Reading: Chapters 1–5

Focus:
- Historical context: racism, segregation, and 1930s–40s America.
- Maya Angelou’s background and the memoir form
- Childhood, displacement, and identity (Stamps, Arkansas; living with Momma)

Activities:
- Timeline of Maya’s life & U.S. history events
- Discussion: How does Maya present childhood memory?
- Journal: What does “home” mean?

Reading: Chapters 6–10

Focus:
- Encounters with racism and prejudice.
- Maya’s relationship with Momma and Bailey.
- The store as a cultural hub.

Activities:
- Small group: Compare Momma’s strategies for survival with Bailey’s.
- Close reading: The dentist scene (Chapter 24 foreshadowed in family/community protection themes).
- Reflective writing: How does environment shape identity?

Reading: Chapters 11–15

Focus:
- Maya’s experience of sexual abuse and its aftermath.
- Silence as both trauma and survival.
- The role of literature and language in recovery.

Activities:
- Careful, sensitive guided discussion of sexual violence & trauma representation.
- Poetry connections: Paul Laurence Dunbar’s “Sympathy” (“I know why the caged bird sings”)
- Journal: Why does Maya turn to silence? What role does Mrs. Bertha Flowers play in her reawakening?

Reading: Chapters 16–20

Focus:
- The power of literature and education.
- Growing awareness of racism (Joe Louis fight, Mrs. Flowers’s influence)
- Maya’s voice and self-worth returning

Activities:
- Discussion: How does literature heal?
- Group work: Identify moments where Maya reclaims her sense of self.
- Creative response: Students write a letter to a mentor figure in their own life.

Reading: Chapters 21–25

Focus:
- Puberty, self-image, and gender expectations.
- Encounters with sexuality, fear, and shame.
- Complex mother-daughter relationship with Vivian Baxter.

Activities:
- Character analysis: Contrast Momma vs. Vivian as maternal figures.
- Debate: Is Maya’s self-consciousness about her body cultural, personal, or imposed?
- Journal: Defining beauty and confidence

Reading: Chapters 26–30

Focus:
- Maya’s work experiences and independence.
- Racism in employment opportunities.
- Role of community in supporting resilience.

Activities:
- Case study: Maya as the first Black female streetcar conductor.
- Research: What jobs were open to African American women in the 1940s?
- Group discussion: How does work shape identity?

Reading: Chapters 31–35

Focus:
- Maya’s teenage years, relationships, and mistakes.
- Pregnancy and becoming a mother at 16.
- Closing arc: From silence to self-expression and responsibility.

Activities:
- Discussion: What does Maya learn about resilience through motherhood?
- Compare: Maya’s journey to classic coming-of-age arcs.
- Final journal: What does “freedom” mean for Maya?

Reading: Revisit key passages, poetry, and excerpts from Angelou’s later autobiographies

Focus:
- Thematic synthesis: race, gender, trauma, resilience, identity, voice.
- Evaluating the memoir as literature and testimony.

Activities:
- Final essay workshop: Choose theme (identity, resilience, voice, family, race/gender) and trace its development across the memoir.
- Creative project: Students create a “Caged Bird” metaphor that represents their own struggles/voices.
- Class discussion: Why does this memoir remain powerful today?