Theme

Unit or Topic: Course/Subject: ELA/ESL

Grade Level: 9/10
Harlem Renaissance
Why and how do a people resist assimilating and
create a new culture?

Competencies/Standards:

*RL 9-10.2 Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze in detail its development over the course of the text, including how
it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details; provide an objective summary of the text.
*RL 9-10.1 Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn
from the text.
*RL 9-10.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in the text, including figurative and connotative meanings;
analyze the cumulative impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone (e.g., how the language evokes a sense of time and place;
how it sets a formal or informal tone).
SL 9-10.4 Present information, findings, and supporting evidence such that listeners can follow the line of reasoning and the
organization, development, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.

Work Study Practices or Habits of Mind:
Collaboration with peers
Organization and intro to grades
On time
Notebook Organization
Independent work
Self-advocacy and identifying when you don’t understand


Enduring Understandings to Guide Learning and Essential Questions to Guide Learning and
Inquiry: Inquiry:

Dominant culture is the group who has the power to How do people resist assimilation to the
force other people to change and assimilate. dominant culture and assert their humanity?

Dominant culture has the power to decide who How does the dominant culture determine which
belongs and who doesn’t belong. groups belong and which groups do not?

People who are not part of the dominant culture have What is similar in the experiences (experience of
figured out a way to resist dominant culture and assimilation and resistance) of different groups
create a new culture and assert humanity in the U.S. who are not part of the dominant culture in
America?

How do people use art and literature to resist
the dominant culture and assert humanity?

Content (Students will know…)
What dominant culture is and isn’t.
Dominant culture are the groups who have power to force other people to change and assimilate. (Use
examples from other countries such as Japan invading China, Chinese Exclusion Act, Spanish colonization
in Latin America, Native Americans, Slave owners vs. Slaves).
A general timeline of AA History (Civil War, Reconstruction South and Jim Crow Laws, Great Migration,
Harlem Renaissance).
White people put more constraints on African Americans (Jim Crow laws) in the South, so AAs moved
north for more opportunity.
Many migrated to Harlem, and produced art, music and literature—this new culture that they produced
is called the Harlem Renaissance.
Groups outside of the dominant culture resist assimilation by creating artifacts that allow them to assert
their identities.
General themes of Harlem Renaissance (racial pride, asserting identity, proving humanity,
disappointment, wanting equality, hope for the future).

Understanding of figurative language such as symbolism of these themes in poetry, literature and music.
(up/down: stair up/down; crystal stair up; I Too: up/down connotations of each work in context;
kitchen: up/down; send to kitchen: down;) up/down/why

Annotating to analyze a text (poem, image) for a theme and provide evidence to support that theme.

Skills (Academic Skills):
Identifying theme
Analyzing poetry with annotations
Analyzing images with annotations
Identify author’s world view and word choice (up/down)
Identifying figurative language (look above at up/down; symbolism)
Providing evidence for analysis
Writing a TEAEAC paragraph (with scaffolds)

Language Skills
Expanded sentences ramped up (look at WR; corrections, adding more to basic paragraphs)
Appositives
How—by?
Somebody…Wanted…Because…But…So…Finally
Using figurative language that we teach (simile?) – is it that we want students to identify in other text, or do
we want them to create on their own?
MCAS for 10th- long response/ essay?
Texts:
1. I, Too (Langston Hughes)
2. If We Must Die (Claude McKay)
3. Paintings of Aaron Douglas, Jacob Lawrence, Archibald Motley
4. Primary source for Historical TEAEAC
5. 9th Grade extra text for mini unit
6. 3-4 Texts or images to annotate for assessment

Stories
Marian Anderson

Philosophers
W.E.B. DuBois: Souls of Black Folks: Double consciousness quote
Marcus Garvey: Back to Africa (racial pride)

Music
Billie Holiday: Strange Fruit (disappointment)
Louis Armstrong
Ella Fitzgerald

Writers/Poets
Langston Hughes: I, Too, Am America (Hope, disappointment, racial pride),
Mother to Son (hope, symbolism)
Thank You Ma’am (racial pride, hope).
Zora Neale Hurston: (Really difficult colloquial text)
Claude McKay: If We Must Die (racial pride, disappointment)
Strange Fruit

Children’s Books
Jacob Lawrence: The Great Migration
The Warmth of Other Suns—Great Migration
Assessment Task:
Students will
• Annotate a text and a image using annotation process and identify a shared theme between both
• Write a TEAEAC paragraph using that identified theme and evidence from both the image and the
text
• Evidence can include symbolism from image to support why that theme was identified
• Scaffolds: provide theme, provide two different themes, TEAEAC only about text and not image.
Worksheets for annotation/ analysis for text and
Formative Assessments:
Weekly assessments on Thursdays
Do Nows

Learning Plan:
Date Objectives Grades
January 29-February 9 Week 1: Bridge to unit start History 3-days maybe 4 9/10
this includes TEAEAC
Week 2: Artwork of history based on what they
learned and identifying symbols with worldview
language
February 12- February 16 I, Too introduction and Check for Understanding, 9/10
annotations for figurative language using worldview
language- up/down/both (previous year this was 3
days)
February 26- March 2 Intro with question of what would you die for- What 9/10
parts of your culture/humanity would you stay for?
MAYBE: Would you stand up for someone else’s
identity. If We Must Die introduction and Check for
Understanding and annotations for figurative
language (2 days)
March 5-9 Identifying Theme and Evidence for Theme from 9
texts?
March 5-9 Watch Divergent, analyze symbolism in the movie, 9/10
write an essay (maybe 9th only does TEAEAC)
March 12-23 MCAS Essays – movie and Intro, two TEAEACs, 10
conclusions
March 12-16 Mini unit 9

March 19-30 9 Final assessments
th 9