[Introduction] [Roles] [Task] [Process] [Evaluation] [Teacher Tips]
[Roles] [Top of Page]
To successfully complete this Quest you will need to work
cooperatively in groups of three. Each student in the group will need to assume
one of the following roles.
Role 1 Literary Expert
Role 2 Art Connoisseur
Role 3 Music Buff
[Task] [Top of Page]
[Process] [Top of Page]
To get a better idea of what all was occurring both socially and artistically during the Harlem Renaissance, check out the following web sites. These sites also have links that will allow you to access sites devoted to some of the more prominent figures you will be researching.
While these links give good general introductions to the Harlem Renaissance, feel free to also look at the following links to find even more prominent artistic figures, maps of Harlem, and a timeline of the decade, among other interesting facts. This extra information will help you with your research by getting background information of the time and discovering what was surrounding the artists, both physically and socially, that may have greatly influenced them.
Harlem Home, click on Timeline at this site to get highlights from the years around and during the Harlem Renaissance. You are also strongly encouraged to click on Exhibition for some excellent information on artists, Harlem writers and intellectuals, etc.
Inroads to Harlem, this site has great maps of Harlem, showing the layout and talking about the Great Migration, among other things.
1. Literary Expert: Research a major literary figure from the Harlem Renaissance.
There are tons of links to various writers in almost every Harlem link I have put on this page. Some of the bigger names you might want to keep in mind, and that you will see all over the place, are Langston Hughes, Countee Cullen, Claude McKay, Zora Neale Hurston and Jean Toomer, but do not feel limited by this list.
a. Look at some of their work and analyze it from their aspect, i.e.: if it is a female, think about how it would feel to be both a woman and an African American at that time, or a homosexual and an African American.
b. Take into account how an author's work can reveal a lot about their views on society, politics, etc.
To possibly find more pictures of your literary figure, go to
http://www.google.com/, click on images,
then type in harlem renaissance to search.
2. Art Connoisseur: Research a major artist in terms of painting of the Harlem Renaissance.
Some artists to consider in your research might be:
a. Look at examples of their paintings and consider what
their art may be trying to say about the period they were living
in.
b. Also look at how much of the African American heritage they were trying to share with the world, both the Caucasin population and the African Americans who may have lost sight of their culture, through their art work.
To possibly find more pictures of your artist of choice, or
possibly more of their art, go to http://www.google.com/, click on images, then
type in harlem renaissance to search.
3. Music Buff: Research a major
musical figure of the Harlem Renaissance.
Some musicians to consider in your research might be:
Paul Robeson, another link in looking at arguably the most famous male from this time period is Paul.
Bessie Smith, just find her name on the scroll screen to the right and click on it. There are also links to hear some of her songs.
Gertrude
"Ma" Rainey, again, just find her name and click on it, and you will also
have the opportunity to hear her music.
a .Look at the music of the time, with the Harlem Renaissance
being right around the Jazz Age.
b .Look at how literature was combined with music and what
artists employed this tactic.
c. Also look at how blues and jazz went over with African Americans and Caucasins. Consider why jazz and blues were such a big hit with both ethnic groups.
To possibly find more pictures of your musician of choice go
to http://www.google.com/, click on images,
then type in harlem renaissance to search.
[Evaluation] [Top of
Page]
Get together with the whole class after this project and discuss what you feel you got from all of your research. Share any new ideas or insight that you feel you gained from this project. Some questions to raise may be:
What are some common bonds you discovered among writers, artists, and musicians of the time?
What role did art play in the struggle against racial injustice?
Why is the term Harlem Renaissance used to describe this period of such high artistic activity?
If this is a topic that greatly interests you, I would suggest reading some of the longer works that these literary figures have completed, such as:
By: Zora Neale Hurston By: Wallace Thurman By: Langston Hughes
[Teacher Tips] [Top of Page]
I recommend doing this WebQuest with your class sometime around Black History Month, February, so as to display what the class has learned, in a school hall or your classroom. This is a project that the rest of the school could benefit from by matching up pictures that the kids find of their Harlem Renaissance artist, literary or otherwise, with a short biography of that person, and possibly an example of their work. You could feature three figures a week, or one group's work, during each week of Black History Month on a bulletin board.
I also recommend doing fun projects along with the class as a whole to keep them motivated and interested in learning about this important topic. Do some readings out loud from Langston Hughes work and discuss it to get some ideas rolling for the kids. Bring in some music by Paul Robeson or Bessie Smith. Listen to different examples of the blues and jazz, listen to some work songs and discuss their importance. Maybe even have a creative side project, such as having the child write a poem in the style of the literary figure they are researching, or paint a picture either in the style of the painter they are looking at, or do a painting with that persons general interests in mind, i.e.: social aspects during the Harlem Renaissance.