Essential Questions:

1.  What is the difference between a book, a novel, and a nonfiction text?  How do these differences impact the content?

2.  What are the major themes of this work?

3.  How does Angelou utilize characterization?

4.  How does Maya evolve throughout this text? 

Links:

I found much of the online information about Maya Angelou to be repetitive--especially since I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings is a biography of her early life.  However, I have included a few links that seemed the most valuable.

Check out the Official Maya Angelou Website.  After you get there, click on her name or her picture to get into the site. 

Watch a clip of Maya Angelou talking to Oprah about living, aging, and courage.  (It's wonderful to hear Maya's voice.) 

Read poetry by Maya Angelou.  "Phenomenal Woman" is one of my favorites.  You can also view a critique of this poem.  Another review of the poem as a mini-book, illustrated by Gauguin's paintings. 

Hear Maya Angelou reading her poem "On the Pulse of Morning" at President Clinton's first inauguration. 

Find out where the title Caged Bird originated. 

Peruse study questions suggested by Encarta. 

Read an interview with Maya Angelou, conducted around the time of  President Clinton's first inauguration (1993). 

Read a 1998 interview with Maya Angelou and Eleanor Holmes Norton by Essence Magazine.  (It's 5 pages long; so keep going.)