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Mother to Son TWIST

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Mother to Son TWIST
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From Mother to Son Poem Activities

Mother to Son by Langston Hughes

Lesson Plans by Bridget Baudinet

Published in 1922, ”Mother to Son” was one of Langston Hughes’s earliest poems. Its simple language and powerful message make it both accessible and meaningful for middle grade students.




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Mother to Son

Storyboard Description

Mother to Son TWIST analysis

Storyboard Text

  • T - Tone
  • W - Word choice
  • I - Imagery
  • S - Style
  • Well, son, I’ll tell you: Life for me ain’t been no crystal stair. It’s had tacks in it, And splinters, And boards torn up, And places with no carpet on the floor— Bare. But all the time I’se been a-climbin’ on, And reachin’ landin’s, And turnin’ corners, And sometimes goin’ in the dark Where there ain’t been no light. So boy, don’t you turn back. Don’t you set down on the steps ’Cause you finds it’s kinder hard. Don’t you fall now— For I’se still goin’, honey, I’se still climbin’, And life for me ain’t been no crystal stair.
  • ups
  • and
  • downs
  • T - Theme
  • I’se still goin’, honey, I’se still climbin’
  • Grim yet determined: The speaker has struggled much in life, yet still pushes forward
  • Hughes includes many words and phrases with negative connotations: tacks, splinters, boards torn up, no carpet, bare, dark, no light, kinder hard
  • “Life for me ain't been no crystal stair. It's had tacks in it and splinters, and boards torn up...” The staircase the speaker describes is an old, rickety, dangerous staircase, representing the difficulties of her life.
  • The simple dialect of the speaker suggests a life with limited educational access. The varied line lengths mirror the ups and downs of the staircase and the path of life.
  • Despite the difficulties of her life, the speaker keeps going. The central theme that this creates is the importance of persevering in the face of hardship.

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