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Classroom · Grades 7–12

Gwendolyn Brooks

Gwendolyn Brooks made ordinary Black lives on Chicago’s South Side the subject of great poetry, and later chose to write for and publish within the Black community.

Lesson at a Glance

Grades
Grades 7–12
Time
One class period (20–40 minutes)
Standards
NCSS Themes 1 (Culture) and 4 (Individual Development and Identity); C3 D2.His.2.6-8, D2.His.4.9-12
Reading
Gwendolyn Brooks (profile)

Big Idea

Gwendolyn Brooks made ordinary Black lives on Chicago’s South Side the subject of great poetry, and later chose to write for and publish within the Black community.

Before Class

Students read the profile of Gwendolyn Brooks, including the Key Dates and Sources.

Discussion Questions

  1. Why do you think Brooks set nearly all her work in one neighborhood, and what can poetry about a specific place teach readers far away?
  2. After 1967 Brooks moved from a major New York publisher to Black-owned presses. What did she gain and what did she risk?
  3. Brooks mastered traditional forms such as the sonnet and the ballad. How can old forms carry new subjects, such as Black soldiers in a segregated army?
  4. As poet laureate of Illinois, Brooks sponsored poetry prizes for schoolchildren. Why might she have seen young writers as central to her legacy?

Activity

Students listen to a Library of Congress recording of Brooks reading her own poems and read the profile’s account of A Street in Bronzeville and the 1967 Fisk conference. In small groups (20–30 minutes), they discuss how hearing the poet’s voice changes their understanding of the work, then each student drafts a short poem, in a traditional form of their choice, portraying one ordinary person or place in their own neighborhood. Volunteers read aloud, and the class discusses what Brooks meant by writing for and from a community.

Primary Sources

Cite this page
MLA
“Classroom lesson: Gwendolyn Brooks.” Black-History.com, 30 Sept. 2026, https://black-history.com/classroom/gwendolyn-brooks/.
APA
Black-History.com Editors. (2026, September 30). Classroom lesson: Gwendolyn Brooks. Black-History.com. https://black-history.com/classroom/gwendolyn-brooks/
Chicago
Black-History.com Editors. “Classroom lesson: Gwendolyn Brooks.” Black-History.com. September 30, 2026. https://black-history.com/classroom/gwendolyn-brooks/.
Editorial Note

By the Black-History.com editors. Last reviewed 30 September 2026. To suggest a primary source or a correction, write to editors@black-history.com or use our corrections form.

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