Read Angelou's poem "Phenomenal Woman" out loud in class. Discuss with students the way Angelou criticizes conventional notions of beauty. Break students into group of four. Assign each group a decade, going as far back as the 19th century. Each group is responsible for conducting research on which ideas of beauty were popular during their decade. Students can conduct research inside and outside of class. Each group will create a poster or presentation to present to the class on the notions of beauty during their decade. Hang the posters around the room. Invite students to write individual reflections about what beauty is and what they believe it will be in the future. Alternatively, you can assign each group a different country instead of a different decade.
Instruct students to make a time line of their typical daily activities. Discuss the various tasks they are required to complete each day. Then read Angelou's "Woman Work." Discuss as a class the types of jobs the character in the poem is required to complete every day and how the work has affected her view of the world. Instruct students that they will interview a family or community member from a different generation than their own about what life was like when he was the student's age. Students should conduct background research on the historical period they will be interviewing about. After the interviews, students should prepare a five-minute presentation about the differences between work expectations today and work expectations from the past. Students should focus specifically on how work can affect perspectives or beliefs about society.
Provide students with a brief background lesson on discrimination and segregation in the 1950s and '60s. Then read Angelou's poem "Million Man March." Ask students to reflect on the way Angelou uses poetic language to inspire and persuade the audience in support of the cause of the Million Man March. Students should then form pairs. Each pair is responsible for creating a multimedia presentation to give to their classmates attempting to persuade them to support a cause that matters to them. Students can select national political causes, local causes or school-wide causes. At the end of presentations, students will vote on which presentation was the most moving or persuasive; they cannot vote for their own presentations. The students with the most effective presentations receive an incentive (homework pass, extra credit, etc.).