After reading various poems and passages written by urban youth, students will discuss the meaning, form, and cultural perspectives of the works. At the end of the course, students are going to: 
- Examine the qualities of poetry and narratives to ascertain the relationship between form and purpose. 
- Evaluate and interpret how literary devices are used in texts and between texts. 
- Analyze how well the author uses literary devices in different genres. 
- Consider the literal, figurative, and idiomatic vocabulary in context to determine meaning.  
- Use a range of media to condense, infer, and formulate generalizations. 
- Determine and assess the author's intent, the texts' essential content, and their structure. 
- Create original and fresh insights based on deeper comprehension gained from reading texts critically. 
- Examine the cultural and societal influences found in the texts.

- How does text interaction elicit thought and response?

- Characterization: The method an author uses to reveal characters and their various personalities. 
- Flashback: A literary device to present action that occurred before the story's beginning. Flashbacks are often introduced as the dreams or recollections of one or more characters. 
- Foreshadowing: A device used in literature to create expectations or to set up an explanation of later developments. 
- Generalization: A conclusion, drawn from specific information, that is used to make a broad statement about a topic or person. 
- Hyperbole: An exaggeration or overstatement (e.g., I was so embarrassed I could have died.). 
- Imagery: A word or group of words in a literary work that appeals to one or more of the senses: sight, taste, touch, hearing, and smell; figurative language. The use of images serves to intensify the impact of the work. 
- Inference: A judgment based on reasoning rather than on a direct or explicit statement. A conclusion based on facts or circumstances; understandings gained by “reading between the lines.” 
- Irony: The use of a word or phrase to mean the exact opposite of its literal or usual meaning; incongruity between the actual result of a sequence of events and the expected result. 
- Literary Elements: The essential techniques used in literature (e.g., characterization, setting, plot, theme). 
- Metaphor: A figure of speech that expresses an idea through the image of another object. Metaphors suggest the essence of the first object by identifying it with certain qualities of the second object. - An example is “But soft, what light through yonder window breaks? It is the east, and Juliet is the sun” in William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. Here, Juliet, the first object, is identified with the qualities of the second object, the sun. 
- Mood: The prevailing emotions of a work or the author in his or her creation of the work. The mood of a work is not always what might be expected based on its subject matter. 
- Narrative: Text which conveys a story or which relates events or dialogue; contrast with expository text. 
- Personification: An object or abstract idea given human qualities or human form (e.g., Flowers danced about the lawn.). 
- Plot: The structure of a story.The sequence in which the author arranges events in a story. The structure often includes the rising action, the climax, the falling action, and the resolution. The plot may have a protagonist who is opposed by an antagonist, creating what is called conflict. 
- Poetry: In its broadest sense, writing that aims to present ideas and evoke an emotional experience in the reader through the use of meter, imagery, connotative, and concrete words. Some poetry has a carefully constructed structure based on rhythmic patterns. Poetry typically relies on words and expressions that have several layers of meaning (figurative language). It may also use the effects of regular rhythm on the ear and may make a strong appeal to the senses through the use of imagery. 
- Point of View: How an author reveals characters, events, and ideas in telling a story; the vantage point from which the story is told. 
- Setting: The time and place in which a story unfolds. 
- Simile: A comparison of two unlike things in which a word of comparison (like or as) is used (e.g., She eats like a bird.). 
- Symbolism: A device in literature where an object represents an idea. 
- Theme: A topic of discussion or writing; a major idea broad enough to cover the entire scope of a literary work. 
- Tone: The attitude of the author toward the audience and characters (e.g., serious or humorous). 

Note: Each of the poems in this lesson was composed by or about a young person living in the city, and each one reveals the impact of the environment on the speaker in the poem. Other poems and passages may be substituted for the suggested resources listed below. It is helpful if a biography of the writer is available so that students can read it after analyzing the reading. The poems used should also offer students the opportunity to examine a variety of forms and writing styles so that they can see how a poet’s perspective shapes the work. 
- Gwendolyn Brooks Blakely. (1963). We Real Cool. Harper & Row, Publishers, Inc., 1963.
- 1997. Becoming Visible: Gwendolyn Brooks. Annenberg Media.
- George Stravos. On ‘We Real Cool. Modern American Poetry. (Site contains additional commentary.) 
- Gary Soto. Saturday at the Canal. 
- “Gary Soto” (brief biography). 
- Thomas Sayers Ellis. (1993). View of the Library of Congress from Paul Laurence Dunbar High School. HarperPerennial, 1993. 
- “Thomas Sayers Ellis” (brief biography). 
- Langston Hughes. Dream Deferred. 
- “Langston Hughes” (brief biography). 
- Robert Hayden. O Daedalus, Fly Away Home. 
- Biography of Robert Hayden. PoemHunter.com. 
- a response journal for each student

- Maintain the focus of the lesson on analyzing the meaning of the reading, including the cultural perspective offered.
- Ask students to look up "We Real Cool" to find evidence to back up their claims.
- Observations of how students participate in class and group discussions should also reveal some information about their strong points and areas for improvement.
- Students' reactions to "We Real Cool," as well as the comparison of the speaker in that poem to the one in "Saturday at the Canal," should shed light on any issues they may be experiencing.

Modeling, explicit instruction, scaffolding, and active engagement 
W: Encourage students to keep up their practice of reading analysis (WWGSAP) and journaling to document their ideas. 
H: Allow students to respond to the readings in writing with their opinions and supporting evidence, then discuss them with their classmates. 
E: Evaluate and assist students while they work, both in person and through response journal entries. 
R: Have students talk about their reactions to the readings in small groups and class, and have them revise and add to their written responses. 
E: Allow students to see their classmates' reactions to and understanding of the readings through group discussion of the readings and responses.
T: Have students discuss and analyze readings as a class so that students who are unsure of their responses have the support of their peers as they work through the process.
O: Have students start with a patterned response, similar to the ones from the previous lesson; then move on to a comparison of speakers; and finally, concentrate on the speaker's perspective and use of imagery.

Focus Question: How does your cultural background affect your reading and comprehension of text?

Students will read several poems and short stories written by and/or about urban youth, taking into account their cultural viewpoint. Throughout the procedure, they will keep a response journal.

Part 1

Go through Gwendolyn Brooks' poem "We Real Cool." Ask them to respond in writing using the format provided in Lesson 1 (what strikes them as the most striking aspect of the poem, what they can learn about the poet, supporting details for both, a succinct synopsis, the author's intention, and how the speaker influences the words and their delivery). Observe the WWGSAPC procedure as outlined in Lesson 1:

W: form - brief lines; brief sentences; sentences flow into the following stanza; each sentence has three words; each sentence starts with "we."

sound: each sentence has three short words; each stanza ends with an interruption; Alliteration of "Jazz June," "Lurk late," "Strike straight," and "Sing sin" Assonance of "Sing sin" and "Thin gin"; internal rhyme of "cool" and "school," "late" and "straight," "sin" and "gin," "soon" and "June"

W: The speaker joins the seven pool players at the Golden Shovel as part of "we"; it appears that they dropped out of school ("left school") and are proud of it ("real cool"); they relish danger ("Lurk late," "Strike straight," "Sing sin," "Thin gin," "Die soon") and anticipate dying young ("Die soon").

G: The speaker is cool, young, and eager for trouble.

S: Vagrant teenagers congregate at their neighborhood pool hall with pals, where they engage in alcohol consumption, fight with knives, and bide their time until they pass away.

AP: Illustrate the energy and fleeting nature of life for certain inner-city teenagers.

C: Make sure to prompt students to make connections between the readings and their own experiences to help them reinforce the habit of doing so.

Invite students to talk about how the poet's cultural background influenced both the content and the writing process. (She appeared to be an urban resident who was accustomed to a difficult life.) The dropouts spend their time at the pool hall, getting into mischief. The poem's lines are sharp and swift, flowing together like a knife flick ("strike straight"). Using chart paper or the board or an interactive whiteboard, the class can discuss the students' answers. Give students a copy of the interview and the brief biography of Gwendolyn Brooks, and ask them to point out any information that either challenges what they have already said or supports what they already believe.

Part 2

After that, assign students to read "Saturday at the Canal" by Gary Soto independently. This time, have them enumerate everything they know about the speaker rather than writing a response.

- is older than 17

- dislikes games and school; teachers are too old to sympathize.

- likely from a low-income area; "unwashed hair"

- threw rocks into the water on Saturdays at the canal with a friend (nothing to do).

- is not happy and wants to travel to San Francisco but is unable to do so.

- considers hitchhiking but does not

- desired to be a musician.

- never gets to leave the town.

Sort students into groups based on the completed lists. "Check what the other group members have and add anything to your list that needs to be changed," you can say. "Then, contrast this poem's speaker with that of "We Real Cool. Make sure to list all of your supporting details and be as detailed and precise as you can. After you've had roughly twenty minutes to work on this, a group will lead the class discussion."

When they are prepared, choose a group to present their comparisons, and then let that group spearhead the conversation to address any further ideas, criticisms, or additions. Potential analogies:

Both of the speakers are young, or at least the speaker in Soto's poem is reflecting on his youth, and they don't feel like they fit in at school.

While the speaker in Brooks' poem leads a lively life despite the threat of death, the speaker in Soto's poem is profoundly unhappy and bored.

In Soto's poem, the speaker has a friend who shares his boredom and misery, but in Brooks's poem, the speaker has six friends who share his commitment to living dangerously.

While the speaker in Brooks' poem expects an early and violent death, she is still very much involved in living a wild life. The speaker in Soto's poem is victimized by years that "froze/As we sat on the bank."

Part 3

"The next reading you will read is 'View of the Library of Congress from Paul Laurence Dunbar High School.' This time, please use the standard response form (WWGSAPC). You will have a chance to discuss your thoughts on the poem for 20 to 25 minutes."

Potential reactions:

W: the speaker had never considered becoming a poet until the substitute teacher mentioned it to him; reads Hayden's obituary; starts showing interest in Hayden, the Library of Congress's Consultant in Poetry and the forerunner of the Poet Laureate; discovers the location of the Library of Congress so that he can direct his rocks there; makes a connection between the LOC and poetry and his dress shoes, which are a gift from an aunt who works there; starts thinking like a poet; and makes a connection between Hayden's passing and his loafers.

W: spends time with friends on the rooftop of an apartment building, skipping stones toward well-known Washington locations where family members have jobs and yelling out the names of the locations; attends an all-black public school in Washington, D.C.; already possesses poetic talent; lives in Washington but is unfamiliar with the Library of Congress; discovers his aunt has worked there for years; aunt buys him dress shoes; associates dress shoes with Hayden's death; attempts to link Dunbar, the poet for whom his high school is named, to other institutions

G: Although the speaker is youthful and unsophisticated, she is gifted and eager to make friends.

S: The speaker gets an obituary of poet Robert Hayden and a compliment on his poetry from a substitute teacher. After putting Hayden's death in context with the Library of Congress and the dress shoes that his aunt, who works there, bought for him, the speaker keeps them and attempts to think poetically.

AP: to demonstrate a young person realizing their potential as a poet and their talent. The speaker finds the topic important because it marks his entry into a world where he and his friends are only familiar with significant locations. After all, family members work there. Thinking "like a poet," he is making connections between unknown events, like Hayden's passing and the LOC, and familiar objects, like his aunt and the dress shoes, in an attempt to find his place. With a focus on the connections between two things that are significant to him—the dress shoes that his aunt, who works at the LOC, bought for him, and the newspaper obituary and its recycling through nature—the form and style are straightforward and plain.

C: Talk about connections. For instance, compare the speaker's attitude in "Saturday at the Canal" with that of the poem.

"We're going to end this lesson by reading the poem "Dream Deferred" by Langston Hughes. I want you to write your response in a slightly different way. As you consider and write about the poem, I want you to concentrate on two things: 'Why did Hughes choose to use these particular images, and what do you know about the speaker?' Spend twenty to twenty-five minutes reading the poem and writing a response." Allow approximately ten minutes for class discussion following the completion of each student's response.

"Now, please select the image you believe to be the most powerful from the poem and explain your reasoning."

Potential reactions:

Like a raisin drying in the sun, the speaker's unfulfilled dream is fading.

The postponed dream gets more and more bothersome and painful until it eventually explodes, like a festering sore that bursts and the pus pours out.

The delayed dream has turned into an unpleasant experience that should be avoided.

The "syrupy sweet" is so sugary that it has taken on ugly traits, much like the dream deferred, which initially seems appealing before changing and becoming less appealing.

The dream that was put off becomes a burden that gets heavier as the speaker carries it.

Concerning the dream postponed, the speaker queries, "Or does it explode?" Due to its prolonged postponement, this suggests that the dream has finally grown dangerous. The "dream deferred" and what happens when it is never fulfilled pique the speaker's keen interest. He makes assumptions about it and tests various analogies to see if they hold up. While they are all unpleasant, the last one poses the greatest risk.

Ask students to reflect on the following question: "How does reading this poem expand, inform, or contradict what you think about culture?" in their response journals. Gather these reflections to gauge how well the students comprehend the material.

Extension:

Give students access to the following materials and information to help them better understand some of the writers whose works they examined in this lesson:

The high school in "View of the Library of Congress..." is named for Paul Laurence Dunbar, the first nationally recognized black poet. One of his best-known poems is "Sympathy," from which the opening line, "I know what the caged bird feels, alas," has been adopted into common parlance.

Robert Hayden, who was raised in a Detroit ghetto, ought to be added as well. It would be possible to talk about Hayden's poem "O Daedalus, Fly Away Home" and how it relates to Greek mythology as well as the idea that freedom from slavery is a human need.

Students should read about Langston Hughes, who lived in Harlem and was a passionate advocate for civil rights. The "dream deferred" is easily interpreted as a civil rights movement.