Bellringer

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Bellringer

• List five to ten fears that you have in your
  life.
• Which of these would you like to overcome?

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Maya Angelou Poem Life Doesnt Frighten Me
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Maya Angelou

• Dr. Maya Angelou is one of the most renowned and
  influential voices of our time.
• Dr. Angelou is a celebrated poet, memoirist,
  novelist, educator, dramatist, producer, actress,
  historian, filmmaker, and civil rights activist.

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• Dr. Angelou has served on two presidential
  committees, was awarded the Presidential Medal of
  Arts in 2000, the Lincoln Medal in 2008, and has
  received 3 Grammy Awards.
• President Clinton requested that she compose a
  poem to read at his inauguration in 1993. Dr.
  Angelou's reading of her poem "On the Pulse of
  the Morning" was broadcast live around the world.

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Questions for Discussion

• What kind of stance does the speaker take against
  her fears in life?
• How does she deal with them?
• Do you see her conquering her fears or denying
  that she actually has them?
• If she is not afraid, why do you think this is
  so?
• Should she be afraid of the things listed in this
  poem?
• Why does she strongly refuse to be afraid of
  these things?
• Do you find it interesting or even surprising
  that these things do not frighten the speaker?
  Why or why not?
• What is the speaker saying about girls and boys
  her age in the fifth stanza? Should they
  frighten her? Do you think she fits in with
  them?
• Besides her saying so repeatedly, what else can
  you point out as evidence of her fearlessness in
  the poem?
• Would anything in this poem frighten you? Be
  honest!
• Did Angelous apparent fearlessness towards
  things in the poem contradict what you think
  children are generally frightened of? Look at
  what you wrote down. Can you say exactly why she
  refuses to fear these things? Why must she let
  us know?
•  

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Life Doesnt Frighten Meby Maya Angelou
Maya Angelou Reading Life Doesn't Frighten Me

• LIFE DOESNT FRIGHTEN ME
• By Maya Angelou
• Shadows on the wallNoises down the hailLife
  doesnt frighten me at allBad dogs barking
  loudBig ghosts in a cloudLife doesnt frighten
  me at all.
• Mean old Mother GooseLions on the looseThey
  dont frighten me at allDragons breathing
  flameOn my counterpaneThat doesnt frighten me
  at all.
• I go booMake them shooI make funWay they
  runI wont crySo they flyI just smileThey go
  wildLife doesnt frighten me at all.

• Tough guys in a fightAll alone at nightLife
  doesnt frighten me at all.Panthers in the
  parkStrangers in the darkNo, they dont
  frighten me at all.
• That new classroom whereBoys pull all my
  hair(Kissy little girlsWith their hair in
  curls)They dont frighten me at all.
• Dont show me frogs and snakesAnd listen for my
  scream,If Im afraid at allIts only in my
  dreams.
• Ive got a magic charmThat I keep up my
  sleeve,I can walk the ocean floorAnd never have
  to breathe.
• Life doesnt frighten me at allNot at allNot
  at allLife doesnt frighten me at all.

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Student Sample 1

• Knocking on the glass
• Shadows going past
• Life doesnt frighten me at all
• Man-eating sharks
• Men with tattoo marks
• No, they dont frighten me at all.
• Stared at in the eyes
• Screams that make you cry
• Never ending stairs
• Paths that lead nowhere
• They dont frighten me at all.
• Dont show me snakes and spiders
• And listen for my screams
• I will not be afraid
• I will stand straight and stay
• Ive got a magic charm
• That I keep up my sleeve
• I can stand so still
• You cant hear me breathe.

• People in the dark
• Noises in the park
• Life doesnt frighten me at all
• Mice on the floor
• Screeching of the door
• Life doesnt frighten me at all.
• Mean bank robbers here
• Strangers over there
• They dont frighten me at all
• Hurricane in the night
• Fire in the light
• That doesnt frighten me at all.
• I go boo
• Make them shoo
• I make fun
• Way they run
• I wont cry
• So they fly
• I just smile

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Student Sample 2

• Obsession taunting me
• Unable to be free
• Life doesnt frighten me at all
• Losing my dearest bud
• Being thought of as a dud
• Life doesnt frighten me at all.
• Something killing all my pets
• Being swallowed up by death
• Life doesnt frighten me at all
• Losing my gift of sight
• Causing everything to be white
• Life doesnt frighten me at all.
• I go boo
• My idols being fake
• Making a terrible mistake
• Life doesnt frighten me at all
• Having a fatal disease
• Being drowned in the seas
• Life doesnt frighten me at all.

• Being tortured by spiky things
• And cruel unusual stretching things
• In a cage up in a tower
• As the pains increasing in its power
• They dont frighten me at all.
• Dont show me angry dogs
• And listen for my screams
• If Im afraid at all
• Its only in my dreams.
• Ive got a magic charm
• That I keep up my sleeve
• I can stand up for myself
• And never have to leave.
• Life doesnt frighten me at all
• Not at all
• Not at all
• Life doesnt frighten me at all.

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And Student Sample 3

• Buzzing bumbling bugs
• Aunties giant hugs
• Life doesnt frighten me at all
• People in a fight
• Squeaks and groans at night
• Life doesnt frighten me at all.
• Thunder and lightening
• Booming and flashing
• They dont frighten me at all
• Beggars on the street
• Sitting at my feet
• That doesnt frighten me at all.
• I go boo
• Big gray ocean sharks
• Getting conduct marks
• Life doesnt frighten me at all
• Things under my bed
• Ghost without its head
• No, they dont frighten me at all.

• Those high cliffs up there
• I look down and stare
• It is much too high
• Too close to the sky
• They dont frighten me at all.
• Dont show me teeth and claws
• And listen for my scream
• If Im afraid at all
• Its only in my dreams.
• Ive got a magic charm
• That I keep up my sleeve
• I can walk on red hot coals
• And never want to scream.
• Life doesnt frighten me at all
• Not at all
• Not at all
• Life doesnt frighten me at all.

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Now YOU try it!

• Using the poem by Maya Angelou, rewrite the lines
  that repeat Life Doesnt frighten Me
• You do not have to write the same number of
  verses as are in the poem but you must write at
  least 5 stanzas
• The lines do not have to rhyme but try to create
  end rhyme when possible
• Simply think of things that frighten you, but
  that you would rather didnt