US and MS English Students Collaborate to Study the Poetry of Langston Hughes

Upper School seniors in English IV: The Color Line class are studying the great writers, thinkers and artists of the Harlem Renaissance. 

 

As part of the class, taught by Upper School English teacher and DEI coordinator Jamie Bunch, the grade 12 students recently led a poetry circle with grade 8 English students in celebration of Black History Month. During several class periods last week, the Upper School students visited the Middle School classrooms of English teachers Dr. Daniel Matlock and Dr. Rachel Mykkanen to read and discuss the works of Langston Hughes. 

 

Upper School students provided the grade 8 English students with historical context about the Harlem Renaissance as well as pertinent details about the life of Langston Hughes. Then, the groups of Middle School students cycled through different five- to seven-minute poetry circles centered around one poem and facilitated by the Upper School students. 

 

A few of the Langston Hughes poems the students discussed were, “I, Too,” “I Look at the World,” and “Harlem.” The cross-divisional lesson offered an opportunity for reflection, journaling and positive discussion on the historical context of both Langston Hughes and the Harlem Renaissance.

 

English IV: The Color Line is one of several semester-long seminars that Upper School seniors choose from which examine a particular aspect of literature.