I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

Maya Angelou

The Slingshot is a bi-monthly digital downloadable product that features copywork and dictation passages from a specific novel. It is geared toward teens ages 15–18 and is the indispensable tool for Brave Writer parents who want to teach language arts in a natural, literature-bathed context.

This guide contains the following features:

• 4 Passages for copywork/dictation
• Notes about punctuation, spelling, vocabulary, literary devices, and literary analysis 
  
• Beyond the Passage and Inside Scoop boxes
• Weekly Reading Guided
• Slingshot Planner and Skills Tracker
• 9 Think Piece questions
• Golden Lines prompt
• Book Club Party Ideas
• 52 pages
• Original Publication Date: March 2014
• Publication Date: February 2024

How does the Slingshot fit into the Brave Writer complete language arts program? Learn more on our Getting Started page.

All products are digital and downloadable. All sales are FINAL. No refunds.

About the book

Sent by their mother to live with their devout, self-sufficient grandmother in a small Southern town, Maya and her brother, Bailey, endure the ache of abandonment and the prejudice of the local “powhitetrash.” At eight years old and back at her mother’s side in St. Louis, Maya is attacked by a man many times her age—and has to live with the consequences for a lifetime. Years later, in San Francisco, Maya learns that love for herself, the kindness of others, her own strong spirit, and the ideas of great authors (“I met and fell in love with William Shakespeare”) will allow her to be free instead of imprisoned.
 
Poetic and powerful, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings will touch hearts and change minds for as long as people read.—Amazon

Purchase the I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings novel here.

This Slingshot is a part of the Contemporary Year-Long Slingshot program. Purchase here.