Human Rights Education

Lesson Plans » Discrimination in Literature

LESSON PLAN

Freedom for Discrimination in Literature: Langston Hughes

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For printing: This lesson plan in
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Lesson source: Sage Mann, SUNY, College at Oneonta


Subject

English Language Arts

Context

To study Langston Hughes and his literature

Objectives

To explore the racial aspect of discrimination and oppression in several Hughes' poems

Resources

Article 2 from the UDHR

Copies of poems:
I, Too, Sing America
Dinner Guest, Me
Children's Rhymes


Introduce

  1. Give a previous introductory lesson on the UDHR to acquaint the students with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
  2. Ask the students to consider Article 2 of the UDHR- Freedom From Discrimination. Encourage questions and comments related to the statement and definition of any words on the poster

Teach

  1. Briefly explain the Harlem Renaissance and surrounding time periods.
  2. Explain how Hughes is a significant author who mostly writes about freedom from discrimination and other life issues. Describe a bit about his personal life. Show a picture of Hughes' so students gain a sense of the reality of his presence.
  3. Organize the class into small groups. Hand out one of the three poems to each group and allow them to read and discuss the piece.
  4. Have students share the poems with the entire class. Discuss poems with students and reinforce/explain relevance to freedom and expression towards discrimination.

Close

  1. Assign a journal entry. Students will respond to any one of the poems and connect it to Article 2 and freedom from discrimination.

Further Study

Explore other authors who write about forms of discrimination and oppression.
Read other poems by Hughes