Introduction
The song “America the Beautiful” claimed to portray America as a land of true beauty. In this unit, students will question the idea of beauty in America, understanding that what was once seen as the landscape must now refer to the beauty of the people of America. Students will be able to review this concept of beauty through various forms of poetry. This is a six week unit, and the focus will be on African American poetry. Students will explore Negro Spirituals, Blues and Harlem Renaissance Poetry, Contemporary and Modern Poetry, together with Hip Hop. Through this context, students will gain deeper comprehension in literacy. Literacy allows for students not only to explore plot, setting and sequence, to name a few, but to dig further and discover more figurative meanings within context. The unit will span through a course of eight weeks. In this unit, students at the elementary level will be given an extensive opportunity to manipulate rigorous poetic texts. The unit will allow for students to gain greater appreciation for literature, the more easily in that the poetry of hip hop is a part of their everyday lives.
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