Black History Month - The Weary Blues poetry lesson

This lesson was created to give students a chance to explore on of the most prevalent black poets of the 20th Century - Langston Hughes. Specifically, the lesson focuses on exploring the poem ‘The Weary Blues’ and how Blues music originated from black slavery and oppression.

Within the lesson:

• Facts about the poet.
• Some contextual information.
• A clip of Billie Holiday singing ‘Strange Fruit’ as a pre-thinking task before you explore the poem.
• Statements about the poem that the students use to analyse.
• A thought prvioking statment at the end to help students consider the importance of poetry and other artistic works within the black community.

Warning: The song ‘Strange Fruit’ is very harrowing and you might need to really think about how you approach this with your class. If you feel students are not mature enough, a conversation beforehand might be needed.

Hope this helps!