Mrs. Erin Upchurch African American Literature 1900's

Introduction

This webquest has been created to help my Junior class understand the concepts and theories behind American Literature written by black authors. You will notice that the point of view of these authors is much different than those of colonial writers; they face a struggle that is much different than the view of authors like Poe, or E.E. Cummings. These authors range from the late 1800's to the present. You will look into the history of Zora Neale Hurston, Langston Hughes, and Maya Angelou, and analyze a piece of work of your choice. In addition to this, you will choose a spoken word poet that you will connect with the message of these authors and include their work in your final project.

Task

By the end of this lesson, you will complete a powerpoint presentation that first gives a brief history of each author. You will answer the questions assigned. You will analyze a piece of work from each author in a brief 1-2 paragraph response to the literature, notating at least 3 literary devices used and how they contribute to the meaning of the piece as a whole. You will find a spoken word poet that you feel connects with the material you have read. You will then write a poem that you will perform in front of the class about a struggle that you have faced in your life.

Process

You will create a Powerpoint Presentation that answers the following prompts and questions, includes your spoken word poet (as an audio or visual file) and shows your poem written out as the last slide. Your presentation should be beautiful and artistic and show how you connected

Slide 1 will include:

Your name, date and period.

Slide 2 will include:

A brief history of Zora Neale Hurston, Langston Hughes, and Maya Nagelou. (One paragraph for each) The history will include

  • Birth place and Date
  • How they influenced their readers
  • What effect they had on literature of their time

Slides 3-8 will include the following:

1 slide to show the piece of literature you chose. 2nd slide will include a 1 paragraph analysis of the work. This analysis will provide 3 literary terms you have learned in the class, how they effect the main idea of the piece, and the theme. Your second paragraph will be a reflection of the work, not a summary, but a reflection on how it made you feel and why, with supporting evidence. (so each author has 2 slides)

Slide 9 will include:

The name of your spoken word author, the title of the piece, and a media file of the work performed by the author.

Slide 10 will include:

1 paragraph answer to how your spoken word piece relates to the works you chose.

Slide 11 will include:

Your original poem. The poem can be in any form you want, but must show a struggle that you have personally encountered.  You will be performing this poem in front of the class.

 

Here is a list of works by each author that you may choose from.

Zora Neale Hurston:

Langston Hughes (Poetry)

(Just suggestions, but if you want to use anything else that is fine, just approve it first)

Maya Angelou

Choose any of her works, essay, poem, biography. 

Evaluation
    Student Name:     ________________________________________
CATEGORY 4 3 2 1
Presentation Well-rehearsed with smooth delivery that holds audience attention. Rehearsed with fairly smooth delivery that holds audience attention most of the time. Delivery not smooth, but able to maintain interest of the audience most of the time. Delivery not smooth and audience attention often lost.
Requirements All requirements are met and exceeded. All requirements are met. One requirement was not completely met. More than one requirement was not completely met.
Oral Presentation Interesting, well-rehearsed with smooth delivery that holds audience attention. Relatively interesting, rehearsed with a fairly smooth delivery that usually holds audience attention. Delivery not smooth, but able to hold audience attention most of the time. Delivery not smooth and audience attention lost.
Originality Your Poem is original, well thought out and expressive. Poem needs some work, but is well done overall. Poem does not follow requirements. No Poem is done.
Conclusion

This is an amazing unit that I hope you all enjoyed. I am looking forward to seeing each of your personal choices for spoken word poets, and your own personal poems you are writing. I believe that you have learned a bit about some amazing authors, how to do some research, and some analysis and reflection. You should have a new outlook on literature from the early 1900's and be able to see different points of view of different authors as we continue through the year.

Credits

California State Standards:

3.2 Analyze the way in which the theme or meaning of a selection

3.5 Analyze recognized works of American literature representing a variety of genres and 

traditions:

3.8 Analyze the clarity and consistency of political assumptions in a selection of literary 

works or essays on a topic (e.g., suffrage, women’s role in organized labor). (Political
approach)

3.9 Analyze the philosophical arguments presented in literary works to determine whether 

the authors’ positions have contributed to the quality of each work and the credibility of
the characters. (Philosophical approach)

Writing Standard 

1.6 

Develop presentations by using clear research questions and creative and critical research
strategies (e.g., field studies, oral histories, interviews, experiments, electronic sources).

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