1. (use excerpts found in secondary textbooks)
I Know Why
the
Caged Bird Sings
(use excerpts found in secondary textbooks)
by Maya Angelou

2. How is Mrs. Flowers a hero for Maya Angelou?
Journal Writing
On 9-11, many people became heroes for performing a basic act of kindness or risking their lives to save another.
How is Mrs. Flowers a hero for Maya Angelou?

3. Character Traits Chart
Actions or behaviors that define characters
Discovered by what they do and say
Identify traits of each character:
Marguerite Johnson
Mrs. Flowers
Momma (Maya’s Grandma)
Maya, as an adult author

4. Character Trait List Kind Generous Outgoing Polite Shy Heroic Reliable
Curious

5. Interactive Binder Writing
Marguerite’s visit with Mrs. Flowers was a turning point that changed her outlook and life.
Think of a time when you experienced a turning point.
Now, write about that time.

6. Memoir- written memories
Chart- record descriptive details
Maya’s Grandmother (Momma)
The Store
Mrs. Flowers
Mrs. Flower’s House

7. Vocabulary- 2 Column Notes
Word: Define
Picture to represent the meaning/color
TAUT-
BENIGN-
INFUSE-
INTOLERANT-
ILLITERATE-
FISCAL-
COUCHED-

8. WORD MAP choose a word from the story to analyze
VOC. WORD
DEFINITION
ANTONYM
EXAMPLE
SYNONYM

9. Figurative Language Onomatopoeia
A single word that sounds like the thing to which it refers.
Six burgers were sizzling on the grill.

10. Figurative Language Simile
A form of comparison in which one thing is compared to another unlike thing using the words like or as.
My brother is as good as gold.

11. Figurative Language Personification My bed was calling me.
Speaking of something that is not human as if it had human abilities and human reactions.
My bed was calling me.

12. Figurative Language Metaphor My baby sister is a doll.
A form of comparison that directly compares two unlike things with the same quality.
My baby sister is a doll.

13. Figurative Language Hyperbole An apple a day keeps the doctor away.
A great exaggeration used to emphasize a point, and is usually for expressive or comic effect.
An apple a day keeps the doctor away.

14. Figurative Language Alliteration She sells seashells by the seashore.
The repetition of a single letter or in a combination of letters
She sells seashells by the seashore.

15. Figurative Language Chart for I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
Quote from Passage
Figure of Speech
Compares what?
“ I got to know the lady who threw me my first lifeline.”
“Her skin was a rich black that would have peeled like a plum if snagged.”

16. Figurative Language Chart for I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
Quote from Passage
Figure of Speech
Compares what?
“One summer afternoon, sweet-milk in my memory, she stopped at the store to buy provisions.”
“Brown photographs leered or threatened from the walls.”

17. Figurative Language Chart for I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
Quote from Passage
Figure of Speech
Compares what?
“Her reading was a wonder to my ears.”
“Childhood’s logic never asks to be proved.”

18. Wrap Up-essay ideas
Use the figurative language charts to write an essay about the effect(s) of descriptive language in autobiographies.
Ask students to reflect on an important influence in their lives and use figurative language to describe these moments.
Write an essay about a hero or role model in your life.
How can one’s setting influence their lifestyle?