Maya Angelou: Study and Response to "Still I Rise"

Students read biographical information on Maya Angelou and her poem, "Still I Rise." Students identify support and elaboration in poem, then respond by either writing a letter to the author or his/her own poem in response.

A lesson plan for grade 8 English Language Arts

By Barbara Groome and Jo Peterson Gibbs

About the authors

Jo Peterson-Gibbs teaches seventh grade Language Arts and Social Studies at Asheville Middle School in Asheville, North Carolina. She has been teaching for eight years and is a Nationally Board Certified teacher.

Barbara Groome teaches eighth grade Language Arts and Social Studies at Asheville Middle School in Asheville, North Carolina. She has been teaching for nine years and is a National Board Certification candidate.

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Learning outcomes

Students will:

• read biographical information of noted North Carolina poet, Maya Angelou.
• read and identify the poetic elements of the poem, “Still I Rise.”
• identify Support and Elaboration in Angelou’s poem.
• formulate a personal response to the author and poem.

Teacher planning

Time required for lesson

2.5 hours

Materials/resources

• Students should have a pen or pencil and notebook paper for this lesson.
• Each student should have his/her own copy of a short biography of Maya Angelou, available from Internet research. Maya Angelou bio
• Each student should have his/her own copy of Maya Angelou’s poem, “Still I Rise,” available from the Internet.

Technology resources

Computer with internet access

Pre-activities

• This lesson could be incorporated as students study poetry, practice responsive writing, study North Carolina authors, American history or the human condition.
• This lesson focuses on one of the five features of writing: support and elaboration.
• Students should review basic poetry terms and apply that knowledge to reading and understand of poems.
• It would be helpful for students to have had some practice in writing their own poetry or responding to pieces of literature.

Activities

Lesson #1:

1. Instructor will begin with a review of poetic elements and the five features of writing - specifically, support and elaboration.
2. Students read the biography of noted North Carolina author and poet, Maya Angelou, focusing on the difficult circumstances of her childhood and early adulthood.
3. Introduce the author’s poem, “Still I Rise,” by first asking students to read the poem to themselves. Ask students what they think the title means. Why would someone with such a difficult childhood be able to say “Still I Rise”?
4. Define “word choice” and “support and elaboration” for the class. Talk about how word choice can be used to support a theme. Instructor reads the poem out loud to the class. Students listen for and highlight words in the poem that support the idea that the author has had a difficult childhood.
5. Read the poem a second time, this time highlighting words that support the “Still I Rise” theme in a different color. Students make notes on their copy.
6. Use a Venn diagram to contrast the words Dr. Angelou uses to support the theme of hopelessness to the words she uses to support the theme of rising above adversity.
7. Instructor may, at this point, engage students in questions and comments as:
   • To whom is the poet writing?
   • What does the poet mean, “I’ll rise,” and what is the impact of the repetition of this phrase?
   • Why does the author ask questions of the reader?
   • What is a key word in each stanza?
   • What words does she use that reflect her personal style?
8. As a concluding exercise, draw a sketch or symbol to the right of each stanza to reinforce the power and message of the poem.
9. To wrap up this lesson, tell students that they will begin a writing exercise on this poem the next day, and to think about their personal response to the poem as it applies to their own lives.

Lesson #2:

1. Students should have all of their materials on hand from Lesson #1.
2. Students will write an antonym poem in response to Angelou’s poem. The poem will be based on emotional opposites, negative and positive emotions, such as Losing/Winning (or Winning first, then losing), Failure/Success, Left out/ Chosen, Ugly/Beautiful. Choose one that shows how you sometimes feel. Generate words you can use for each. Then generate a line you can repeat throughout the poem to overcome the negative feelings. Your poem should include elaboration and support such as Angelou demonstrated in her poem.
3. As students pre-write and plan their response, they should focus on the use of support and elaboration.

Assessment

The students’ writing will be assessed by teacher review of their final drafts and in-class publishing.

Supplemental information

None

Related websites

Teachers may access biographical information for Maya Angelou on the Internet as well as a copy of her poem, “Still I Rise,” through basic search methods.

“Still I Rise”
http://www.poets.org/poems/poems.cfm?45442B7C000C07010174

Maya Angelou bio
http://www.virtualology.com/virtualmuseumofhistory/hallofwomen/MAYAANGELOU.NET/

Comments

I asked an African-American colleague to read this poem out loud to my students. Not only did she appreciate this opportunity, but the emotion and power of her reading made “Still I Rise” come alive for my students.