Bellringer

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

2. Maya Angelou Poem “Life Doesn’t Frighten Me”

3. 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.

4. 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.

5. 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 Angelou’s 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?

6. LIFE DOESN’T FRIGHTEN ME By Maya Angelou Shadows on the wallNoises down the hailLife doesn’t frighten me at allBad dogs barking loudBig ghosts in a cloudLife doesn’t frighten me at all. Mean old Mother GooseLions on the looseThey don’t frighten me at allDragons breathing flameOn my counterpaneThat doesn’t frighten me at all. I go booMake them shooI make funWay they runI won’t crySo they flyI just smileThey go wildLife doesn’t frighten me at all. Tough guys in a fightAll alone at nightLife doesn’t frighten me at all.Panthers in the parkStrangers in the darkNo, they don’t frighten me at all. That new classroom whereBoys pull all my hair(Kissy little girlsWith their hair in curls)They don’t frighten me at all. Don’t show me frogs and snakesAnd listen for my scream,If I’m afraid at allIt’s only in my dreams. I’ve got a magic charmThat I keep up my sleeve,I can walk the ocean floorAnd never have to breathe. Life doesn’t frighten me at allNot at allNot at allLife doesn’t frighten me at all. Maya Angelou Reading Life Doesn't Frighten Me Life Doesn’t Frighten Meby Maya Angelou

7. People in the dark Noises in the park Life doesn’t frighten me at all Mice on the floor Screeching of the door Life doesn’t frighten me at all. Mean bank robbers here Strangers over there They don’t frighten me at all Hurricane in the night Fire in the light That doesn’t frighten me at all. I go boo Make them shoo… I make fun Way they run I won’t cry So they fly I just smile They go wild Life doesn’t frighten me at all. Knocking on the glass Shadows going past Life doesn’t frighten me at all Man-eating sharks Men with tattoo marks No, they don’t frighten me at all. Stared at in the eyes Screams that make you cry Never ending stairs Paths that lead nowhere They don’t frighten me at all. Don’t show me snakes and spiders And listen for my screams I will not be afraid I will stand straight and stay I’ve got a magic charm That I keep up my sleeve I can stand so still You can’t hear me breathe. Student Sample #1

8. Obsession taunting me Unable to be free Life doesn’t frighten me at all Losing my dearest bud Being thought of as a dud Life doesn’t frighten me at all. Something killing all my pets Being swallowed up by death Life doesn’t frighten me at all Losing my gift of sight Causing everything to be white Life doesn’t frighten me at all. I go boo… My idols being fake Making a terrible mistake Life doesn’t frighten me at all Having a fatal disease Being drowned in the seas Life doesn’t frighten me at all. Being tortured by spiky things And cruel unusual stretching things In a cage up in a tower As the pain’s increasing in its power They don’t frighten me at all. Don’t show me angry dogs And listen for my screams If I’m afraid at all It’s only in my dreams. I’ve got a magic charm That I keep up my sleeve I can stand up for myself And never have to leave. Life doesn’t frighten me at all Not at all Not at all Life doesn’t frighten me at all. Student Sample #2

9. Buzzing bumbling bugs Auntie’s giant hugs Life doesn’t frighten me at all People in a fight Squeaks and groans at night Life doesn’t frighten me at all. Thunder and lightening Booming and flashing They don’t frighten me at all Beggars on the street Sitting at my feet That doesn’t frighten me at all. I go boo… Big gray ocean sharks Getting conduct marks Life doesn’t frighten me at all Things under my bed Ghost without its head No, they don’t 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 don’t frighten me at all. Don’t show me teeth and claws And listen for my scream If I’m afraid at all It’s only in my dreams. I’ve got a magic charm That I keep up my sleeve I can walk on red hot coals And never want to scream. Life doesn’t frighten me at all Not at all Not at all Life doesn’t frighten me at all. And Student Sample #3

10. Now YOU try it! • Using the poem by Maya Angelou, rewrite the lines that repeat “Life Doesn’t 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 didn’t