Curated OER
Around-The-World Storytellers
Students examine what daily life is like for children living in other countries around the world. They read different books in the "Maya's World" series of books by Maya Angelou, write and illustrate an original story about a child in...
Curated OER
Greetings from Maya Angelou
Students investigate the life and works of Maya Angelou. They complete a Webquest, read poems, listen to a reading by Maya Angelou, answer discussion questions, and write a poem, short story, or essay based on a newspaper article.
Curated OER
Autobiography: Maya Angelou
Learners study the concepts of autobiography, biography, and fiction as literary genres. They read, study, and analyze Maya Angelou's autobiographical writings in terms of what she intended to accomplish by her writings. They develop and...
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The Effects of Slavery
The emotional and spiritual oppression of slavery in the African-American experience is the focus of this instructional activity. Middle schoolers analyze various texts by Frederick Douglass and Maya Angelou related to freedom and...
Curated OER
Fearless Fish Lanterns
Students read about courageous characters who face and positively deal with new situations. They connect what they've read with their own experiences. Students construct fish lanterns to represent their courage in the face of new...
Curated OER
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
Young scholars identify the use of characterization in Maya Angelou's I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. In this characterization lesson, students define characterization and write descriptive paragraphs about Maya Angelou's grandmother....
Curated OER
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
Students view examples of Depression era images and relate them to chapters from Maya Angelou's I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. In this Maya Angelou lesson, students discuss chapters 8 and 9 from the text and define setting. Students...
Curated OER
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
Pupils complete activities for the autobiography of Maya Angelou. In this autobiography lesson, students write a journal entry about their life and discuss the morphology of the word autobiography. Pupils use active reading strategies to...
Curated OER
“And Still I Rise” Proud Black Women
Students examine the experiences of African American women. In this poetry instructional activity, students use their literary analysis skills to compare the poetry of Maya Angelou to rap music performed by Queen Latifah and Lauryn Hill.
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Resilient Poetry
Students read The Seven Resiliencies, a Maya Angelou poem, and complete writing activities to analyze the concept of resiliency. For this poetry lesson, students group in a circle to read the resiliency handout and discuss the text....
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The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Dou
Ninth graders explore the concept that education is related to freedom. In this human rights instructional activity, 9th graders read The Narrative of Frederick Douglass. Students dialogue about their readings and education as it relates...
Center for Civic Education
Martin Luther King Jr. and the Power of Words
It is easy to forget the power that written or spoken word can have in effecting change. Using quotations from such inspirational leaders as Maya Angelou, Mahatma Gandhi, and Martin Luther King Jr., encourage your class members to...
Curated OER
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings: Preface and Chapter 1
Students complete chapter analysis activities for Maya Angelou's I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.In this chapter analysis lesson plan, students read the preface and chapter 1 and complete vocabulary activities, journal activities, and...
Curated OER
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
Students write a literary response essay to Maya Angelou's novel, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. In this literary response instructional activity, students complete pre-writing activities, discuss the rubric for the essay, and visit...
Curated OER
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
Students use Maya Angelou's novel, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings to identify themes about adversity in the text. For this adversity, students read chapter 36 of the novel and discuss the examples of adversity in the book. Students...
Curated OER
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings: Human Rights in the News
Students examine human rights issues using Maya Angelou's I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. In this human rights activity, students review a copy of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and complete a survey for their school about...
Curated OER
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings: Human Rights
Students define the universal rights of human beings. In this human rights lesson, students visit the website about the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and read all parts of the document. Students discuss why there is a need for...
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I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings: Giving Human Rights a Face
Students produce a creative expression of an article of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. In this human rights lesson, students use the website for the UDHR to complete activities about human rights.
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I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings: Chapter 24, 25, 26
Students demonstrate understanding of the plot of chapters 24, 25, 26 of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. In this I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings lesson, students read and discuss highlights of each chapter. Students practice QAR...
Curated OER
Shakespeare Was A Black Woman
"I all alone beweep my outcast state." After a discussion of the "Shakespeare in American Life" segment in which Maya Angelou's relates her reaction to Sonnet 29, class groups create and perform a scene about an outcast that includes the...
Curated OER
Words Have Meaning
Learners interpret and analyze art for meaning and a Maya Angelou poem for meaning. In this art and literature analysis lesson, students analyze Alison Saar's "Lost and Found" and Maya Angelou's poem "Alone." Learners write creative...
Curated OER
Preserving History
Young scholars discuss how writing is an important historical tool. They read writings from individuals and note how they have preserved history. They describe what those stories say about the communites they came from.
Curated OER
Courage to Be You: King Day (7th)
Learners define discrimination and relate it to their own experiences. In this discrimination lesson, students discuss feeling like a stranger and complete a personal experiences worksheet. Learners then find strategies to reduce or...
Curated OER
Anne Frank: Timeline
Students brainstorm all they know about World War II and Anne Frank. They create a timeline of the events that occured. They research the events on the timeline in their own family history.