Mrs. Flowers
From I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
by Maya Angelou
About the Author | Her Poetry | "Still I Rise"
Aim:
How would you describe Marguerite's Admiration for Mrs. Flowers?
How might Angelou's life have been different if she had not met Mrs. Flowers?
Do Now: In your journal #3, -
Think of someone whom you have admired in the past or have wanted to be like. Give your reasons for admiring this person.
Procedure:
Activity One : Read aloud the story
Activity Two:
1. How would you describe Marguerite's admiration for Ms. Flowers to a friend? Jot down some descriptive words in your journal.
2. How do you think Marguerite admires Mrs. Flowers so much?
3. How would your answer Bailey's question about what Mrs. Flowers gave Marguerite?
Think about
tangible and intangible gifts that Mrs. Flowers offered
4. Why do you think motivates Mrs. Flowers to help Marguerite?
Think about
A CREATIVE RESPONSE ____________________________________________________________
5. If young Maya Angelou had not met Mrs. Flowers, how might her life have been different?
A CRITICAL RESPONSE_____________________________________________________________
6. If this selection were from a biography of Angelou rather than from her autobiography, how might it be different? Support your answer.
7. Select two or three descriptive sentences from the selection and analyze how Angelou uses imagery to enhance her description.
Think about
In a small group, go back through the selection and find sentences that describe Angelou's expierences through the eyes of a child and sentences that express an adult understanding. Then select a long passage to dramatize in a skit showing the child as character and adult as narrator in this autobiography. For example, actors portraying Marguerite and other characters might act out an episode while a narrator reads the passage.
Activity Three:
Discuss: Judging from this chapter on Mrs. Flowers and the stanza from Paul Laurence Dunbar' s poem on the prereading page, why do you suppose Maya Angelou titled the first volume of her autobiography I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings? What 's the meaning of the caged bird?
HW#3
Option 1: If Mrs. Flowers read this chapter of Angelou's autobiography, what thoughts and memories do you think she would have? Have the older Mrs. Flowers respond in a letter to Angelou.
Option 2: Describe the effective use of the imagery in the story. How do the images affect your understanding of the selection? Write a letter to Angelou in the form of an expository essay.
Enrichment Activities:
Still I RiseYou may write me down in history With your bitter, twisted lies, You may trod me in the very dirt But still, like dust, I'll rise. Does my sassiness upset you? Why are you beset with gloom? 'Cause I walk like I've got oil wells Pumping in my living room. Just like moons and like suns, With the certainty of tides, Just like hopes springing high, Still I'll rise. Did you want to see me broken? Bowed head and lowered eyes? Shoulders falling down like teardrops, Weakened by my soulful cries? Does my haughtiness offend you? Don't you take it awful hard 'Cause I laugh like I've got gold mines Diggin' in my own backyard. You may shoot me with your words, You may cut me with your eyes, You may kill me with your hatefulness, But still, like air, I'll rise. Does my sexiness upset you? Does it come as a surprise That I dance like I've got diamonds At the meeting of my thighs? Out of the huts of history's shame I rise Up from a past that's rooted in pain I rise I'm a black ocean, leaping and wide, Welling and swelling I bear in the tide. Leaving behind nights of terror and fear I rise Into a daybreak that's wondrously clear I rise Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave, I am the dream and the hope of the slave. I rise I rise I rise.