson, Bessie Smith, & Lucille Bogan. Styles A variety of styles including abstractism, realism, and postmodern assemblage to address a diverse array of subjects. Authors Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston, Cluade McKay, W.E.B. DuBois, James Weldon Johnson Literature Styles Poetry, novels, short stories, biographies, plays, essays, etc. Subjects Writers often focused on injustices in America and the experiences of African Americans in American society. Students of History - https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/store/students-of-history
Directions: The Harlem Renaissance was a movement of African-American culture that began in the New York City neighborhood of Harlem in the 1920's. Many famous artists, writers, musicians, actors, and performers were part of it. Cut out the graphic organizer along the dotted lines and fill in information about important figures on your notebook below. Draw pictures to represent each aspect on top of each flap.
Name Music 1) What are 5 adjectives you would use to describe the songs you heard? 2) Consider the form of these songs. Do the songs have a very rigid, clear structure or do they have a more loose and fluid structure? Do they include any improvisation? Explain. 3) When jazz first became popular it was a radical style of music that broke many of the rules of classical music. In what way, then, does jazz reflect the desire of African Americans in the Harlem Renaissance to have increasing freedom and a more distinct cultural identity? Art 1) Do these three paintings share any common characteristics or themes? Explain. 2) How do these paintings reflect freedom, hope, and other values of the Harlem Renaissance? Literature 1) I, Too clearly describes the effects of racism, yet there is optimism in the speakers tone. What details in the poem suggest a view of America as one family that will eventually realize the injustice of discrimination? 2) Do you think the prophecy in I, Too has in any way come true? In what ways has in not come true? 3) Read Incident by Countee Cullen. What might lead an 8-year-old boy to insult another child as described here? In what way might a child s prejudice be even more disturbing than an adult s?
Name Answer Key / Teacher s Guide Music 1) What are 5 adjectives you would use to describe the songs you heard? Open to many possible student opinions. If they need suggestions to get started, I usually start with adjectives like vibrant, lively, exciting, etc. 2) Consider the form of these songs. Do the songs have a very rigid, clear structure or do they have a more loose and fluid structure? Do they include any improvisation? Explain. Again students can respond in many ways, but they might need help on determining the structure of a song. These generally have a more loose and fluid structure. I usually tell them to listen for repetition or variety is a simple verse/chorus/verse or more free flowing? 3) When jazz first became popular it was a radical style of music that broke many of the rules of classical music. In what way, then, does jazz reflect the desire of African Americans in the Harlem Renaissance to have increasing freedom and a more distinct cultural identity? Open to various student responses, but hopefully they connect the desire of African Americans to radically change their status in American society as well. Art 4) Do these three paintings share any common characteristics or themes? Explain. Open to various student responses, but they could note urban or city life, the presence of African- Americans, bright vibrant colors, bold shapes, etc. 5) How do these paintings reflect freedom, hope, and other values of the Harlem Renaissance? Open to various student responses based on the paintings they select, but they could note the dancing seen to represent freedom, styles of modern dress, etc. Literature 6) I, Too clearly describes the effects of racism, yet there is optimism in the speakers tone. What details in the poem suggest a view of America as one family that will eventually realize the injustice of discrimination? The fact that they are all one family and the last section on what the speaker says will happen tomorrow show that American will eventually realize the injustice being done. 7) Do you think the prophecy in I, Too has in any way come true? In what ways has in not come true? Open to many possible student opinions but they could easily reference President Obama to note that it has come true or conversely the conflicts/violence between African Americans and police for the opposite opinion. 8) Read Incident by Countee Cullen. What might lead an 8-year-old boy to insult another child as described here? In what way might a child s prejudice be even more disturbing than an adult s? Open to many possible student opinions and usually makes for a great class discussion on where children get their behaviors from and what that means.
Jazz Jazz is an American musical art form which originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States from a confluence of African and European music traditions. In Harlem in the time of the Renaissance, Big Band Jazz was the most popular style. Leaders of this movement included Dizzy Gillespie, Duke Ellington, and Ella Fitzgerald. Duke Ellington s signature songs included Take the A Train and It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing) Dizzy Gillespie s hits were A Night in Tunisia and 52 nd Street Theme. Ella Fitzgerald was well known for classics such as Mack the Knife. Swing Swing music developed in the early 1930s from an earlier ragtime style. Swing uses a strong rhythm section that includes brass instruments, including trumpets and trombones, woodwinds including saxophones and clarinets or stringed instruments including violin and guitar. One of the earliest swing band leaders was Jelly Roll Morton. Later swing band leaders became very famous in the 1930 s- 1940 s. African-Americans such as Count Basie and Cab Calloway were headliners at the Cotton Club and Savoy as well as appearing on radio and later television. Blues Blues is a vocal and instrumental form of music based on the use of the blue notes-- notes sung or played at a slightly lower pitch than that of the major scale for expressive purposes. It emerged as a form of self-expression in African-American communities of the United States from spirituals, work songs, and rhymed simple narrative ballads. One of the earliest Blues musicians was Robert Johnson who played and recorded across the South. In the clubs in Harlem, Bessie Smith and Ma Rainey were the two most popular and well-known Blues singers. Another, Lucille Bogan, was infamous for her raunchy songs of drinking and prostitution.
Jazz What Jazz is an American musical art form which originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States from a confluence of African and European music traditions. The style is defined as the use of improvisation, many rhythms, and swinging notes. Jazz spawned a variety of subgenres, from New Orleans Dixieland dating from the early 1910s, big band-style swing from the 1930s and 1940s, bebop from the mid-1940s, a variety of Latin jazz fusions such as Afro-Cuban and Brazilian jazz from the 1950s and 1960s, jazz-rock fusion from the 1970s and late 1980s developments such as acid jazz, which blended jazz influences into funk and hip-hop. Who In Harlem in the time of the Renaissance, Big Band Jazz was the most popular style. Leaders of this movement included Dizzy Gillespie, Duke Ellington, and Ella Fitzgerald. Examples Duke Ellington s signature songs included Take the A Train and It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing) Dizzy Gillespie s hits were A Night in Tunisia and 52nd Street Theme. Ella Fitzgerald was well known for classics such as Mack the Knife and Stompin at the Savoy.
Swing / Jive What Swing music, also known as swing jazz, is a form of jazz music that developed in the early 1930s from an earlier ragtime style. Swing uses a strong rhythm section that includes brass instruments, including trumpets and trombones, woodwinds including saxophones and clarinets or stringed instruments including violin and guitar. It usually has medium to fast tempos and a swing time rhythm. Swing bands usually featured soloists who would improvise a new melody over the arrangement. Who One of the earliest swing band leaders was Jelly Roll Morton. Later swing band leaders became very famous in the 1930 s-1940 s. African-Americans such as Count Basie and Cab Calloway were headliners at the Cotton Club and Savoy as well as appearing on radio and later television. White band leaders included Bennie Goodman, Louis Prima, and Tommy Dorsey. Examples Cab Calloway s most famous song was Minnie the Moocher. Basie s theme song was One O clock Jump. Other classics include Sing, Sing, Sing by Louis Prima and In the Mood by Glen Miller.
Blues What Blues is a vocal and instrumental form of music based on the use of the blue notes-- notes sung or played at a slightly lower pitch than that of the major scale for expressive purposes. When sung, the singer will repeat 2 lines, then end with a 3rd. It emerged as a form of self-expression in African-American communities of the United States from spirituals, work songs, and rhymed simple narrative ballads. The blues influenced later American and Western popular music, as it became the roots of jazz, rhythm and blues, bluegrass and rock and roll. Who One of the earliest Blues musicians was Robert Johnson who played and recorded across the South. In the clubs in Harlem, Bessie Smith and Ma Rainey were the two most popular and well-known Blues singers. Another, Lucille Bogan, was infamous for her raunchy songs of drinking and prostitution. Examples Ma Rainey's most famous song, Ma Rainey's Black Bottom later became the title of an August Wilson play. Bessie Smith s famous songs include St. Louis Blues, Trouble So Hard, and Need a Little Sugar in My Bowl. Other classic blues songs of the time include Sweet Home Chicago, and Kind-Hearted Woman Blues.
Artists of the Harlem Renaissance used their photographs, paintings, and other art pieces to explore the African American experience in this era. Artists used a variety of styles such as abstractism, realism, and postmodern assemblage to address a diverse array of subjects. William Henry Johnson was an African-American painter born in Florence, South Carolina. He moved to New York to enroll in the National Academy of Design in New York. His style evolved from realism to expressionism to a powerful folk style for which he is best known. William Johnson spent the late 1920 s in France, where he learned about modernism and earned considerable awards. Palmer C. Hayden grew up in Virginia and Washington, Dc before studied at the Cooper Union in New York City. He painted in both oils and watercolors, and was a prolific artist of his era. Much of his influences came from the environment around him. Most art historians agree that his most influential or well-known works would be the ones which reflect African-American folklore. He tried to capture rural life as well as urban backgrounds in New York City. Many of these urban paintings were centered in Harlem. Unlike many other Harlem Renaissance artists, Archibald Motley, Jr. never lived in Harlem. He was born in New Orleans and spent the majority of his life in Chicago, although he had several popular exhibits of his art in New York City. He studied painting at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. He is most famous for his colorful chronicling of the African-American experience during the 1920s and 1930s, and is considered one of the major contributors to the Harlem Renaissance. He specialized in portraiture and saw it as a means of affirming racial respect and race pride.
Street Life by William H. Johnson 1939
Dancer With Soldier Boy by William H. Johnson 1942
Midsummer Night in Harlem by Palmer Hayden 1938
Moon Over Harlem by William H. Johnson 1943
Nightlife Archibald Motley Jr. -- 1936
Lincoln at Gettysburg by William H. Johnson 1941
The Harlem Renaissance was the blossoming of African American intellectual life during the 1920s and 1930s. It was centered in the Harlem neighborhood of New York City. In addition to great music and art, many African-American writers found great success during this period. Langston Hughes Poet, novelist, playwright, short story writer, and columnist. He was one of the earliest innovators of the new literary art form jazz poetry and is also best known for what he wrote about the Harlem Renaissance, "Harlem was in vogue." His most famous works include The Negro Speaks of Rivers, Not Without Laughter, and I, Too. Zora Neale Hurston Zora Neale Hurston was an American folklorist and author during the Harlem Renaissance. Of Hurston's four novels and more than 50 published short stories, plays, and essays, she is best known for her 1937 novel Their Eyes Were Watching God. Claude McKay Claude McKay was a Jamaican writer and poet who wrote three novels: Home to Harlem, a best-seller which won the Harmon Gold Award for Literature, Banjo, and Banana Bottom. His book of poetry, Harlem Shadows was among the first books published during the Harlem Renaissance in 1922. W. E. B. Du Bois An American civil rights activist, sociologist, historian, author, and editor. In the course of his long, turbulent career, W. E. B. Du Bois attempted virtually every possible solution to the problem of twentiethcentury racism scholarship, propaganda, integration, national self-determination, human rights, cultural and economic separatism, politics, international communism, expatriation, third world solidarity. His most famous works include The Souls of Black Folk, The Philadelphia Negro, and a biography of abolitionist John Brown. James Weldon Johnson James Weldon Johnson was an American author, politician, journalist, poet, educator, lawyer, songwriter, and early civil rights activist. Johnson is remembered best for his writing, which includes novels, poems, and collections of folklore. One of the works for which he is best remembered today, God's Trombones: Seven Negro Sermons in Verse, was published in 1927 and celebrates the tradition of the folk preacher. He was also one of the first African-American professors at New York University. Later in life he was a professor of creative literature and writing at Fisk University.
Dream Deferred by Langston Hughes What happens to a dream deferred? Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun? Or fester like a sore-- and then run? Does it stink like rotten meat? Or crust and sugar over-- like a syrupy sweet? Maybe it just sags like a heavy load Or does it just explode? Incident by Countee Cullen Once riding in old Baltimore, Heart-filled, head-filled with glee, I saw a Baltimorean Keep looking straight at me. Now I was eight and very small, And he was no whit bigger, And so I smiled, but he poked out His tongue, and called me, "Nigger." I saw the whole of Baltimore From May until December; Of all the things that happened there That's all that I remember.
If We Must Die By Claude McKay If we must die, let it not be like hogs Hunted and penned in an inglorious spot, While round us bark the mad and hungry dogs, Making their mock at our accursed lot. If we must die, O let us nobly die, So that our precious blood may not be shed In vain; then even the monsters we defy Shall be constrained to honor us though dead! O kinsmen we must meet the common foe! Though far outnumbered let us show us brave, And for their thousand blows deal one deathblow! What though before us lies the open grave? Like men we'll face the murderous, cowardly pack, Pressed to the wall, dying, but fighting back! Crazy for This Democracy by Zora Neale Hurston I have been made to believe in this democracy thing, and I am all for tasting this democracy out. The flavor must be good. If the Occident is so intent in keeping the taste out of darker mouths that it spends all those billions and expends all those billions and expends all those millions of lives, colored ones too, to keep it among themselves, then it must be something good. I crave to sample this gorgeous thing. So I cannot say anything different from repeal of all Jim Crow laws! Not in some future generation, but repeal now and forever!! Excerpt from Crazy for This Democracy an essay in The Negro Digest
The White Witch by: James Weldon Johnson BROTHERS mine, take care! Take care! The great white witch rides out to-night. Trust not your prowess nor your strength, Your only safety lies in flight; For in her glance there is a snare, And in her smile there is a blight. The great white witch you have not seen? Then, younger brothers mine, forsooth, Like nursery children you have looked For ancient hag and snaggle-tooth; But no, not so; the witch appears In all the glowing charms of youth. Her lips are like carnations, red, Her face like new-born lilies, fair, Her eyes like ocean waters, blue, She moves with subtle grace and air, And all about her head there floats The golden glory of her hair. But though she always thus appears In form of youth and mood of mirth, Unnumbered centuries are hers, The infant planets saw her birth; The child of throbbing Life is she, Twin sister to the greedy earth. And back behind those smiling lips, And down within those laughing eyes, And underneath the soft caress Of hand and voice and purring sighs, The shadow of the panther lurks, The spirit of the vampire lies.
I, Too By Langston Hughes I, too, sing America. I am the darker brother. They send me to eat in the kitchen When company comes, But I laugh, And eat well, And grow strong. Tomorrow, I'll be at the table When company comes. Nobody'll dare Say to me, "Eat in the kitchen," Then. Besides, They'll see how beautiful I am And be ashamed-- I, too, am America.