Description
With this lesson, students complete brief research on the background and life of Harlem Renaissance author Langston Hughes, building important historical and cultural context before reading his poetry. Students respond to six guided research questions that help them understand Hughes’s influence, experiences, and literary voice.
Students then read the poem “Mother to Son” and engage in a focused close reading analysis. The lesson includes ten close reading questions designed to guide students through interpretation, language, and theme while strengthening critical thinking and textual analysis skills.
Throughout the activity, students analyze key poetic and literary devices, including metaphor and extended metaphor, tone, anaphora, dialect, universal theme, historical context, and the author’s background and influence on the text. This structured approach helps students connect meaning to both craft and context.
Due to copyright restrictions, the full text of the poem is not included, but the lesson is designed to work seamlessly with an approved classroom copy of the poem.
This resource includes both ready-to-print PDF files and an editable Word document, giving teachers flexibility to adjust questions or pacing as needed. Perfect for middle school and high school ELA, this lesson supports poetry analysis, author study, and meaningful engagement with Langston Hughes’s work.
