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Year 8

Exploring Maya Angelou's 'Equality'

I can explore Maya Angelou's 'Equality'.

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New
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Year 8

Exploring Maya Angelou's 'Equality'

I can explore Maya Angelou's 'Equality'.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. 'Equality' sees a speaker demand equality so that she can be "free".
  2. Arguably, the poem presents racial and gender inequality that Angelou experienced as a Black American woman.
  3. 'Equality' starts with the word "you" and we could argue that the speaker has an accusatory tone at points in the poem.
  4. Arguably, the speaker's response to the inequality she sees makes it a poem about resilience in the face of inequality.
  5. Linking quotations together when you explore a poem can make your idea more powerful.

Keywords

  • Civil rights activist - a person who advocates for social and political equality for those who have been denied equal treatment

  • Accusatory - suggesting someone has done something wrong

  • Assertive - confident, self-assured

  • Oppress - to treat someone, or a group of people, unfairly

Common misconception

Personal opinions in English don't matter. Only analysis is valid.

Being a student of English can often feel like this. But expressing your opinions about your feelings towards a text - those you read in and outside the classroom - is very important and just as much a part of the subject of English as analysis.

Consider how you will read 'Equality' in Learning Cycle 1. Who will read, when and why? Would watching Angelou perform the poem aid enjoyment? Are there words you need to define, or further questions you wish to ask?
Teacher tip

Equipment

You will need access to a copy of 'Equality' published by Penguin Random House in 1990.

Content guidance

  • Depiction or discussion of discriminatory behaviour
  • Depiction or discussion of violence or suffering
  • Depiction or discussion of sexual content

Supervision

Adult supervision required

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2024), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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Starter quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
What is a refrain? ('Single poet study: Maya Angelou')
the repetition of the same letter at the start of successive words
when a poet compares one thing to another using 'like' or 'as'
Correct answer: a repeated line or set of lines in a poem
when the title is the same as one of the lines in the poem
Q2.
Which of these are examples of commands? ('Single poet study: Maya Angelou')
Correct answer: Hear my voice.
I am not afraid.
Boldly, I won’t do what you want.
Correct answer: Stand and march with me.
Q3.
Match each word to its definition ('Single poet study: Maya Angelou').
Correct Answer:accusatory,suggesting someone has done something wrong

suggesting someone has done something wrong

Correct Answer:assertive,confident, self-assured

confident, self-assured

Correct Answer:oppress,to treat someone, or a group of people, unfairly

to treat someone, or a group of people, unfairly

Q4.
When was Maya Angelou born? ('Single poet study: Maya Angelou')
1914
1918
Correct answer: 1928
1978
1983
Q5.
Match each of these Maya Angelou poems to their focus. ('Single poet study: Maya Angelou')
Correct Answer:'Phenomenal Woman' ,a speaker telling us where her confidence and beauty come from: her

a speaker telling us where her confidence and beauty come from: her

Correct Answer:'Still I Rise' ,a speaker explaining how the oppression they have faced can't diminish

a speaker explaining how the oppression they have faced can't diminish

Correct Answer:'Caged Bird' ,a poem that uses an extended metaphor to explore inequality

a poem that uses an extended metaphor to explore inequality

Correct Answer:'Life Doesn't Frighten Me' ,a speaker lists all the things they aren't frightened of and why

a speaker lists all the things they aren't frightened of and why

Q6.
Maya Angelou was a poet and a civil activist ('Single poet study: Maya Angelou').
Correct Answer: rights

Exit quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
What word does Maya Angelou's poem 'Equality' start with? ('Single poet study: Maya Angelou')
Equality
Inequality
I
Correct answer: You
Freedom
Q2.
What is the final word of Maya Angelou's 'Equality'? ('Single poet study: Maya Angelou')
equality
inequality
I
you
Correct answer: freedom
Q3.
When using quotations to explore an idea, what could you do to make your use of quotations powerful? ('Single poet study: Maya Angelou')
rely on one long quotation so you have a lot to say about it
don't quote directly – just say where it comes in the text
Correct answer: link quotations together
identify the method or technique in the quotation and then move on
Q4.
Starting with the first, put these Maya Angelou poems in the order they were published. ('Single poet study: Maya Angelou')
1 - 'Phenomenal Woman' and 'Still I Rise'
2 - 'Caged Bird'
3 - 'Equality'
4 - 'Life Doesn't Frighten Me'
Q5.
Which of the sentences below use the word accusatory (or its forms) correctly? ('Single poet study: Maya Angelou')
She accusatory me of taking her sweets when she wasn't looking.
I like being accused of things; it shows I'm trustworthy.
Correct answer: I accused him of eating the cake when I saw the crumbs around his mouth.
Can you accuse him to pick me up? I don't have time to ask.
Q6.
In Maya Angelou's 'Equality', the speaker says that despite the inequality she has faced, she marches " " (Stanza five). ('Single poet study: Maya Angelou')
Correct Answer: forward