Langston Hughes: A Poet’s Life

Chapter 6

Learning Goals

In this chapter, you will learn to:

  • Read sight words and functional words
  • Read -ing and -ed word endings
  • Write some words with -ing and -ed endings
  • Read simple texts
  • Identify main ideas, characters, and events from a reading
  • Write sentences to questions such as who, what, where, when, and why
  • Write complete sentences
  • Write a short paragraph

Talk About It

  • Think of some unfair problems people of colour had to deal with in the past.
  • Think of some unfair problems people of colour still have to deal with.
  • Harlem is a place where Langston lived. Guess what city Harlem is part of.

Picture Dictionary

graffiti-508272_640 clef-799256_640 group-work-454882_640
painting music community
magazines-716801_640 pot-820012_640 6247800223_fed65c6246_o
magazines kitchen company
image weights-646497_640 fun-725813_640
laugh strong print
Put the above words in alphabetical order.

___________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________

Check your work with the Answer Key at the end of this chapter.
Make a sentence using one of the above words.

___________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________

Ask your instructor to check your work.

Word Skills

Word Patterns

Words can have endings. Some common word endings are –ing and –ed.

ing ed
cook cooking cooked
roll rolling rolled
miss missing missed
1. Fill in this chart.
ing ed
call
rock
look
talk
kiss
Fill in the blanks. Use the word in [brackets]. Add a word ending that makes sense.

2. Last night, I _______________ [talk] to my dad.

3. I am _______________ [look] for my keys.

4. She _______________ [miss] the bus again.

5. He is _______________ [rock] the baby to sleep.

6. What are you _______________ [cook]?

7. The ball _______________ [roll] onto the street.

8. I _______________ [call] my dog, but he did not come.

Check your work with the Answer Key at the end of this chapter.

You will see these words in the story. They all have the endings –ed or –ing.

being paintings moved helped printed

Use Your Reading Skills

Listen to Chapter 6. Then read Chapter 6 in BC Reads: Adult Literacy Fundamental English – Reader 2. When you see a word you do not know, look in a big dictionary to find the meaning.


Check Your Understanding

1. Where is Harlem?

Harlem is in ___________________________________________

2. What kind of art did people in Harlem make?

People in Harlem made ___________________________________________

3. How did art help black people in the 1920s?

Art helped black people ___________________________________________

4. What did people pay Langston to do?

People paid Langston to ___________________________________________

5. What did Langston use his poetry to do?

Langston used his poetry to ___________________________________________

Read the poem “I, Too” with a partner. Talk about the following questions.

6. How does the person in the poem feel about the future? Are they sad or do they have hope? How do you know?

Check your work with the Answer Key at the end of this chapter.

Writing

Grammar Rule

You may be asked to answer a question with a complete sentence. You can often use some words from the question to make your answer. Make sure you put the words in an order that makes sense.

Put these words in order to make a sentence that answers the question.

1. Who made this apple pie?________________________________________________________
(made pie this Jill apple)

2. Where is your car?
________________________________________________________
(is car my at shop the)

3. When did the cat go missing?________________________________________________________
(morning the went this cat missing)

4. What is your mom’s name?________________________________________________________
(Pat name my mom’s is)

5. Why was Jim all wet?
________________________________________________________
(all wet Jim was fell in because he the lake)

Check your work with the Answer Key at the end of this chapter.

Writing Task

You will write a paragraph about your life as a young adult. It can help to talk about your ideas before you write. Find a classmate. Ask each other these questions.
  1. Where did you live when you were in your 20s?
  2. Did you have any jobs in your 20s?
  3. What did you do for fun in your 20s?
  4. Did any life events surprise you in your 20s?
  5. Can you think of a time in your 20s when you were really happy?
Complete these sentences to make a paragraph about your life as a young adult.
  • In my 20s, I lived in…
  • I had a job as…
  • My hobbies were…
  • One thing I did not expect was that…
  • I was very happy when…

Remember:
– Use an upper case letter to begin each sentence.
– Use an upper case letter for the word I.
– Use an upper case letter for the names of people and places.
– End each sentence with a period or question mark.
– You may wish to type your paragraph on a computer.

Answer Key

Picture Dictionary
community company kitchen
laugh magazines music
painting print strong
Word Skills
QUESTION 1
ing ed
call  calling  called
rock  rocking  rocked
look  looking  looked
talk  talking talked
kiss kissing kissed
QUESTION ANSWER
2 talked
3 looking
4 missed
5 rocking
6 cooking
7 rolled
8 called
Check Your Understanding  
QUESTION ANSWER
1 Harlem is in New York.
2 People in Harlem made books, poems, plays, paintings, and music.
3 Art helped black people come together as one community.
4 People paid Langston to write poems.
5 Langston used his poetry to fight racism.
6 The person in the poem feels good about the future. They seem to have hope because they say they will laugh and grow strong.
Writing
QUESTION ANSWER
1 Jill made this apple pie.
2 My car is at the shop.
3 The cat went missing this morning.
4 My mom’s name is Pat.
5 Jim was all wet because he fell in the lake.

Attributions

See the Attributions page near the end of this book.

License

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BC Reads: Adult Literacy Fundamental English - Course Pack 2 Copyright © 2015 by Shantel Ivits is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

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