Langston Hughes: A Poet’s Life

Chapter 7

Learning Goals

In this chapter, you will learn to:

  • Read sight words and functional words
  • Read words with or, ar, and er word patterns
  • Read simple texts
  • Identify main ideas, characters, and events from a reading
  • Write complete sentences
  • Write a short paragraph

Talk About It

  • People of colour have to deal with unfair problems. What other groups of people have to deal with unfair problems?
  • Langston never got married. Make a guess about why that might be.

Picture Dictionary

https://pixabay.com/en/book-reading-literature-read-700388/  dad-663228_640 aroni-738306_640
read father girl
award-158854_640 lion-565818_640 broken-https://pixabay.com/en/broken-glass-sun-clouds-shattered-549087/
prize young broken
darter-638258_640 bird-386725_640 gull-456727_640
wing bird fly
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

The letter r changes the sounds that vowels make.

The letters or say /or/ like in horn.

rhinoceros-768714_640

The letters ar say /ar/ like in car.

car-33556_640

The letters er say /ər/ like in her.

woman-761643_640

Practice reading these words.
or ar er
born far verb
fork start fern
corn dark germ
form hard herb
pork park perk
fort car her
sort art term
torn barn person
Match each picture to a word above.
scale-751409_640 lynx-103313_640 germ-158107_1280
 1. ________________  2. ________________  3. ________________
fork-334895_640 bracken-297080_640 pork-523102_640
 4. ________________  5. ________________ 6. ________________
bench-560435_640 corn-155613_640 paper-575330_640
 7. ________________  8. ________________  9. ________________
Check your work with the Answer Key at the end of this chapter.
Read each sentence. Then cover it up. Try to write it. Use upper case letters correctly. Use periods and question marks correctly.

a. Park the car by the barn.
_______________________________________________

b. Put pork on your fork.
_______________________________________________

c. When were you born?
_______________________________________________

d. I do not like the dark.
_______________________________________________

e. Fill out this form.
_______________________________________________

You will see these words in the story. They all have the sounds /or/, /ar/, and /ər/.

or story hard ever never harder

Use Your Reading Skills

Listen to Chapter 7. Then read Chapter 7 in BC Reads: Adult Literacy Fundamental English – Reader 2. As you read, ask yourself, “Does that make sense?”


Check Your Understanding

Write a sentence to answer each question. Use the underlined words to help make your answer.

1. Who were Langston’s love poems written to?

2. If Langston was gay, why do you think he did not tell people?

3. Who did Langston help when he became famous?

Read the poem “Dreams” with a partner. Talk about these questions.

4. Langston tells people to “Hold fast to dreams.” What do you think this means?

5. What is a broken-winged bird? How can life be like a broken-winged bird?

6. Do you think dreams matter? Why or why not?

7. What are your dreams?

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

Writing

Grammar Rule

A sentence has a complete thought or idea.

We fed the ducks.

We fed.

Fed the ducks.

The ducks.

This is a sentence.

What did you feed? This is not a sentence.

Who fed the ducks? This is not a sentence.

What about the ducks? This is not a sentence.

Read the groups of words below. Circle the sentences.

1. The girl won a prize.

2. The bird.

3. In the dark.

4. The kids made a fort.

5. Is parking the car.

6. Eating corn.

7. The dress is torn.

8. He looked at the map.

9. Reading a book.

10. The barn.

Writing Task

You will write a paragraph about a time you felt like you did not fit in. It can help to talk about your ideas before you write. Find a classmate. Ask each other these questions.

Think of a time you felt like you did not fit in.

1. When was it?
2. Where were you?
3. Who were you with?
4. Why did you feel different?
5. How did you feel?
6. How did you deal with it?
7. What did you learn about yourself?

Write a short paragraph about a time you felt like you did not fit in. Include details like:
  • What happened?
  • Where did it happen?
  • Why did it happen?
  • How did you feel?
  • How did you deal with it?
  • What did you learn about yourself?

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
bird broken father
fly girl prize
read wing young
Word Skills
QUESTION ANSWER
1 barn
2 dark
3 germ
4 fork
5 fern
6 pork
7 park
8 corn
9 torn
Check Your Understanding  
QUESTION ANSWER
1 Langston’s love poems were written to a man.
2 He did not tell people because they may not have paid him to write his poems. They may not have read his poems.
3 Langston helped many young black writers.
4 “Hold fast to dreams” means to hang on to your dreams.
5 A broken-winged bird is a bird with a broken wing. Life can be like a broken-winged bird if you have no hope, because you have nothing to lift you up and carry you to better places.
6 Answers will vary.
7 Answers will vary.
Writing
These are sentences:
1 The girl won a prize.
4 The kids made a fort.
7 The dress is torn.
8 He looked at the map.

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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