The Negro Speaks of Rivers by Langston Hughes (a poem to use with Kindling)
I've known rivers:
I've known rivers ancient as the world and
older than the flow of human blood
in
human veins.
My soul has grown deep like the rivers.
I bathed in the Euphrates when dawns were young.
I built my hut near the Congo and it lulled me
to sleep.
I looked upon the Nile and raised the pyramids
above it.
I heard the singing of the Mississippi when
Abe Lincoln went down to New Orleans,
and
I've seen its muddy bosom turn all
golden in the sunset.
I've known rivers:
Ancient, dusky rivers.
My soul has grown deep like the rivers.
Langston Hughes
TO THE TEACHER:
Before reading the poem aloud: Ask students to relax and get
vivid mental images as you read, so that they wil be able to do a simple
task after listening. Set up poem partners for the "after" activity.
Read the poem aloud. They should be able to look at a copy if
they wish, either on an overhead projectector, a chart, or an invidual
copy.
After reading the poem aloud: Use the Kindling format.
1. Ask each student to write just 3 words that give a feeling
for the entire poem. They could be three together, such as "ancient,
dusky rivers," but three separate words are most of chosen, such
as "soul, singing, deep" or "flow, blood, Euphrates."
2. Partners share lists and add any they like from their partners'
lists. They underline any that were the same choice. They agree
on one word to tell the class.
3. In some kind of equitable order, each set of partner tells
a single word to the teacher; teacher writes it publichly (board, chart,
overhead)
4. When all partners have shared, teacher could ask for other
words that aren't up yet. Teacher could also find a way to emphasize
words that many students selected.
5. Have the class do something with the final word list.
It might be to write their own soul poem, or to tell what they've learn
about Lanston Hughes from this exercise.