Lesson 1

Do you have any idea what these people

could all have in common?
 Nelson Mandela
South African President - 1994 to 1999 Oprah Winfrey
American TV Show Host

Alicia Keys Do you have any idea what these people

American Singer
could all have in common?

Bill Clinton
Nicki Minaj Serena Williams
American President
American Rapper American Tennis Player
1993 to 2001
● Knowledge: To appreciate and understand Maya Angelou’s
background and experiences.
● Skills: To explore the message of her poem: ‘Still I Rise’ and They have ALL been inspired by Maya
Angelou and her poetry, namely
consider the effects of key words within the poem.
Still I Rise.
● Bigger Picture: You cannot control everything that happens
in your life, but you can control how you respond to it.
 Broken Slave Here are some words from
the poem. Do they affect your

Trod predictions? Can you

Teardrops
develop your ideas regarding
Bitter what you think the poem will
Pain Shoot be about?

Lies
Weakened Write your prediction on the
whiteboard and be prepared
Cries Terror
to justify your view.
‘Still I Rise’
What inferences can you make based on the title of this poem?

Look at the individual words. What connotations do they have?

What predictions can you make about the theme of the poem?
There is no explicit mark for context in this piece
of coursework. However, in order to fully
understand and appreciate the poem, we need to
first develop our knowledge of Maya Angelou.

I will show you key information about Angelou,

her background, experiences and inspiration.
Read and discuss the information and note down
key points.

The knowledge you gain will empower you when

it comes to understanding the imagery used and
the references Angelou makes in the poem. It will
increase your confidence when exploring
language and structure.
 Key Points and Comments

Early Years Maya Angelou was born on April 4, 1928, in St. Louis, Missouri. After her parents' marriage ended, she and her
brother were sent to rural Stamps, Arkansas, to live with their grandmother. She was raped at the age of eight by her
mother's boyfriend while on a visit to St. Louis. After she testified against the man, several of her uncles beat him to
death. Believing that she had caused the man's death by speaking his name, Angelou refused to speak for
approximately five years, becoming a selective mute. She attended public schools in Arkansas and later California.
While still in high school she became the first ever African American female streetcar conductor in San Francisco,
California. She gave birth to a son at age sixteen.

Civil Rights Maya met Malcolm X in Ghana while she was teaching at a university. She decided to go back to the United States
with him to help establish his organization. One short year later, he was killed. That same year she met Martin Luther
Activist King Jr., who contacted her and proposed the idea that she would help him coordinate a civil rights organization. On
Maya’s fortieth birthday, she heard the news that her friend, Martin Luther King, had been assassinated. His death
impacted her life so much that she did not celebrate her birthday for years as it brought too much pain. On her
birthday every year, she would send flowers to King’s wife, Coretta, for more than thirty years after the assassination.

‘I Know Why The In 1969, Angelou published ‘I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings’ which deals with issues like rape, identity, and racism.
When it came out in 1969, it was one of the first books to honestly depict the experiences of a black woman growing
Caged Bird Sings’ up in the south. The book made history, as it marked the first time an autobiography by an African-American woman
became a best-seller in the United States.

Dancing Career She began taking modern dance classes in the early 1950s. Teaming up with dancer and choreographer Alvina Ailey,
they performed at African-American fraternal organizations throughout San Francisco as “Al and Rita.” In 1951,
Angelou moved to New York City with her son and her husband so that she could study African dance with Pearl
Primus. In 1954, Angelou’s marriage ended and she began dancing in performance spaces throughout San Francisco.
Early Years
Maya Angelou was born Marguerite Johnson on April 4, 1928, in St. Louis,
Missouri. After her parents' marriage ended, she and her brother, Bailey (who
gave her the name "Maya"), were sent to rural Stamps, Arkansas, to live with
their grandmother, who owned a general store.

Although her grandmother helped her develop pride and self-confidence,

Angelou was devastated when she was raped at the age of eight by her
mother's boyfriend while on a visit to St. Louis. After she testified against the
man, several of her uncles beat him to death. Believing that she had caused the
man's death by speaking his name, Angelou refused to speak for approximately
five years, becoming a selective mute.

She attended public schools in Arkansas and later California. While still in high
school she became the first ever African American female streetcar* conductor
in San Francisco, California. She gave birth to a son at age sixteen.

*Streetcar = Also called a tram, it is a rail vehicle which runs on tramway tracks
along public urban streets.
Civil Rights Activist
Maya met Malcolm X in Ghana while she was teaching at the University of Ghana’s School of Music And Drama.
She decided to go back to the United States with him to help establish his Organization of African American Unity.
One short year later, he was killed. That same year she met Martin Luther King Jr., who contacted her and proposed
the idea that she would help him coordinate the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. The Southern Christian
Leadership Conference was a civil rights organization that was part of the civil rights movement. Sadly on Maya’s
fortieth birthday, she heard the news that her friend, Martin Luther King, had been assassinated. His death impacted
her life so much that she did not celebrate her birthday for years. Her birthday brought too much pain. On her
birthday every year, she would send flowers to King’s wife, Coretta, for more than thirty years after the
assassination.

How do you think

her friendships
with these
influential people
may have
influenced
Angelou’s writing?
‘I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings’
In 1969, Angelou published ‘I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings’. The autobiography
reveals her experiences of growing up as a young African-American girl during the Jim
Crow Era.

The first of Maya Angelou’s seven autobiographies, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings,
deals with weighty issues like rape, identity, and racism. When it came out in 1969, it was
one of the first books to honestly depict the experiences of a black woman growing up in
the south.

The book made history, as it marked the first time an autobiography by an African-
American woman became a best-seller in the United States.

Linking to the title of the poem, what themes do you think it will include,
based on your knowledge of her experiences?
Dancing Career How may have her career in music and dancing have
impacted Maya Angelou’s writing?
Angelou began taking modern dance
Can you make any predictions about the rhythm or
classes in the early 1950s. Teaming up
structure of the poem, based on your knowledge of
with dancer and choreographer Alvin
her experience?
Ailey, the pair performed at African-
American fraternal organizations
throughout San Francisco as “Al and
Rita.” In 1951, Angelou moved to New
York City with her son and her husband
Tosh Angelos so that she could study
African dance with Pearl Primus.

In 1954, Angelou’s marriage ended and

she began dancing in performance
spaces throughout San Francisco.
Watch the clips: After watching:
Clip 1 - Maya Angelou reading ‘Still I Rise’
● What is the message
of the poem?
● What do you notice
about Angelou’s style
when reading it?
● Why do you think
Clip 2 - Maya Angelou, Serena Williams,
these celebrities are
Nicki Minaj and Alicia Keys reading ‘Still I
Rise’. Angelou speaks about the message. engaging with Still I
Rise?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_Fxrh
Wd75Q
Looking Back: Angelou performed at two
presidential inaugurations- Bill
Clinton and Barack Obama.

Why did both of these heads of state

choose her?

● Knowledge: To appreciate and understand

Maya Angelou’s background and experiences.
● Skills: To explore the message of her poem:
‘Still I Rise’.
● Bigger Picture: You cannot control everything
that happens in your life, but you can control
how you respond to it.
 Wider Learning:

Sparking Curiousity Find out more about how

each of them were inspired by
Maya Angelou, from
Presidential Inaugurations to
Music Awards.

Alicia Keys Nelson Mandela

Oprah Winfrey

I f you are interested in

this, read another of Maya
Angelou’s poems:
‘Phenomenal Woman’.

It was included in the

#thisgirlcan campaign.
https://www.youtube.com/wat
ch?v=kCdrJS1ojD8

Nicki Minaj
Bill Clinton
Serena Williams
Pre-Learning

Read the Litcharts for

Still I Rise.

The link to it is on the

iGCSE English
Classroom.

The code is:

lop8xkb

You should have

already joined.