Maya Angelou Teacher Resources

Though Maya Angelou never officially served as a United States Poet Laureate, her vivid and dramatic poetry earned public esteem and reverence throughout her life and long into her legacy. She addressed prevalent themes of discrimination and spiritual oppression in her work, infusing autobiographical elements into fictional representations of life as a black woman in America. No curriculum on poetry, American writers, or black history would be complete without a focus on Maya Angelou.

Start with a Black History Month toolkit that includes several of Angelou’s works, or a lesson on the emotional and spiritual toll of slavery that includes poetry by Langston Hughes alongside I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. Extend a lesson on the story with a literature project as well.

Use a graphic organizer that takes learners through an analysis of “I Love the Look of Words,” or work on rephrasing writing with a paraphrase lesson on “Woman Work.” 

Maya Angelou’s work has come to define the experience of being a woman of color in the 20th century. Lesson Planet is here to help you bring her contribution to American literature to a new generation of readers.