Grammar for Writing: Level Blue — Chapter 2

Harlem Renaissance Artist Loïs Mailou Jones in her studio. The time was the 1920s. The place was Harlem, a section of New York City. Across America, people learned about the hopes, dreams, and pride of African Americans through art and literature. It was a time that is known as the Harlem Renaissance. Look into the life of a writer living and working in Harlem during this period. Create a Biography Board. A Biography Board is a collection of materials about your subject's life and accomplishments, mounted attractively on poster board. Include a three-paragraph summary, quotations by and about that person, a list of literary works, photos you may have found, and a time line. Your biography and those by your classmates will help demonstrate the impact of the Harlem Renaissance on American culture. STEP 1: Initial Search Begin your research with visits to the following Web sites: Google Search: Harlem Renaissance The History Channel Search: Harlem Renaissance Barnard College Search for specific literary figures active in the Harlem Renaissance. Take notes on personalities, events, themes, and general information about the Harlem Renaissance. Include in your research pictures, poems, and artworks from the sites. Focus the Biography Board on a poet, novelist, or essayist. Use cluster diagrams to organize the details you have discovered about various writers. (See Grammar for Writing, Level Blue, pages 10-11.) Then choose the writer who interests you most. STEP 2: Expanded Search Search the Internet for more information on the writer you chose, and explore other resources such as encyclopedias, newspaper and magazine articles, and biographies. Gather information about specific works by your writer, quotes by or about him or her, accomplishments, awards received, and the writer's contribution to American culture and literature. Read a sampling of your writer's works, and choose one or more excerpts to display on the Biography Board. STEP 3: Define Your Audience Make your information interesting to high school students. Your audience may know something about the Harlem Renaissance but very little about the writer you are showcasing. STEP 4: Write a Summary Write three well-developed paragraphs in which you summarize and explain the accomplishments of the individual you've studied. Include: (1) early life; (2) major successes; (3) how your writer is regarded today. There are two invaluable prewriting steps that will help you organize your information. These are the 5-W and How? questions (see Grammar for Writing, Level Blue, page 11), and making an outline (pages 13 and 80). Nonfiction writing can be more interesting if ideas are supported with direct quotations. These quotations can be comments by a person about his or her own work, or by an outside source discussing the work. You can find quotations in books, articles, and documentaries about the person you are investigating. To include quotations in your summary, first write your draft. Once your ideas are in place, look for quotations by or about the writer that support what you say. Don't overuse this technique. You may find only one quotation that fits your three-paragraph summary. STEP 6: Assemble Your Board Display quotations, lists of literary works, any photos you found, and a time line, and organize details chronologically. Arrange your materials on a large piece of poster board. Remember that you may have interesting information, but unless it's displayed in an engaging way, no one will stop to read it! Zora Neale Hurston STEP 7: Revise, Edit, and Proofread Reread your summary. Make sure that each paragraph has a topic sentence and that all the sentences support that topic. Add details, anecdotes, or quotations to your paragraphs to help readers get a clear idea of the person you are writing about. Edit your writing for grammatical errors; then proofread it carefully for spelling, punctuation, and capitalization errors. STEP 8: Publish Your Work Display your Biography Board with those of your classmates in a special Harlem Renaissance section of your classroom. Your school librarian may wish to showcase your Biography Board to help promote the writing of your author. Copyright ©2007 by William H. Sadlier, Inc. All rights reserved.