a person who advocates for social and political equality for those who have been denied equal treatment

non-literal phrases or words which develop a writer's meaning

the tools a writer uses to create their work; repetition and figurative language are just two examples

something that is appealing and interesting because of its recognisable or special qualities

An introduction to Maya Angelou's distinctive voice: ‘Life Doesn’t Frighten Me’

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

the tools a writer uses to create their work; use of refrain and figurative language are just two examples

words that have one syllable (one beat) e.g. bad, big, run, fun

non-literal phrases and words which develop a writer's meaning

repeated line or group of lines in a poem

something that can't be touched e.g. a noise

Writing a poem inspired by Maya Angelou's 'Life Doesn't Frighten Me'

extraordinary or remarkable, often beyond usual expectations or understanding

treating someone unfairly because of certain characteristics like age, ethnicity or gender

Exploring Maya Angelou’s ‘Phenomenal Woman’

non-literal words and phrases which develop a writer’s meaning

Exploring Maya Angelou's figurative language in ‘Phenomenal Woman’

being able to cope, withstand and recover from difficult physical or mental challenges

to treat someone, or a group of people, unfairly

non-literal words and phrases which develop a writer's meaning

Exploring Maya Angelou’s ‘Still I Rise’

being able to cope, withstand and recover from difficult physical or mental challenge

Performing Maya Angelou's ‘Still I Rise’

a detailed comparison which develops one idea over a number of lines, paragraphs or stanzas

to keep doing something even if it is difficult

Exploring Maya Angelou's 'Caged Bird'

expressing joy and happiness after a victory or achievement

the attitude of emotion of your voice - written or verbal

movement of a part of the body (often hand or head) to signal an idea or meaning

Performing Maya Angelou's ‘Caged Bird’

suggesting someone has done something wrong

Exploring Maya Angelou's 'Equality'

Exploring Maya Angelou’s use of figurative language

continuing to do something even when it is difficult

the tools a writer uses to create their work; extended metaphor is one example

a way of planning a paragraph by writing the first and final sentences in full, and developing the detail of the paragraph in note form

Maya Angelou’s influences: exploring ‘Sympathy’ by Paul Laurence Dunbar

how something is put together; how it is organised and arranged

elegance, dignity, poise, self-possession

in English, to look at a writer’s work carefully and make a comment on why it was written in that way

Exploring Maya Angelou's 'Woman Work'

in politics, when a new leader and government is sworn in

laws enforced by American states which separated people based on the colour of their skin (late 19th century to 1965)

Exploring Maya Angelou’s ‘On the Pulse of the Morning’

a simple, general view of a particular category of people

Exploring Maya Angelou's 'On Aging'

expressing emotions in an imaginative or unusual way

the tools a writer uses to create their work; refrain and use of commands are just two examples

Maya Angelou's poetic voice

in English, historical, social, literary or biographical information which helps us understand a text more fully

elements in a poem or poems that make it clear it is by a particular person or speaker

Analytical paragraphs: Maya Angelou’s poetic voice

when the text speaks directly to the reader / audience, often using the pronoun 'you'

the tools a writer uses to create their work

Finding my own voice: planning a poem inspired by Maya Angelou

the tools a writer uses to create their work; use of figurative language is one example

Finding my own voice: writing a poem inspired by Maya Angelou

in music, a combination of sounds that sound nice

the beat, flow, or pattern of a piece of music or writing

the number of beats in a word; for example, "rise" has one syllable, "history" has three syllables

in music, a combination of sounds that don't sound nice.

repetition of similar sounds in two or more words.

Single poet study: Maya Angelou

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These lessons will be removed by end of Summer Term 2025.