Poetry Project #1

Let me start off by saying this semester is going wonderfully! Our students are working hard and are learning how literature is not a stand-alone subject: it connects with history, politics, economics, so many facets of our lives. There is a lot of information and material to read and work through. Everyone is doing a fabulous job.

Parents: Please review our poetry project for this unit. Students will work in groups to complete this assignment. Here is one of the featured poets in our unit entitled, "Literature and World: The Harlem Renaissance Project."

Poet: Langston Hughes
Birth and Death: 1902-1967
Poem: "The Weary Blues"
Read by: Langston Hughes


Students listened to this poem in class. Before hearing the poem, the class and instructor discussed the music style called "blues" as well as jazz music and how important music was to the Harlem Renaissance. Students selected words from the poem that sounded musical. Students also selected words from the poem that made them think of images. Each word was discussed with the instructor to illustrate how literature (poetry) is related to the world (music, nature).

Students selected the following words that reminded them of music and the world:
Tune (musical notes, birds singing)
Blues (music style, color, emotion)
Melancholy (melodic sound, emotion)
Sway (movement, dance, moving notes)
Syncopated (musical beat, music notes)
Mellow (musical sound, emotion)

Let's Stay in Touch

Instructor: LaTanya Woods
Course: English IV
Classroom: Room 111
Email: lwoods@kcksd.org
Phone: (913) 777-9311








Phone Calls
Parents are welcome to call my extension from 7:00 a.m. to 7:45 a.m., Monday - Friday. All teacher phone lines close at 7:50 a.m. If you leave a message after the phone lines are closed, I will return your call at the end of the day.

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For the convenience of parents and students, I offer online office hours. My office hours are Monday - Friday, 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. You may contact me via email for private discussion or use our class blog for general questions and review.

Class Newsletter
The English IV senior composition class has its own newsletter: A+ For English. A+ For English is sent home once every nine weeks and contains information parents need to know about our class, semester activities, and updates concerning Kansas English language learners. On occasion, we release a special issue of A+ For English to showcase the great work our seniors are doing. Please note that our class newsletter is also available via email. Add your first and last name and email address below if you would like to receive the electronic newsletter.

Senior Prep Day Jump Drives

Senior Prep Day is this Wednesday, August 15 and your senior English IV class will be there with our own booth! All senior English IV students are asked to stop by the booth to pick up the English IV jump drive. The jump drive is required for this course. You will need it each class period in order to complete your assignments. Your syllabus, assignment instructions, and poetry readings will be included on this drive. This first drive is free. There will be a charge to receive a second drive. Students are permitted only one replacement. You will also need my initials on this section of your prep list before leaving on Wednesday.

I'm excited to see you all on Wednesday. I know this will be a great school year!


"Harmon seniors striving for an A+ in English..."