Poetry Unit

Poetry Unit

Open Ended

Think back... What do you remember from your previous study of poetry?

​African American poet Langston Hughes (1902–1967) is one of the best-known poets of the Harlem Renaissance, a cultural and intellectual movement that began in the 1920s and resulted in the production of African American literature, art, and music that challenged racism and promoted racial integration in a time of segregation. In Hughes’s poem “Mother to Son,” the speaker is a mother who draws on her own experiences to teach her son about perseverance.

​"Mother to Son"
by Langston Hughes

​Group 1, 5- Questions
What questions do you have as you read this?
Group 2, 6- Big Idea
What is the main idea? What is the theme?
Group 3, 7- Imagery
What kind of imagery is present?
Group 4- Reactions
What are your personal reactions to the poem?

Open Ended

To what does the speaker compare life?

Open Ended

What images does the speaker use to describe stairs?

Open Ended

How does the speaker describe the way she moves on the stairs?

Open Ended

What does the speaker tell her son to do?

Multiple Choice

The Mother in the poem mainly compares life to ______.

• a straight path to the stars

• a hazardous staircase

• turbulent boat

• a teenaged boy

Multiple Choice

Which line from the poem best shows the Mother's determination to peservere?

• "Well, son, I'll tell you:"

• “And boards torn up,”

• “I’se been a-climbin’ on,”

• “Cause you find it’s kinder hard.”

Multiple Choice

With which of the following statements would the speaker of the poem most likely agree?

• If I can continue to try, then so can you.

• If you want nice things, you have to work hard.

• If your home is in disrepair, start with the interior.

• If life becomes difficult, walk away from the struggle.

Multiple Choice

Which quote from the poem most strongly supports the answer to the previous question?

• “Well, son, I’ll tell you: / Life for me ain’t been no crystal stair.”

• “And places with no carpet on the floor— / Bare.”

• “And sometimes goin’ in the dark / Where there ain’t no light.”

• “Don’t you fall now— / For I’se still goin’, honey,”

Open Ended

Exit Ticket Reflections:

Imagine you are going to give a younger sibling, family member, or friend advice like the Mother gives her son in this poem.

--What is the most important lesson you have learned?
--What piece of advice would you want to give someone you care about?