Making Connections: “ I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings”

Teaching American History Project
Martha Giammatteo
Slavery and Freedom in American History and Memory
Title: Making Connections: “ I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” as Response
Possible Subject Areas: American Literature, American Studies
Overview: Students will provide literal and inferential interpretations of Maya Angelou’s poem, “I
Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.” Students will write an expository explication of “I Know Why the
Caged Bird Sings.”
Essential Understanding:
Students will understand that a literary work may be a response to historical or current events
Students will understand that an author’s personal experiences may influence the author’s literary
work
Essential Questions:
How do literary works serve as metaphor for human experience?
How do historical events influence literature?
How do writers illuminate and reflect social and political issues?
How does a poet respond to historical and current events?
How do I apply knowledge of literary devices to better understand a literary work?
CT Standards:
English Language Arts Curriculum Framework
1.1 Students use appropriate strategies before, during and after reading in order to construct meaning
1.2 Students interpret, analyze, and evaluate text in order to extend understanding and appreciation
1.3 Students communicate with others to create interpretations of written, oral, and visual texts
2.1 Students recognize how literary devices and conventions engage the reader
2.4 Students recognize that readers and authors are influenced by individual, social, cultural, and
historical contexts
3.1 Students use descriptive, narrative, expository, persuasive, and poetic modes
3.2 Students prepare, publish and/or present work appropriate to audience, purpose, and task
4.1 Students speak and write using standard language structures and diction appropriate to audience
and task
4.3 Students use standard English for composing and revising written text
Objectives:
The student will be able to
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Identify the main idea of a poem
Identify literary elements of a poem: tone, diction, metaphor, figures of speech
Use literary elements to construct meaning
Make inferences using textual support
Differentiate between literal and inferential interpretations
Demonstrate an understanding of the connection between literature and historical events
Compose an explication based on both literal and inferential interpretations of a poem
Giammatteo
Day 1 Constructing a Literal Interpretation
Note: Material and material templates provided at the end of the Learning Unit in addendum
Materials: * “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” poem
*Sketch paper
*Interpretation Ladder graphic organizer
*Biographical Information about Maya Angelou
* Biographical Time-Line
Activities:
I.
Anticipatory Set
A. Review the definitions of the following words from the poem “I Know Why the Caged
Bird Sings”
1. downstream (n)
2. current (n)
3. stalks (v)
4. rage (n)
5. trill (n)
6. trade winds (n)
B. Ask students to make a prediction about the content of the poem based Angelou’s title
and diction
C. Distribute poem “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings”
D. Discuss basic structure of the poem
1. How many stanzas?
2. Lines per stanzas?
3. Free verse or form poem?
4. Any other observation about the basic form of the poem?
II. Details of the Lesson
A. Read poem chorally once
B. Direct students to draw an artistic representation of what they hear based on the words
of the poem as the teacher reads poem again twice
C. Ask students to cite two pieces of textural support for their artistic representation and
record textual support on drawing
D. Organize students into collaborative groups to share artistic representations and textual
support
E. Discuss differences between literal and inferential interpretation
F. In collaborative groups, students complete one Interpretation Ladder graphic organizer
per group to provide a literal interpretation of each stanza of the poem.
G. Collect Interpretation Ladder graphic organizer and artistic representation with textual
support
III. Homework
A. Distribute biographical information about poet Maya Angelou
http://www.biography.com/search/article.do?id=9185388 and distribute time line
beginning the year of Angelou’s birth (1928)
B. Ask students to read biographical information for homework and complete time line
with at least 6 important events /dates from Angelou’s life beginning with her birth in
1928
Giammatteo
IV. Assessment
A. Review student responses on Interpretation Ladder and artistic representation
B. Provide written feedback
C. Select group responses to use in tomorrow’s Anticipatory Set
Day 2 Constructing a Inferential Interpretation
Materials: *Transparencies of poem: one transparency per stanza
*Critical Questions for Understanding the Poet’s Purpose
*Interpretation Ladder graphic organizer
*Angelou’s biographical time line homework
Activities:
Note: Collect homework assignment (biographical time line) at beginning of class. Assess while
students are working in groups. Return to students as noted in lesson below.
I.
Anticipatory Set
A. Organize students into collaborative groups
B. Return Interpretation Ladder graphic organizers
C. Instruct collaborative groups to review teacher feedback
D. Place transparency of first stanza on overhead projector.
E. Ask pre-selected groups to record literal interpretation of poem on transparency one
group per stanza and discuss interpretations
F. Continue until all six stanzas are explicated
II.
Details of the Lesson
A. Distribute “Critical Questions for Understanding Poet’s Purpose”
1. Identify the speaker of the poem.
2. Describe the speaker’s tone in the poem.
3. Cite words (diction) that reveal the speaker’s tone.
4. What is the connotation of each word?
5. Are any stanzas are repeated?
6. Why are they repeated?
7. What are the symbols employed by the poet?
8. What is the central idea of the poem?
9. State the central idea in one sentence.
Note: Teacher may have to review terms: speaker, diction, tone, connotation, figure of
speech, symbol, central idea
B. Direct collaborative groups to complete questions and share responses with whole
group
C. Return biographical time line to students
III.
Homework: Direct students to write a well-developed one paragraph response to the
following prompt:
Based on what we know about Angelou’s life, what are the possible connections between
Angelou’s life and her poem “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings”?
Giammatteo
Day 3 Constructing an Inferential Interpretation
Producing a Written Explication of the Poem
Materials: Biographical time line
5 W graphic organizer
Research material on specific events from 1887-1964
Optional materials:
Laptops
List of Internet sites
Activities:
I.
Anticipatory Set
A. Discuss responses from homework prompt
B. Ask students to record in notebooks what they know about the following events that
took place during Maya Angelou’s life:
Plessy vs Ferguson (1896-1954)
Brown vs Board of Education (1954)
Scottsboro Case (1931)
Murder of Emmett Till (August 1955)
Montgomery Alabama Bus Boycott (1955)
Little Rock Nine (1957)
Freedom Riders (1961)
Murder of Medger Evers (1963)
Sixteenth St. Baptist Church (1963)
Bloody Sunday (March 7, 1964)
Jim Crow Laws (1889-1954)
C. Ask students to share responses
D. Direct students to place these events on the time line
II.
Details of the Lesson
A. Assign each student two of the events listed above.
B. Provide research materials on each event
Note: If a computer lab or laptops are available to students, consider revising this
aspect of the activity to Internet-based research
C. Instruct each student to complete a 5 W (Who, What, When, What, Why) graphic
organizer for each event
D. Group students with like events together.
E. Ask each group to share findings about event with whole group
F. Redistribute Interpretation Ladder to each group
G. Say: Based on your new knowledge of Maya Angelou’s life and the events you
have just learned about, analyze each stanza again and provide an inferential
interpretation of “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.”
H. Direct students to complete the Inferential Interpretation
portion of graphic organizer
Giammatteo
III. Assessment
Introduce and assign expository essay using rubric
Possible Extensions
Review historical context, construct a literal and inferential interpretation, and
compose an explication of
1. “Sympathy” by Paul Laurence Dunbar.
2. “Harlem(A Dream Deferred)” by Langston Hughes
3. “Biography” by Imamu Amari Baraka (LeRoi Jones)
Giammatteo
Addendum - Materials and Templates
“I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” - Maya Angelou
A free bird leaps on the back of the wind
and floats downstream till the current ends
and dips his wing in the orange suns rays and dares to claim the sky.
But a bird that stalks down his narrow cage
can seldom see through his bars of rage
his wings are clipped and his feet are tied so he opens his throat to sing.
The caged bird sings with a fearful trill
of things unknown but longed for still
and his tune is heard on the distant hill
for the caged bird sings of freedom.
The free bird thinks of another breeze
and the trade winds soft through the sighing trees
and the fat worms waiting on a dawn-bright lawn and he names the sky his own.
But a caged bird stands on the grave of dreams
his shadow shouts on a nightmare scream
his wings are clipped and his feet are tied so he opens his throat to sing.
The caged bird sings with a fearful trill
of things unknown but longed for still
and his tune is heard on the distant hill
for the caged bird sings of freedom.
Literal Interpretation
Stanza 1
Stanza 2
Stanza 3
Stanza 4
Stanza 5
Stanza 6
Interpretation Ladder
Inferential Interpretation
5 W GGRAPHIC
R A P H I C O
ORGANIZER
R G A N I Z E R
5 W
Explication of Maya Angelou’s poem “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings”
Based on your understanding of Maya Angelou’s poem and our class discussions over
the past several days compose an expository essay in which you explicate the poem “I
Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.” Your essay must include an introductory paragraph,
at least four body paragraphs and a concluding paragraph.
Performance Assessment
Element
Possible Points
Introductory Paragraph
1. Identifies the name of the poem and author
2. Briefly summarizes the plot of the poem
3. Presents the central idea of the poem
5
Body Paragraph #1- Historical Perspective
1. Has a topic sentence that clearly states the main idea of
the paragraph
2. Discusses biographical events that may have influenced Angelou
3. Cites and discusses several key historical events that may have
influenced the poet
20
Body Paragraph #2-Literal Interpretation
1. Has a topic sentence that clearly states the main idea of the
paragraph
2. Provides a detailed literal interpretation of the poem
20
Body Paragraphs #3+ Inferential Interpretation
1. Have topic sentences that clearly state the main idea of the
paragraph
2. Provide a line by line inferential interpretation of poem
3. Include discussion of Angelou’s use of diction, tone,
figures of speech, and symbol
40
Conclusion
1. Restates name of poem and author
2. Restates central idea of poem
3. Included appropriate commentary as an essay “wrap-up”
10
Title
Accurately reflects the content of the essay
5

Download Report