Ma Rainey's Black Bottom

Use this activity to engage all types of learners, while requiring that they refer to and incorporate details from the text over the course of the activity.

“Singin’ the Blues”

In this activity, students will analyze the original lyrics of “Black Bottom” to write their own creative version of the song that reflects their own lives.

To model the original text, utilize a chart such as this one that includes the original lines of lyrics. Create your own version right beside each line:

“Black Bottom” / “Title”

Way down south in Alabamy / Way out west in Californy

I got a friend they call dancing Sammy / I got a boyfriend they call lyin’ Jimmy

Who’s crazy about all the latest dances / Whose lyin’ lips kiss mine

After creating your own lyrics, discuss in a brief journal entry the meaning behind your choices. Reflect on and evaluate any literary devices you employed. If time allows, share your lyrics with the class and offer feedback to peers on the effectiveness of their work.

Teaching Suggestion: It may be necessary to point out that students may change and adjust details of the original text as needed. Although they are modeling the original lyrics, their version does not need to be exact. For example, changing “Alabamy” to “Californy,” “friend they call dancing Sammy” to “boyfriend they call lyin’ Jimmy,” and “Who’s crazy about all the latest dances” to “Whose lyin’ lips kiss mine” are all acceptable changes that make their new version more personalized and allows for more creativity.

Differentiation Suggestion: For English learners, provide sentence starters or fill-in-the-blank sentences in the column on the right (see example below). You can also provide more direction by specifying what should go in each blank.

Way out _____ in _____. / I got _____. / Who’s _____.

Paired Text Extension: “The Weary Blues” by Langston Hughes

To help students understand poetic rhythm, lead students in a choral reading of Hughes’s poem. Assign some lines to be read by groups, some by single students, and some to be performed by all.

• Instruct students to pause for a half beat at commas, a full beat at periods and exclamation points, and a beat and a half at ellipses and dashes.
• Point out that if punctuation does not end a poetic line, students should not pause.
• Direct students to stomp their feet when reading the onomatopoeia, “Thump, thump, thump, went his foot on the floor.”

Teaching Suggestion: Consider allowing students to practice reading their assigned lines aloud independently or as a small group prior to performing as a class. You may also consider repeating the performance several times to experiment with pacing, intonation, and emphasis, allowing for further understanding of the impact of poetic rhythm.