Description
Explore Langston Hughes’ poetry and make text-to-text connections with his short story, “Thank You, Ma’am!” This analysis activity includes three poems by Langston Hughes: “Harlem,” “Mother and Son,” and “I, Too.” Includes digital worksheets for Google Classroom®! Explore themes, symbols, and literary devices in these brilliant poems.
Included with this Text-to-Text Connections for “Thank You, Ma’am” by Langston Hughes:
- Three Poems by Langston Hughes – Digital & Print
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- “Harlem”
- “I, Too”
- “Mother and Son”
- Short Answer Questions for Poetry Analysis – Digital & Print
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- Explore literary devices including symbolism, alliteration, extended metaphor, and enjambment
- Examine overarching themes in Langston Hughes’ poetry
- Make text-to-text connections with the short story, “Thank You, Ma’am”
- Poetry Annotation Bookmark – Digital & Print
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- Scaffold poetry analysis with this personalized anchor chart
- Options for extension writing activities, including essay prompts and presentations
- Detailed Answer Key
- Teacher Instructions for using this resource
How to use this Text-to-Text Connections for “Thank You, Ma’am” by Langston Hughes:
“Thank You, Ma’am” by Langston Hughes is a short story that examines compassion, generosity, community, and dignity. Explore the poetry of Langston Hughes and dig deeper into the themes of this short story using this text-to-text connections activity! This activity is designed to help students understand how similar themes are explored across different literary forms—short story and poetry—while encouraging critical thinking and comparative analysis. The inclusion of the Symbolism Graphic Organizer as a supplementary resource allows students to keep track of recurring symbols and thematic elements found in both the story and the poems, helping them draw insightful connections between texts.
This activity includes three poems by Langston Hughes: “Harlem,” “Mother and Son,” and “I, Too.” Students can annotate each poem directly in the worksheets provided before answering the accompanying short answer questions. These carefully selected poems reflect the emotional depth, cultural perspective, and resilience found in Hughes’ body of work. The poems also echo the themes of struggle, hope, and identity seen in “Thank You, Ma’am.” By incorporating the Symbolism Graphic Organizer into their reading process, students can more effectively trace symbolic elements across texts, making it easier to understand how Hughes conveys layered meanings through poetic and narrative devices.
Each poem has an individual set of short answer questions that have students:
- summarize the main idea of the poem
- explore themes
- identify tone
- analyze examples of literary devices
Students will also compare the poem to “Thank You, Ma’am” by making text-to-text connections. These questions foster close reading and literary analysis, helping students develop a deeper understanding of both the poems and the short story. As they identify symbols within each piece, students can use the Symbolism Graphic Organizer to document their findings, interpret their significance, and explain how these symbols reinforce the core messages of each work. This consistent tool supports theme-based learning and helps students visually organize their analysis in a meaningful way.
Students also have the option of using the Poetry Annotation Bookmark to scaffold the annotation process. This bookmark prompts students to consider the meter, rhyme scheme, and type of verse of each poem; if your students are unfamiliar with this process, you can lead into this activity using Mondays Made Easy’s Annotating Poetry Lesson. This lesson includes a guided annotation and analysis of Langston Hughes’ poem, “The Negro Speaks of Rivers.” The bookmark acts as a stepping stone for students who are still building confidence in poetry analysis, while the Symbolism Graphic Organizer remains a valuable companion resource that can be integrated with the poems or used later to connect symbols and themes across all four texts.
If your students are not yet ready to analyze meter, rhyme scheme, and types of poetic verses, then they can simply use the short answer questions alongside the poem. These questions provide enough structure to guide meaningful interpretation without overwhelming students. Teachers can still introduce the Symbolism Graphic Organizer to help students focus on identifying important recurring ideas and images within the text. The organizer functions as a differentiated tool that accommodates various skill levels while promoting thoughtful engagement with Langston Hughes’ work.
To consolidate this lesson, an answer key has also been included. The answer key offers suggested responses that reflect a thorough understanding of each poem and how it connects to “Thank You, Ma’am.” Teachers can use this answer key to support class discussions, assess comprehension, or guide student self-assessment. When paired with the Symbolism Graphic Organizer, the answer key makes it easier for educators to facilitate a smooth and insightful learning experience, all while reinforcing analytical skills through multiple entry points.
✨ Kindly note that due to copyright restrictions, this resource is not editable. This is a common practice within the TPT marketplace in order to protect the clipartists and software providers that have authorized their intellectual property for the development of this resource.
⭒ For classrooms utilizing Google Classroom® ⭒
To access the digital version of these worksheets, simply follow the instructions within the resource to copy the files directly to your Google Drive®.
