Downtown, Uptown
Before students begin their tour of Harlem, invite them to visit a tenement apartment from the Lower East Side, just like the one Dave Caros and his family lived in, in the 1920s. They can take a virtual tour of tenements from different periods of time when they enter the tenement museum, a national landmark, at www.thirteen.org. Have students consider what would interest people of the future about the kind of home they now live in. Help students discuss the objects they would display in a museum about homes from the early twenty-first century.
Renaissance for Harlem
There are a great variety of locations for students to visit about the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s, including encyclopedia entries with links to writing, art, and music. The Encarta schoolhouse page provides a good overview of the period at: www.encarta.msn.com There are also websites created by university scholars, like Jill Diesman, which invite visitors into her vast world of knowledge about this period of time at: www.nku.edu. You might have students visit these sites and travel to the connected links that interest them. Then, suggest students put themselves in Dave's shoes by writing a letter from him to his father about what they've experienced of the Harlem Renaissance.
Langston Hughes
Dave hears someone recite part of a famous Langston Hughes poem, "The Weary Blues" when he visits Mrs. Packer's house. He also sees Hughes along with other famous writers, such as Countee Cullen and Arna Botemps, at Mrs. Packer's party. Students can read many of Langston Hughes' poems as they travel through Harlem Renaissance websites. They can hear his voice reading the poem "The Negro Speaks of Rivers" at www.poets.org They can also see photographs of him from different parts of his life at www.eng.fju.edu.tw and hear the complete poem "The Weary Blues" on an audio clip.
Music, Music, Music
As students view and listen to jazz through their Harlem Renaissance experience, they might enjoy trying to write a jazz poem that this kind of music makes them think of or that they think could be read aloud while jazz is being played. They can learn about and listen to jazz by Harlem Renaissance greats such as Louis Armstrong, Count Bassie, Duke Ellington, and others on audioclips from The Red Hot Jazz Archive at www.enarta.msn.com or www.yahooligans.com
A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words or Movements
Dave sees a painting by Aaron Douglas in Mrs. Packer's house that he greatly admires. As it turns out, students can view the paintings of Aaron Douglas as they continue their virtual field trip through the Harlem Renaissance at www.ops.org, a website created by students in the public schools of Omaha, Nebraska. Challenge students to devote themselves to motion, just like Dave, and draw a picture that expresses how someone or something moves rather than how it looks. They shouldn't shy about letting the style or colors used by Aaron Douglas and other Harlem Renaissance artists influence their work.
Check Out the Posters
Point out that people often enjoy viewing posters of places they've visited. Students can view posters about the Harlem Renaissance and the people connected to it at www.allposters.com and www.allwall.com. At both of these Sites, they'll need to type in "Harlem" the search field. Have them identify and discuss which poster they think works best as a reminder of their field trip experience. They might consider creating posters of their own about the Harlem Renaissance. Or, they might enjoy creating posters related to Dave's experience with his elevens buddies at the HHB. This poster can show and tell about buddy rules they would like to live by. |
