I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Maya Angelou

    (Heinemann New Windmill Series, 1995)

• Sympathy - Laurence Dunbar Poem
The poem from which Maya Angelou took her book's title.

• Caged Bird - Identity
Notes on the factors that shape Maya's emerging identity (discrimination against Black people; oppression of women; Literature; the Bible; heroes/heroines).
•  Caged Bird - Language Variety
A table for analysing the different varieties of English spoken in Caged Bird.
•  Caged Bird - Style
Worksheet directing students to examine the use of dialect, imagery (including Christian imagery) and narrative voice in Caged Bird.
•  Caged Bird - Text Productions
A list of "text productions" (writing in different genres) for the International Baccalaureate English A2 examination.
•  Fiction and Autobiography
A table comparing features of fiction and autobiography - demonstrating that they have more in common than we normally suppose.
•  Sympathy and RSPCA Webpage
A table comparing stylistic features of the Laurence Dunbar poem, Sympathy (see above), and an RSPCA webpage.  Preparation for an English A2 Comparative Commentary.