Maya Angelou's work reflects her passion for life, civil rights, and justice for all. A collection of 12 primary sources provide scholars with insight into this amazing woman. The set includes photographs, articles, recordings of...

Maya Angelou's poem, "Still I Rise", offers young scholars an opportunity to consider how poets use literary devices to create powerful messages. After a close reading and discussion of the poem, class members reflect on how they can...

In this famous person worksheet, students read a passage about Maya Angelou and then complete a variety of in-class and homework activities to support comprehension, including partner interviews, spelling, cloze, synonym...

Zora Neal Hurston, Toni Morrison, and Maya Angelou are featured in a guided inquiry unit. High schoolers research the lives and works of these and other Black women writers and craft an argument, using evidence from their research, to...

Young scholars discuss equality and fairness by reading a Maya Angelo poem.  In this U.S. history lesson, students read the poem I Know Why Caged Birds Sing, and discuss how the era it was written in affected the words.  Young...

The emotional and spiritual oppression of slavery in the African-American experience is the focus of this lesson. Middle schoolers analyze various texts by Frederick Douglass and Maya Angelou related to freedom and oppression....

Learners 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. Learners...

Students create a human rights project based on their lesson with Maya Angelou's I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. In this human rights lesson, students participate in a humanitarian gesture as volunteers by creating a human rights...

Students examine the experiences of African American women. In this poetry lesson, students use their literary analysis skills to compare the poetry of Maya Angelou to rap music performed by Queen Latifah and Lauryn Hill.

A list of prominent African-Americans and their accomplishments makes up this presentation on Black History Month. Leaders in sports, the arts, science, and entertaining will help viewers connect with the voluminous contributions of the...

Ninth graders explore the concept that education is related to freedom. In this human rights lesson, 9th graders read The Narrative of Frederick Douglass. Students dialogue about their readings and education as it relates to human...

"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...

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...

High schoolers explore the concept of philanthropy. In this service learning lesson, students examine the impact of the works of Cesar Chavez, George Washington Carver, Sunderlal Buhuguna, and Abdul Sattar Edhi.

Students research the Dark Ages using books, the Internet, and other media. In this Dark Ages lesson plan, students study poetry, music, art, and the architecture of the Dark Ages.

Learners examine gender bias and stereotypes. In this discrimination instructional activity students participate in class discussions and poetry reading in order to examine the gender stereotypes of fears and develop...

Eighth graders become acquainted with major events, especially related to the life and times of Anne Frank and compare personal and family chronology to Twentieth Century events. They examine how discrimination existed in the past and...

Students examine the changing view of women during the 20th century. Using art, literature and music, they identify the various perceptions used throughout history. They also predict what women's' perceptions are going to be in the next...

Middle schoolers 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. Middle schoolers then find strategies...

In this controversial issues instructional activity, learners read 15 famous quotations on controversial topics and identify who said each of them.

Learners 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.

Students examine and define the different types of immigration. Using different documents, they identify types of migration. In groups, they compare and contrast the migration experiences of the Africans and the British. They discover...

This brief encyclopedia selection recounts the interesting life of Maya Angelou, black poet and novelist. There are links to websites for more information.