I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings

Use these questions or activities to help gauge students’ familiarity with and spark their interest in the context of the work, giving them an entry point into the text itself.

Short Answer

1. After the Civil War, many public facilities and services throughout the United States became systematically separated on racial grounds. Particularly in the South, what were the types of facilities/services most frequently segregated by race? What were the laws in place that formalized segregation in the early 20th century?

Teaching Suggestion: One of the core themes of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings—perhaps the most important theme—deals with Angelou’s experience of Race and Racism growing up in the South in the 1930s. Students should be able to draw upon their knowledge from history and social studies classes related to the New Deal, Jim Crow, and other governmental laws and policies, all of which affected Black Americans at the time.

• “Race Relations in the 1930s and 1940s” from the Library of Congress gives a sweeping overview of this era.
• NPR’s “A ‘Forgotten’ History of How the U.S. Government Segregated America” focuses on the New Deal’s efforts to segregate America’s housing stock in the 1930s.

2. Maya Angelou’s reputation as a prominent American poet is well-known, but she was also a powerful orator and performer. What first comes to mind when you think of Angelou’s legacy? Are you familiar with any of her speeches or performances?

Teaching Suggestion: Students will likely be familiar with Angelou’s legacy as a poet and civil rights activist, but this prompt will encourage them to think about her as a performer and speechmaker—and, thus, get them thinking more deeply about the Power of Words.

• Literature Today’s video of Maya Angelou performing “Still I Rise” in the 1987 television special entitled “Maya Angelou Live and Unplugged” provides a compelling example of Angelou’s performance abilities.
• Further examples can be found in CNN’s “Maya Angelou: Some of Her Most Powerful Speeches,” which compiles four of Angelou’s most significant and impactful speeches.

Personal Connection Prompt

This prompt can be used for in-class discussion, exploratory free-writing, or reflection homework before reading the text.

From The Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf to Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes, many children’s books deal with growing up different. Did you read any books in your childhood that helped you embrace your uniqueness? Which ones were your favorites and why?

Teaching Suggestion: This prompt will encourage students to contemplate two core themes of the book: First, they’ll reflect upon what childhood books helped them develop their unique Identity and a Sense of Belonging. Secondly, it will have them thinking about Literacy and the Power of Words, this time in the form of their most cherished childhood stories.

• PBS’s “11 Children’s Books to Celebrate Diversity” is a round-up of children’s titles that help kids embrace their uniqueness.
• Penguin’s compilation of the “Best Children’s Books that Celebrate Difference” provides other examples of books that help kids embrace their individuality.

Differentiation Suggestion: In the early 1990s, Maya Angelou wrote several children’s books, including Life Doesn’t Frighten Me (1993) and Kofi and His Magic (1996). For advanced learners—especially those passionate about children’s literature—a differentiation suggestion would be to dive deeper into Angelou’s lesser-known children’s works. Ask students to think about why Angelou might have chosen to write children’s books; emphasize that it is possible she wrote books she might have benefited from when growing up. As a starting point for this conversation, you can ask students to read KQED’s “Life Doesn’t Frighten Me: Maya Angelou’s Message to Young Readers.”