I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
by Maya Angelou

School Board Conducts Hearing: Board to Uphold Decision Reinstating 'Caged Bird'; Racism Simmers Just Below the Surface
Local newspaper article on a superintendent’s court arguments for including BIRD in the 9th grade curriculum
http://croftononline.com/bird/

Group Assignment: Use this a resource for a debate on the role of literature in the schools, the literary merits of BIRD, the political merits of BIRD, the rights of the individual, etc. Essay/Response Topic: see above

Angelou speaks on "signifying" and reads one of her poems (audio file) http://hs1.hst.msu.edu/~cal/celeb/angelou.au

Into Attention Getter: Use this as an into assignment before beginning the book

Mother Jones Interview: A celebrated poet issues a call to arms to the nation's artists Interview with Angelou (text) in which she discusses Clinton (pre-Monica), the youth of today, rape, and prayer in school
http://www.mojones.com/mother_jones/MJ95/kelley.html

Beyond Activity: Respond to Maya’s comments. Do her opinions as an adult correlate with the view you formed of her from reading her book?

Angelou Links
A page of links to resources on and poems collected by a community college class
http://web.edcc.edu/gvb/maya.html

From 'Caged Bird' To 'Delta': A Conversation With Maya Angelou
An interview with Angelou about directing the movie "Down in the Delta"
http://www.usia.gov/usa/blackhis/angel.htm

Resources: author research

Maya Angelou’s Western Canon Jr.
n interview with Angelou on books she recommends for youth
http://www.countryliving.com/depts/family/mayab2.htm

Outside Reading: read and respond to one of the books Angelou recommends

Library of Congress African American Odyssey: A Quest for Full Citizenship
Historical site with much information and lots of graphics
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/aaohtml/exhibit/aointro.html

Persistence of the Spirit
An interpretive study of the people and events that contributed to the black experience in Arkansas. Links include historical narrative, PHOTO ARCHIVES, history, and references.
http://www.aristotle.net/persistence/

History and Culture of Southwest Arkansas
Archival photographs of (white) Stamps, AK - 1900 - 1942
http://peace.saumag.edu/swark/sara/saraindex/saralist6.html

The Fillmore Museum
History of the Fillmore District of San Francisco
http://amacord.com/fillmore/museum/

San Francisco Museum Archives
1941 newspaper articles on women filling "men’s" roles
http://www.sfmuseum.org/hist6/attendants.html

Historical Perspective: use these various resources to gain a fuller understanding of Maya’s experiences; create a newspaper, a biography, etc.

 

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