African-America Poetry Unit

This unit will be geared towards a middle school population of emotionally disturbed and learning disabled students for use in a resource classroom. It will be utilized for a 6 week period by students who have abilities ranging between the fourth and sixth grade levels, yet who are between the ages of twelve and fifteen. Since students who are emotionally disturbed and/or have learning disabilities have traits such as hyperactivity, short attention spans, poor organizational skills, low motivation and little overall success in school, the teacher must take these factors into consideration when developing a unit to meet their needs. After working with special education students in a resource classroom, I have found that clear contrasts, such as the ones contained within the two eras of poetry we will be examining, have made it easier for my students to absorb the material.