A Detailed Lesson Plan in

BSED - English III

I. Objectives
At the end of the lesson, students should be able to:
a. Narrate the sequence of events in I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings
b. Identify the problems faced by Marguerite in the story
c. Describe the people who helped Marguerite grow
d. Interpret the title of the story

II. Subject Matter

Topic/Selection: I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings
Reference: https://bit.ly/3ldgR00
Materials: Google Meet, PowerPoint Presentation, Wheel of Names,
and Google Form
Values Integration: Valuing

III. Procedure

Teacher’s Activity Students’ Activity

Introduction
Prayer Heavenly Father, we praise Your holy name
and we thank You for all the blessings and
guidance you have given to us. May You be
the one to lead us in everything we do so that
we can successfully make all our
undertakings, especially in our studies. And
also we also asking for Your forgiveness for all
the sins we have committed. We ask these
things through Christ, our Lord, amen.

Good evening, class! Good evening, sir!

Do we have anyone absent today? None, sir.

Alright, if there aren't any absent students, let's

begin today's lesson. Let me start recording
the discussion so that you may view the
lesson on a later date.

Can anyone tell me what we discussed last We talked about The Water Dancer, a story
meeting? about racism and memories

Motivation
Before that let's have a little activity. This
activity is called, "What I like about you."
Compliments are very special and we seldom
ever receive any let alone give any.
The instructions are simple, I will spin the
Wheel of Names the first student chosen will
compliment the next student chosen by the
wheel. That student will then compliment the
next the next student until everyone is given a
compliment.
Processing
Did you do the activity properly? Yes, sir.

What did you do? We gave each other compliments.

Did you find the activity difficult in anyway. Thinking about what to say, sir.
Why do you think that is difficult. Because we don't know if they will like the
compliment.

Did you like the compliment? Yes

How did it make you feel? It made me feel happy.

Do you think what your compliment made I do hope so, sir.

them happy?

Today I will tell you the story of I Know Why

the Caged Bird Sings.

What can you see on the slide? Two birds sir. One is free and one is in a cage

Okay later let's get back to that later.

So let's talk about the story today. This story is

entitled "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" It
is an autobiography written by Maya Angelou
and was published in 1969.

Can anyone recall what an autobiography is? It is a story about a person's life

Yes, that is correct. This is one of the

autobiographies of Maya Angelou. So diving
into the story, we also dive into the life of Maya
Angelou. This autobiography only
encompasses Maya Angelou's life from the
ages five to sixteen so let's talk a little about
Maya Angelou in the present.

Maya Angelou was born as Marguerite Annie

Johnson on April 4, 1928 in St. Louis,
Missouri. She was a writer, poet, and civil
rights activist among other things before she
died on May 28, 2014.
Here on this slide I have another question. Yes, sir. I wish I had less pimples

I wish I was more slender

No, sir. I am a beautiful creation of God

Yes. We may something we would like to

change about ourselves. In I Know Why The
Caged Bird Sings, the story begins with our
character at church. She was day dreaming
about having straight gold hair instead of the
messy black hair she had and having clear
light skin instead of the dark skin she had. In
short, she wished she was born a white girl.
The story continues with Marguerite and her After the failed marriage of Marguerite’s
brother, Bailey, on a train to Arkansas. Can parents, she and her brother, Bailey, went to
somebody read the slide? Arkansas. The other black passengers on
board the train mumbled “the poor little
motherless darlings” Marguerite and her
brother stayed with their grandmother who
they call “Momma” helping her tend the Store.
The Store’s full name is Wm. Johnson General
Merchandise Store.

Marguerite also mentioned that, as a child,

The Store was her favorite place. She lived
there with their Bailey and Momma along with
their uncle, Uncle Willie.
Growing up in Stamps was difficult for
Marguerite and Bailey because the
segregation in the area was drastic. So drastic
that Marguerite was scared of white people.
Momma was very respectable and she was One day after Marguerite swept the yard of the
respected among the black community in store and while Momma was relaxing at the
stamps. Can somebody read this slide? yard. A group of “Poor-White-Trash” came to
the store. These white girls taunted Momma
but she just sang and try to tune these girls
out. Momma tried to ignore them by singing.
One of the taller girls bent down and did a
handstand. The dress this girl wore fell to her
shoulders and she didn’t have underwear.
Momma continued to sing but changed to a
religious song.
When the girls left, Momma returned to the
 store and wept in anger. While crying she
started to sing once more. “Glory, glory, praise
the Lord, when I lay my burden down.”

Before we continue, I have a few questions.
What is your favorite holiday and why? What
makes this holiday special?
Marguerite didn't have a favorite holiday in
mind but she really liked Christmas because
they were given pineapples, her favorite food.
But this Christmas was special. Can
somebody read the slide?
My favorite holiday is new year because it is
the star of another year to be happy
One Christmas, Bailey and Marguerite
received gifts from their parents. Marguerite
couldn’t believe these were from their parents
because she thought they had already died.
She didn’t look at Bailey’s present and open
hers. It was a doll and a tea set. She went out
to the porch and cried. Bailey accompanied
her and was teary eyed as well.
“Why did they send us away?”
“What did we do so wrong?”

A year after that Christmas, Marguerite and A year after that Christmas, Marguerite and
Bailey's father came to stamps. Why? Can Bailey’s father came to Stamps without
anyone read the slide? warning. It was very shocking for Marguerite to
have seen her father after so many years. He
was a tall man with broad shoulders and was
very handsome. Momma and Uncle Willie
were also surprised. Marguerite’s father was
going to take them with him and this excited
Marguerite very much.

Continue reading. Marguerite never expected to see her mother

but it left a mark on her. She never believed in
love at first sight until she saw her mother
again. Marguerite said that she was the most
beautiful woman she had ever seen. Bailey
was also astonished by her that he cried. They
were not “Unwanted children” any more. They
left for California a few days later.

This was also the time when Marguerite

received her nickname. Bailey called her My
which was short for Mya Sister which was
lengthened to Maya after a few years.
Marguerite and Bailey lived with their Mother
and their mother's boyfriend, Mr. Freeman.
Marguerite sometimes had nightmares during
which nights she would sleep with her mother.
One morning, after her mother had already
left, she woke up with some “Thing” touching
her leg. Mr. Freeman then “touched”
Marguerite. After that, Mr. Freeman said he
would kill Bailey if Marguerite ever told anyone
what happened.
After a while Mr. Freeman told Marguerite that
he had something to tell her. This is the time
when Mr. Freeman forced himself on
Marguerite at the age of eight. Mr. Freeman
then threatened to kill Bailey again if she ever
told.Marguerite had no energy in her body
anymore and went to bed very early. So early
that her mother thought she was sick. That
morning, Mr. Freeman moved out of the
house.

Marguerite’s mother found out. Mr. Freeman

was in trial for raping a child. Mr. Freeman was
found guilty and was sentenced to 1 year and
a half in prison but he bailed. After some time,
at Marguerite’s grandmother’s house, a
policeman knocked on the door and told Mrs.
Baxter that Mr. Freeman was found dead.
No one ever talked about what happened
again. No one ever mention Mr. Freeman or
“rape” ever again. Marguerite kept to herself
from that point and only talked to Bailey.
Marguerite and Bailey returned to stamps.
Returning to Stamps, Marguerite met new
people: Mrs. Bertha Flowers, Mrs. Viola
Cullinan, and Ms. Glory. Marguerite and Bailey
continued schooling in Stamps she also
gained a new friend named Louise and there
was a boy at school who had a crush on
Marguerite. Lets know more about these
people.
Can someone read the first box? Mrs. Bertha Flowers: She was an upper-class
black woman. She was kind to Marguerite and
gave her cookies and a book of poems.
Marguerite really liked Mrs. Flowers and
appreciated that she believed in her
Can someone read the box about Mrs. Mrs. Viola Cullinan: She was a white woman
Cullinan? who Marguerite was working for. She was not
able to bear children which was the reason
Marguerite understood her “disagreeable”
personality.
Can someone read the box about Ms. Glory? Ms. Glory: She was a white woman who
Marguerite worked with at Mrs. Cullinan’s
house. She was patient with Marguerite and
taught her how to do house work. Her real
name is Hallelujah.
Can someone read the last box? Louise: She was the first friend Marguerite
gained after returning to Stamps. The two
were very friendly with each other and they
shared secrets with each other as well.
Marguerite was about to graduate. She was in During the ceremony, the guess speaker, Mr.
the top of her class. Momma closed the store Edward Donleavy, talked about how any man
to celebrate the occasion. Something can be a hero. She started feeling down and
happened during the graduation, can anyone sad because she thought that black woman
read the slide? couldn’t do great things. During the march, the
graduates started singing Lift Every Voice and
Sing by J. Rosamond Johnson and James
Weldon Johnson. She started listening to the
lyrics and was empowered. “I was a proud
 member of the wonderful, beautiful Negro
race.”

Marguerite continued her education at

Lafayette County Training School but
transferred to George Washington High
School. Marguerite also learned a lot from
Daddy Clidell who told her stories of how black
con artists tricked white people.
So is everyone still listening? I have a A, C, and D, sir.
question. What do you think will happen next?

Lets continue reading. Can somebody read Daddy Bailey invited Marguerite to come to
this slide? California to spend her vacation with him.
There she met Daddy Bailey’s girlfriend,
Dolores Stockland. Daddy Bailey had a trip
with Marguerite to Mexico where Marguerite
drove a car for the first time and had a car
accident for the first time.
Arriving home from Mexico, Dolores accused
Marguerite of getting in the way of their
relationship. Dolores and Marguerite had a
fight because Dolores called Marguerite’s
mother a prostitute. After the fight, Marguerite
was to stay with Daddy Bailey’s friend but she
ran away. She spent a month homeless so
when she returned to Mother, her cuts would
have healed and Mother did not suspect a
thing.
At fifteen, Marguerite learned that surrender is
sometimes as honorable as resistance.
Continue: Marguerite and Bailey started growing apart.
Bailey had friend who he drank with and told
grown up jokes with. They did, however, bond
over dancing in public.
One night, Bailey came home very late and
had a fight with Mother. Bailey decided to
leave home at the age of sixteen. Marguerite
was asked to go then Bailey decided against it
and gave her his books instead.
Marguerite got a job over a semester to help
her grow more mature. She was the first black
woman to work on a San Francisco streetcar.
She returned to school in the spring then
realized that she was not going to learn from
that school anymore.
Marguerite at the age of sixteen was
questioning her sexuality. She liked women
and men. To prove to herself that she was
straight, she had intercourse with a handsome
neighbor. She got pregnant and told no one
except Bailey, who she told via a letter
because he was in the navy. After receiving
her diploma from high school, she told Daddy
Clidell. Mother returned from Alaska and the
two were supportive.
Can anyone read the slide? Marguerite had a baby without much
pain. She was scared to hold the baby in fear
of harming him but Mother told her that they
would sleep together. One morning, Mother
woke Marguerite to see the baby sleeping on
her stomach happily. Mother then said:

“You don’t have to think about doing the right

thing. If you’re for the right thing, then you do it
without thinking.”

That is the end of the story. To summarize,

Marguerite Annie Johnson grew up in Stamps
Arkansas with her grandmother, uncle, and
brother. She was a good student but when she
moved with her mother she was raped at the
age of eight. She returned to stamps and
graduated at the top of her class. She returned
to the city with their mother. On a vacation she
was brought to Mexico by her father then was
attacked by her father's girlfriend. She ran
away from the house and was homeless for a
month. She returned to her mother and got a
job to prove she can be independent. She got
pregnant and had a baby at the age of sixteen.
Now that we finished telling the story, let's go
back to this picture.

What is the significance of this picture with the They are two birds. One is caged and one is
life of Maya Angelou in I Know Why The free. Both birds are Maya. The caged bird is
Caged Bird Sings? Maya when she was scared and young but the
free bird is when she was free from her fears.
If these birds are a symbol of something in The caged bird symbolizes minorities and how
society, what would they be? they are caged by the expectations of society.
The free bird symbolizes freedom from the
society. The cage can also be a symbol of fear
and how it stops people from reaching their

The title of the book suggests that the caged
bird is singing. Why do you think the title of the
book is I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings?
true potential.
The title of the book is that because birds sing
to communicate. The caged bird sings
because it wants to be free from the cage like
when the graduates sung about freedom of the
blacks
The caged bird can also be singing because it
is the way it forgets and copes with being
isolated in the cage like Momma singing when
she was being harassed by the white folk.

IV. Evaluation
Okay, now let us have an activity. On the comment box of this stream, answer
the following: Marguerite’s favorite place as a child was the store. Describe your
favorite place and explain why this place is special to you.
You will be graded according to the following criteria:

Clarity of content - 5 points

Relevance of message - 5 points
Organization of thoughts - 5 points

V. Assignment

Marguerite faced many problems in her childhood and many people who helped
her grow. Describe one of these people and how they helped Marguerite. Also,
compare someone in your life who helped you and how do you show your
appreciation to them?

Submit your answer on the Google Form provided: shorturl.at/nKRZ9

Clarity of content - 5 points

Relevance of message - 5 points
Organization of thoughts - 5 points
Depth of message - 5 points

Prepared by:

Enriquez, Daniel Jan V

BSED - English III