I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings Lesson Plan

If all of the elements of this lesson plan are employed, students will develop the following powers, skills, and understanding:

1. 1

   Students will be able to identify and analyze key themes and symbols in the text.

2. 2

   Students will be able to trace the narrator’s development from childhood to adolescence to womanhood and pinpoint key events in her development process.

3. 3

   Students will learn about the many historical and cultural allusions made in the text, and understand what impact they had on the narrator.

4. 4

   Students will gain a greater understanding of the autobiographical literature genre.