Night

Teacher's Guide

**Harlem Renaissance**

Yet do I marvel at this curious thing:
To make a poet black, and make him sing!
- from "Yet Do I Marvel" by Countee Cullen
Scenario	The Harlem Renaissance was a time of cultural renewal among African Americans that was centered in the Harlem neighborhood of New York City. The movement emerged near the end of World War I around 1918, gained full strength during the 1920s, and then faded in the early 1930s. This new appreciation for and celebration of black literature, art, and music spread throughout the United States and around the world.
Task and Product	You will examine and analyze examples of literature, art, and music from the Harlem Renaissance. Based on your results, you will complete a summary activity, which may be a video documentary that will reflect your understanding of the Harlem Renaissance.
Assessments	You will be assessed by completing an exit ticket that reflects your understanding of one of these sentence starters: Issues particular to the African American experience addressed during the Harlem Renaissance were... Methods utilized by artists during the Harlem Renaissance to draw attention to the problems facing the post-war African American community included... The Harlem Renaissance addressed the issues of racial pride and shared culture by...
Question	Essential Question: How did literature and the arts reflect the African American experience during the Harlem Renaissance? Subsidiary Questions: How influential would these media of expression be? (Varies depending on geographic location, social class) How might the art, music, and literature created during the Harlem Renaissance be targeted at two audiences? (Art promoted a sense of unity of experience within theAfrican American community and among whites an awareness of the the issues impacting African Americans. How do the artistic works of the Harlem Renaissance promote unity and consciousness within the African American community? How might the consciousness engendered by the art and literature of the Harlem renaissance help address the post-war racial climate?
Identify and Analyze	Identify three primary sources from this list (choose one from each category). Then use this chart (html \| MS Word) to analyze the documents according to the listed criteria.
Organize	Evaluate the effectiveness of your analyzes. Have you adequately responded to each criteria so that you may successfully respond to the reflection activity?
Conclusion	Reflection Activity: Complete one of the following sentence starters to indicate your understanding of how literature and the arts reflected the African American experience during the Harlem Renaissance. You will be assessed according to this response. Issues particular to the African American experience addressed during the Harlem Renaissance were... Methods utilized by artists during the Harlem Renaissance to draw attention to the The Harlem Renaissance addressed the issues of racial pride and shared culture by...