• Start by reading an excerpt from the prologue of Invisible Man. As you are reading, ask your students to pay particular attention to the tone of the text.
  
• When you're done reading, briefly discuss. What was the tone? How did the speaker feel? Was he angry? Sad?
• Now ask your students to identify the "humor" or absurdity in the piece. Even though the selection is undoubtedly awful in its depiction of racism, Ellison is able to capture the outrageousness of the concept of "invisibility" through the speaker's tone. Briefly discuss.
• Read "horror movie pitch" by Eve L. Ewing. Ask your students to pay attention to a similarly humorous tone in her piece.
• Briefly discuss the poem. What was "humorous" about it? In what ways did it parallel the humor or absurdity from the prologue?
• Have your students open the following document and go over the instructions with them. In this assignment are going to find similarities between the two texts and how both attempt to shed light on the constant exasperation and absurdity that innately come with being "invisible." Once you've gone over the directions, give your students time to work.
• When your students are done, ask them to share their insights with the rest of the class. Where did they find similarities? Why?
  

lesson 1

horror movie pitch

by Eve L. Ewing

lesson 2

Booker T. and W.E.B.

by Dudley Randall

• Start by showing your students the following image of Dr. Bledsoe taken from a stage production of Invisible Man.
• Briefly discuss the image. How does this depiction of Dr. Bledsoe reflect his demeanor and characteristics from the novel?
• Now show your students the following video, a brief overview of the philosophical "rivalry" between Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. Du Bois. As your students are watching, ask them to think of whose views Dr. Bledsoe would be most likely to side with.
• When the video is done, briefly discuss. Whom would Bledsoe most likely side with? Why?

• When you are done, you can show your students the photograph again; there's a picture of Booker T. Washington behind Bledsoe.
  

• Read "Booker T. and W.E.B." by Dudley Randall. As you are reading, ask your students to pay particular attention to the poet's attitude toward W.E.B. Du Bois and Booker T. Washington.
  
• Ask your students to open the following document and go over the instructions with them. In this assignment, your students are going to pull excerpts from the poem, match them with behaviors/actions exhibited from Dr. Bledsoe in the novel, and discuss how such actions - according to Dudley Randall and Ralph Ellison - are detrimental to African Americans. Once you've gone over the instructions, give your students time to work.
• When your students are done, have a few of them share their responses. Then show them the following short video from PBS that illustrates the parallels between Booker T. Washington and Dr. Bledsoe.
  

• Start class by distributing the following article and read it with your students.
• Click on the following link to access an audio recording of Terrance Hayes' poem, "How to Draw an Invisible Man." As your students are listening, ask them to pay attention to the allusions the poet makes about Ellison's unfinished work and what the poem implies about our society on a larger scale.
• Briefly discuss the poem. What other areas, topics, or concepts does it touch upon?
• Have your students open the following document and go over the introduction and instructions with them. In this assignment, your students are going to "draw an Invisible Man" based on the text of the poem and formulate a claim about the thematic connection between their illustrations. Once you've gone over the directions, give your students time to work.
• When your students are done, have them share their illustrations and insights. What do their images all have in common with one another? And how do they reflect the larger message of Hayes' work?
  

lesson 3

How to Draw an Invisible Man

by Terrance Hayes