It is . We have been celebrating during the week with daily posts from
起点传媒Verse. Let the celebrations continue!
Today, we will focus on聽Maya Angelou, an actor, poet, writer, and director. She was born Marguerite Johnson in St. Louis, Missouri. Maya Angelou was raised by her grandmother in a small Arkansas town. Her grandmother ran a general store and Maya and her younger brother Bailey helped in the store. Maya Angelou聽authored several books chronicling her youth and adolescence, including I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. from the Library of Congress shares a nice remembrance.
In from English Journal, a class reads and discusses “Harlem Hopscotch.” The class uses the poem and a video reading of the poem for creative modeling, using the idea of a childhood experience as an extended metaphor for their own poems.
聽involves students in using primary sources to better understand the historical background that influenced Maya Angelou’s poetry. They first examine photographs from the Library of Congress which illustrate some of the events that affected聽Angelou’s life and thus her writing. Then students research these events in order to create trading cards that they read and share while reading and discussing Angelou’s poetry.
Maya Angelou鈥檚 audience was appreciably widened when she read her poem “” at the request of President-elect Clinton for his first inauguration in 1993.
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What is your favorite piece by Maya Angelou?
Curious about the 起点传媒and Library of Congress connection? Through a grant announced recently by 起点传媒Executive Director Emily Kirkpatrick, 起点传媒is engaged in new ongoing work with the Library of Congress, and 鈥渨ill connect the ELA community with the Library of Congress to expand the use of primary sources in teaching.鈥� Stay tuned for more throughout the year!
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