African American Read In!

Here is the sample poem "Dreams" and responses we drafted quickly in class together!

We're participating in the African American Read In! It's a month-long event organized by the National Council of Teachers of English. The goal is for teachers and students to read texts by African Americans in order to celebrate the diverse voices that exist in our world.

For our celebration, we are going to be finding poems, creating a short response, and sharing our poems on Friday when we return from the field trip.

Below are some poems that might inspire you. However, don't let this list limit you. Feel free to find one on your own as well!
-I, Too
-Slave Sale: New Orleans
-Malcolm X, February 1965
-alternate names for black boys
-Frederick Douglass
-Harlem
-Lift Every Voice and Sing
-Caged Bird
-American History
-Ballad of Birmingham
-Mother to Son
-Flag
-The Negro Speaks of Rivers
-As I Grew Older

Once you find your poem, print it. If you know printing might be difficult, please see me as soon as possible. Read (and re-read) your poem. Answer the following questions on your brainstorming sheet. Then you will create a final product (in any format you want - typed and printed document, a booklet, a haiku deck, a slide show, etc) that will be due FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 26.
-Explain why you chose the poem. Did you make a text-text, text-self, text-world connection?
-Name the author and provide an interesting fact about the author's life (many of these poems have a link to the author's bio, but you can also do an additional search).
-Find a word or short phrase that is new or sticks out to you as important. Complete one of the Vocabulary activities.
-Create or find a picture that goes along with your poem.

*This is your homework for the week! There will not be class time to work on this. Plan accordingly!*