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As a young woman, Maya was San Francisco's
first African-American female cable car conductor.
She worked hard to support herself and her son.
aya Angelou was born
Marguerite Ann Johnson
on April 4, 1928 in St.
Louis, Missouri. Today she is one
of the most honored women in the
world, recognized as a poet,
memoirist, novelist, educator,
dramatist, producer, actress,
historian, filmmaker and civil
rights activist. She has won
three Grammys for her
spoken-word albums, and in 2011,
President Obama awarded her the
Presidential Medal of Freedom for
inspiring young people with her
words.
Maya's life didn't have an easy
start. After her parents' divorce,
she was moved from home to
home for many years, living in
turn with her mother, her
grandmother and her father.
For a while she was homeless.
But she didn't let the poverty,
pain or suffering of her childhood
destroy her. In response, she
created works of art.
Look at the list of art forms. Circle the ones with even numbers.
These are art forms that helped Maya become famous.
Find
the two
identical
cable
cars.
Standards Link: History: Students understand that specific individuals can have a great impact on history.
Maya loved to perform. She started singing and dancing in
nightclubs and changed her name to Maya Angelou. Maya
came from her brother's nickname for her, "my-a-sister."
Angelou came from her first husband's name, Angelos.
After Maya was cast in the opera Porgy and Bess, she traveled
throughout Europe performing in the show. While on tour, she
learned the languages of the countries she visited. Follow the
maze to see which launguages she learned.
SPANISH
ITALIAN
ARABIC
FANTI
*
FRENCH
GERMAN
RUSSIAN
ARABIC
FANTI
*
GREEK
* A West African language
Standards Links: Behavioral Studies: Understand that people learn about each other in different ways.
To date, Maya has published
more than 30 bestselling books.
She wrote a series of books
about her life. To discover the
name of her first book, hold
this page up to a mirror.
A
B
C D
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