An introduction to Maya Angelou's distinctive voice: ‘Life Doesn’t Frighten Me’
I can explore Maya Angelou's 'Life Doesn’t Frighten Me' with a focus on the speaker's distinctive voice.
An introduction to Maya Angelou's distinctive voice: ‘Life Doesn’t Frighten Me’
I can explore Maya Angelou's 'Life Doesn’t Frighten Me' with a focus on the speaker's distinctive voice.
These resources will be removed by end of Summer Term 2025.
Lesson details
Key learning points
- Maya Angelou (1928-2014) was an American poet and civil rights activist.
- Angelou's poems have a distinctive voice.
- Figurative language, repetition and an assertive tone are three ways Angelou creates a distinctive voice in her work.
- Arguably, the speaker in 'Life Doesn’t Frighten Me' is presented as assertive.
- You could argue that the speaker in 'Life Doesn’t Frighten Me' is only pretending to be assertive.
Keywords
Civil rights activist - a person who advocates for social and political equality for those who have been denied equal treatment
Figurative language - non-literal phrases or words which develop a writer's meaning
Methods - the tools a writer uses to create their work; repetition and figurative language are just two examples
Distinctive - something that is appealing and interesting because of its recognisable or special qualities
Assertive - confident, self-assured
Common misconception
'Life Doesn't Frighten Me' is saying that life isn't scary.
The poem lists many scary and frightening things. It presents some of the world's dangers. The speaker, however, is not frightened of life despite these dangers.
To help you plan your year 8 english lesson on: An introduction to Maya Angelou's distinctive voice: ‘Life Doesn’t Frighten Me’, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your year 8 english lesson on: An introduction to Maya Angelou's distinctive voice: ‘Life Doesn’t Frighten Me’, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 3 english lessons from the Single poet study: Maya Angelou unit, dive into the full secondary english curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.
Equipment
You need access to a copy of 'Life Doesn’t Frighten Me' by Maya Angelou published by Penguin Random House in 1993.
Content guidance
- Depiction or discussion of discriminatory behaviour
Supervision
Adult supervision recommended
Licence
Lesson video
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Starter quiz
6 Questions
the intentional recurrence of a word or phrase
using the verb form to give an order e.g. stand up
comparing two things using 'like' or 'as'
comparing two things using the verb 'to be'
Exit quiz
6 Questions
the intentional recurrence of a word or phrase
words that reveal the speaker to be confident and self-assured
non-literal phrases or words which develop a writer's meaning