About this Lesson

During this lesson of "I, Too, Sing America" by Langston Hughes, students are using small-group discussion, whole-group debriefing of the discussion, and individual writing to answer a series of carefully constructed teacher questions. The teacher asks students groups questions as they work, asking for textual evidence to support their deeper understanding of the author's message and purpose.  The text in this lesson can often be found in libraries or at online bookstores.

This video shows a real-life classroom, with all the real-life challenges and successes found in daily interactions between students and teachers. It has been selected because it includes illustrations of the Core Actions and Indicators embedded in the day-to-day work happening in schools, and so it offers opportunities to practice using and norming expectations around the Instructional Practice Guide: Coaching Tool. Learn more about this video and others in the collection.

Instructional Practice Toolkit

We recommend watching this lesson in the context of using the Instructional Practice Toolkit, a professional learning module designed to support understanding of planning and instruction aligned to college- and career-ready  (CCR) standards.  Included with the lesson video, lesson plan, student work, and teacher interview are the activity templates from the Instructional Practice Toolkit.