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Langston Hughes and the Blues
Grade 8-9
Objectives:
Over the course of this lesson plan, students will be able to:
Develop an understanding of what constitutes ‘the blues’
 What is the subject matter of blues music and poemsWhat is the origin and history of the bluesWhy blues music is considered universalWhat elements of poetry are present in blues musicWhat elements of blues music are present in poetryExamine the relationship between the blues and the poetry of Langston Hughes
What is the ‘classic’ ma
ke up of blues
Materials:
CD’s/tapes/recordings of selected blues songs: “Cross Road Blues” by Robert Johnson and “GoodMornin’ Blues” by Lead Belly; Langston Hughes’ essay “Songs Called the Blues” and poems “The WearyBlues,” “Po’ Boy Blues,” and “Homesick Blues.”
 
Timeframe:
Two to possibly three days, 2 lessons and the rest work time.
Procedures:
Day One
Reading Journal Entry #11: What, to you, is “the blues?” What usually
is the subject of Blues songs?5-10 minutes: Welcome students to class; point them to their journal entry. Have students write in journals (3-5 minutes), and then discuss answers as a group. Introduce a new aspect of the poetry unit: poems in Blues music. Just as we covered poetry in songs on Thursday
with “Stairway to Heaven” by Led
 
Zeppelin and “Sound of Silence” by Simon and
Garfunkel, we will now look at Blues poetry and how the rhythm and other poeticelements in Blues poetry lends itself easily to a musical form.5 minutes:
Play the clip from “The Office” Season 5 where Michael
is driving home with Daryl in the
van after moving Holly to Nashua. Daryl starts making the blues beat: “ba da da da DUMda DUM da DUM… ba da da da DUM da DUM da DUM…” waiting for Michael to inserthis sad feelings, but Michael doesn’t get it and just rep
eats the noise. End the clip and
discuss students’ notions about the blues. Refer back to what students wrote in their
 journals
—
what is usually the subject of the blues? Why would Daryl want Michael to
 
sing the blues? Hopefully students will mention something about how singing the bluessometimes can make people feel better; voicing the pain can alleviate it a little.10-15 minutes:
Pass out copies of Langston Hughes’ essay, “Songs Called the Blues.” A lot of this essay
focuses on those who are talented with Blues, but it also has some good examples of 
what might be considered the Blues and why singing the Blues is so important (it’s
universal
—
people can identify). Go over the essay with the class and discuss thefollowing with students:
 
Ask students to dis
cuss Hughes’ main points about the blues: songs of black (southern) life,
songs with tension between heartache and laughter.
 
Discuss the origins and history of the blues.
 
What is the difference between spirituals and blues?
 
What different kinds of blues are there?
 
What are the subjects of the blues (everyday life, love, work, family, etc.)?
 
As sad as the Blues may be, what one thing is almost always present?
 
What does the Blues have that goes beyond race or sectional limits?15 minutes: After discussing
what is the blues, play examples of Blues music for the students. “CrossRoad Blues” by Robert Johnson and “Good Mornin’ Blues” by Lead Belly are good
examples of the rhythm and subject matter popular of Blues style. Discuss the basicmusical and lyrical elements of the songs. Find examples of tension between heartacheand laughter in the songs. After listening to and discussing these songs, read the three
Langston Hughes blues poems: “The Weary Blues,” “Po’ Boy Blues,” and “HomesickBlues.” Discuss
the basic musical and lyrical elements of the poems, and find examplesof tension between heartache and laughter in the poems. Then, compare and contrastthe poems and the Blues songs that you heard (it might help to have handouts whichhave the lyrics of the songs and the Hughes poems on them so that students can seethese to compare/contrast them).5 minutes: Wrap up lesson and discussion. Have students complete the following short answerquestions as homework (these questions should really just be review of thecompare/contrast for students so that they are ready tomorrow to jump back intodiscussing blues and poetry):1.
 
How are the poems similar to or different from blues songs listened to in class?2.
 
What blues elements does Hughes incorporate into his poetry?3.
 
Which of the poems seems closest to the blues music?4.
 
What is the makeup of blues in the classical form?5.
 
How did blues influence Hughes' poems?
Day Two
5-10 minutes: Welcome students to class. Check over homework. Students who did not complete theshort answer questions will only receive half credit for doing it while we discuss the
questions. Go over the handout questions and discuss student’s answers. What do they
 
think of Blues so far? Can they see the correlation between Blues music and Hughes’
poetry?5-7 minutes: Hughes had a definition of Blues music and poetry:
“The Blues...have a strict rhyme
pattern: one long line repeated and a third line to rhyme with the first two. Sometimesthe second line...is slightly changed a
nd sometimes...it is omitted.”
Write this on theboard and have students pull out their handouts with the poems and song lyrics. Do
they see examples of this style in the songs and poems? Why might this be the ‘classic’
way to write Blues poetry?5-10 minutes: Have students write the word BAD DAY in a word web with at least 8 circles connectingto the BAD DAY circle. Have students write examples of things that
really happened tothem once
and perhaps contributed to a BAD DAY (see attached example).Until end: Write an example of the word web on the board. Add student examples as you askstudents what they wrote in their web. Then pass out and discuss the assignment:students must write their own Blues song/poem using the blues songs and LangstonHughes poems as models. Poems should show an understanding of Blues rhythm andstructure (repetition, rhyme, stanzas, and appropriate subject matter) as well ascreativity, originality, and effort. Poems should be at least 20 lines and include an
imaginative title (i.e., Rippin’ my Pants in Clas
s Blues). Students should use the examplesfrom their word web to help them think of what Blues to write or focus on in theirpoem. Students have the rest of the class period and part of class tomorrow to finishthese poems.
Students will need to print off a rough copy of their poem/song and havethis approved by the teacher so that they can be sure they are on the right track withtheir work. They should then revise and strengthen their poem with the help of theteacher and submit a final copy.
 Students should be allowed to share their finished poems in class at another time.
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