a simple, general view of a particular category of people

Exploring Maya Angelou's 'On Aging'

English

In 'Single Poet Study: Maya Angelou', pupils study a body of work by a single poet, in order to explore what makes her style and voice unique, giving Angelou her identity as a writer. In the second  Power and Conflict Poetry unit, pupils study the identity cluster of poems, including works by Agard, Dharker and Rumens, all of which use poetic voice to explore questions about personal identity.

In 'Poetry about Place and Home', pupils use spoken word poetry to explore their relationship to the city that they live in. In 'Single Poet Study: Maya Angelou', pupils explore how spoken word poetry can be used to express personal and political views. 

In this unit, pupils read and discover the work of Maya Angelou. They explore some of Angelou's most famous poems, such as 'Caged Bird' and 'Still I Rise', and practise writing and performing poems inspired by her work. As the unit develops, pupils find their own distinctive poetic voice.

Single poet study: Maya Angelou

Discriminatory behaviour or images, whether on the grounds of race, gender, disability, religion or belief or sexual orientation, or otherwise.

Depiction or discussion of discriminatory behaviour

Maya Angelou wrote a poem called 'On {{ }}'. ('Single poet study: Maya Angelou')

How old was Angelou when 'On Aging' was first published? ('Single poet study: Maya Angelou')

Which word means critical, often in a humorous way? ('Single poet study: Maya Angelou')

In 'On Aging', how does the speaker describe herself at the start of the poem? ('Single poet study: Maya Angelou')

In 'On Aging', how does the speaker describe herself at the end of the poem? ('Single poet study: Maya Angelou')

'On Aging' was published in 1978 in Maya Angelou's collection called 'And Still I Rise'. What other poems were published in this collection? ('Single poet study: Maya Angelou')

the purposeful recurrence of a word or phrase

Match each method to its definition ('Single poet study: Maya Angelou').

to show they are asking a rhetorical question

Why might someone use an exclamation mark in their poem? ('Single poet study: Maya Angelou')

Which sentences are commands? ('Single poet study: Maya Angelou')

I really like sitting quietly as I am introverted.

My legs creaked like a squeaky door hinge.

My stomach rumbled like a gently bubbling volcano.

My feelings boiled inside me, a bubbling kettle of emotions.

Which of these sentences are similes? ('Single poet study: Maya Angelou')

Maya Angelou's third collection of poetry was called 'And Still I {{ }}' ('Single poet study: Maya Angelou').

My teacher told me to sit down, but I defied her and went outside.

I defiant, so I often don't do what I'm told.

Many of Angelou's poems have a defiantly voice.

I did what I was told because I love being defiant.

Which of these sentences use the word defiant (or its forms) accurately? ('Single poet study: Maya Angelou')

Content guidance

Depiction or discussion of discriminatory behaviour

Adult supervision recommended

This lesson will be removed by end of Summer Term 2025.

Exploring Maya Angelou's 'On Aging'

Lesson outcome

Content guidance

This lesson will be removed by end of Summer Term 2025.