Black History Oratorical Festival

Elementary

Poems for Performance

These sample poems were written by celebrated poets from the Harlem Renaissance. Click on a link below to access a printable PDF to share with students as a possible performance piece. All of the poems below are age-appropriate for elementary students.

by Georgia Douglas Johnson

The Black Finger

by Angelina Weld Grimké

Lift Every Voice and Sing

lyrics by James Weldon Johnson

by Langston Hughes

by Countee Cullen

The Gift to Sing

by James Weldon Johnson

Dream Variations

by Langston Hughes

by William Stanley Braithwaite

Picture Books

The following books can help build background knowledge and include passages that students might consider performing. All of these books are available at your school library, and are age-appropriate for elementary students

Duke Ellington: The Piano Prince and His Orchestra

by Andrea Davis Pinkney

Ella Fitzgerald: The Tale of a Vocal Virtuosa

by Andrea Davis Pinkney

Harlem: A Poem

by Walter Dean Myers

Harlem Renaissance Party

by Faith Ringgold

Harlem’s Little Blackbird

by Renee Watson

Josephine: The Dazzling Life of Josephine Baker

by Patricia Hruby Powell

Jump at the Sun: The True Life Tale of Unstoppable Storycatcher Zora Neale Hurston

by Alicia D. Williams

My People

by Langston Hughes

Poetry for Young People: Langston Hughes

by Langston Hughes; edited by David Roessel & Arnold Rampersand

Schomburg: The Man Who Built a Library

by Carole Boston Weatherford

Take a Picture of Me, James VanDerZee

by Andrea J. Loney

There Was a Party for Langston

by Jason Reynolds

3-5 Harlem Renaissance Lesson

The following lesson will help you create learning moments that support your students in exploring the rich history of the Harlem Renaissances.

Lesson Topics

The Spark Behind the Harlem Renaissance
The Visionaries Who Defined the Era
The Power of Community

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