BHS Educates READsponsible CitizensName:_________________________________________________ Date: ___/____/____

Grade 9Bloomfield High School

I KNOW WHY THE CAGED BIRD SINGSby: Maya Angelou

Steven Carrier, 9th Grade ELA TeacherDr. Beryl Irene Bailey, Director of Literacy

Summer Reading Assignment

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I KNOW WHY THE CAGED BIRD SINGS by Maya Angelo

Informative/Explanatory Performance Writing TaskBy Mr. Steven Carrier

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I KNOW WHY THE CAGED BIRD SINGS by: Maya Angelo

Task Directions: These questions have been developed to assess your ability to read closely. Some questions will call upon your ability to uncover the meaning of words by using text evidence or word structure. Remember that all questions are not calling upon any prior knowledge you may have of Maya Angelou or the Civil Rights Movement. Your answers need to be supported with evidence from the text. Some questions are selected response questions (for example, multiple choice) and others are constructed responses that call upon your skill to analyze a text and defend your answer.

Final Task During the first week of school, you be able to use your responses to the exercises in this packet to develop an essay that will evaluate your ability to address one of the following topics:

An analysis of how Maya Angelou’s poem Still I Rise is supported by her autobiography I KNOW WHY THE CAGED BIRD SINGS.

An examination of how this biography serves as a commentary on the condition of being black during the time Maya Angelou lived.

An analysis of how Claudette Colvin’s biography and Maya Angelou’s autobiography (I KNOW WHY THE CAGED BIRD SINGS) provide a narrative that is similar and/or different to reflect

the conditions under which blacks lived in the South.

Power School Completion of this packet and your essay will be two of the most significant grades that will impact your first quarter grade.

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Using Evidence to Support Perspectives“Segregation was the law of the land.”

1. Maya Angelou’s first autobiography – I KNOW WHY THE CAGED BIRD SINGS, can be viewed as a study of the condition of the American Negro during the time of segregation. Document evidence from ten chapters to support that segregation was rampant based on Angelou’s narrative. Your commentary can include Angelou’s reaction to the practice of segregation – its effect upon her and others in the community.Do not include chapters 23 and 27. Suggest: chapters 4, 6,Sample response is provided:

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page Evidence and Commentary

1 5 “…we reached the segregated part of the journey.”Commentary: Angelou informs us that segregation was practiced in Arkansas as she tells of her trip with her brother to l live with her grandmother in Stamps, Arkansas.

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Using Evidence to Support Perspectives“Blacks were degraded and mistreated.”

2. Maya Angelou’s first autobiography – I KNOW WHY THE CAGED BIRD SINGS, can be viewed as a study of the manner in which American Negroes lived in fear, were degraded, humiliated, and treated disrespectfully. Document evidence from ten chapters to support this claim based on Angelou’s narrative and observations.Your commentary can include Angelou’s reaction.Do not include chapters 23 and 27. Suggested chapters: 3, 6, Do not include any items that you had previously documented.Sample response is provided:

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page Evidence and Commentary

3 17 “The used-to-be sheriff sat rakishly astraddle his horse. His nonchalance was meant to convey his authority and power over even dumb animals. How much more capable he would be with Negroes.”Commentary: Angelou suggests that Negroes were regarded by whitefolks as dumb animals who must never project an attitude or sense of being on equal terms with whitefolks. Thus the age-old master vs. slave relationship still existed.

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Chapter 1:

3. Determine the meaning of the word reneged as it is used in the context of the following passage: (DOK level 2; target: word meanings)

On page 5, Angelou reflects, Years later I discovered that the United States had been crossed thousands of times by frightened Black children

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traveling alone to their newly affluent parents in Northern cities, or back to grandmothers in Southern towns when urban North reneged on its economic promises.

Reneged most nearly means: a. focusedb. followed throughc. gone backd. relied

4. Determine the meaning of the expression put a bridle on my tongue as it is used in the context of the following passage: (DOK Level 3; Language Use)

On page 7, Angelou writes about her grandmother’s daily morning prayer, Guide my feet this day along the straight and narrow, and help to put a bridle on my tongue.

put a bridle on my tongue refers to Angelou’s grandmother’s:

a. ability to avoid cursing out her customersb. ability to communicate effectively with her customersc. ability to not let her bad breath get in her way with customersd. ability to taste the food being prepared for customers

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5. Determine the figurative language being used in the following sentence and then explain how it is used. (DOK Level 3; Reasoning/Evaluation)

On page 8, Angelou writes about a customer, He’d use the candy as a snack before the noon sun called the workers to rest.

a. hyperboleb. metaphorc. personificationd. simile

Explanation: ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ (pages 8-9) Use text evidence to support the claim that Angelou’s experience in her Momma’s store helped her develop empathy for local cotton pickers. (DOK level 2; Key Details)

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Chapter 2:

6. Determine the meaning of the word rancor as it is used in the context of the following passage: (DOK level 2; target: word meanings)

On page 11, Angelou reflects, Momma related ... how Uncle Willie had been dropped when he was three years old... She seemed to hold no rancor against the babysitter, nor for her just God who allowed the accident. rancor most nearly means:

a. bitternessb. compassionc. forgivenessd. revengefulness

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7. Determine the meaning of the word whole as it is used in the context of the following passage: (DOK Level3; Reasoning/Evaluation)

On page 13, Angelou writes, (Uncle Willie) put his hand behind that dark recess and took his cane in the strong fist and shifted his weight on the wooden support. He thought he had pulled it off. I'll never why it was important to him that the couple would take a picture of a whole (Uncle Willie).

whole most nearly means: a. completeb. handicappedc. perfectd. unencumbered

8. (pages 13-14) Provide evidence to support the claim that Angelou was an insatiable, voracious reader. (DOK level 2; Key Details)

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Chapter 3: (DOK Level 3; Language Use)

9. Angelou's use of imagery in the paragraph that starts with the sentence, Until I was thirteen and left Arkansas for good,... reveals her fascination

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with sunlight. Document three quotes to support that claim.

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Chapter 4: (DOK Level 3; Reasoning/Evaluation)

10. (pages 21-23)  Support with three pieces of evidence that Angelou admires her older brother, Bailey.

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Chapter 5:

11. (pages 27-28) Use evidence from the text to infer another word to replace "impudent" in one of Momma's commandments: Thou shalt not be impudent.

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________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Chapter 6:12. Determine the meaning of the word dim as it is used in the context of

the following passage: (DOK level 2; target: word meanings)

On page 37, Angelou writes, Momma sent us to the back room whenever they were going to discuss whitefolks and "doing it." Two subjects about which I was very dim.

dim most nearly means: a. awareb. informedc. lightheartedd. naïve

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13. An idiom is an expression that is not to be interpreted word for word. It is figurative and not literal. For example, when someone says "I have your back," it does not literally mean that someone is holding onto that person's back; rather, it figuratively means that the speaker is looking out for and supporting an individual.

Infer how the rather comical incident with the preacher might be connected to the idiom "You took the words right of my mouth" could be interpreted literally. (Refer to page 43) (DOK Level 3; Language Use)

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Chapters 9-13 (DOK Level 3; Reasoning/Evaluation)

14. Chapters 9 through 13 reveal Angelou’s adjustment and thus deal with the theme of dislocation and relocation. She and her brother are uprooted from Stamps, Arkansas and brought to live in in St. Louis. Use evidence from these chapters to discuss the following points:a. Compare/contrast the social life and treatment of Negroes in Stamps

versus Saint Louis.b. Compare/contrast the familial relationships between the families

with whom Angelou lived in Stamps versus Saint Louis.

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Chapters 28-31 (DOK Level 2; Analysis within and across Texts)

15.Chapters 28 through 31: Angelou and her brother are again on the move. This time relocation back to Stamps, Arkansas. However, Angelou packs with her a traumatic event that will forever haunt her. Use evidence from these chapters to analyze one of the following ideas:(Omit chapter 23 in your analysis) a. Angelou’s self-identityb. Consult the following site on PTSD:https://www.thewholechild.info/resources/age-group-6-12/post-traumatic-stress-disorder-ages-6-12/

Support or refute that Angelou suffers from PTSD after you have consulted the PTSD website and analyzed Angelou’s thoughts and actions.

c. Angelou’s perspective of black versus white relationships.________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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Chapters 28-3616.Chapters 28 through 36: Angelou is now in California. Use evidence from

these chapters to analyze one of the following ideas:a. Compare/contrast race relationships among the three areas where

Angelou has lived: Stamps, Arkansas, Saint Louis, Californiab. The role of education in Angelou’s life.c. The evolution of Angelou’s self-identity.d. Rite of passage: transitioning from adolescence to adulthood.e. Angelou’s sense of belonging and “not belonging”

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