Theme - I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

What can you do if the central idea is not explicitly stated in a text?

Identification and Application:

- Authors may or may not explicitly state the central idea of a text.

- As the author develops a central idea, they will include details and ideas that support it. When it is not explicitly stated, you can determine a central idea by looking at particular information and asking yourself: What subject do the details in one or more paragraphs explain or describe?

- Each paragraph or group of paragraphs in a text may have a central idea. As these ideas emerge, they become details that support a more significant central idea of the complete text.

- An objective summary is a shortened text that incorporates the most essential ideas. An objective summary can be written after the central idea and supporting details have been determined.

- Begin your objective summary with a topic sentence and include supporting details.

- Do not include personal opinions or judgments in your objective summary.

Theme - I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

What key question can you ask yourself when determining a central idea from details in the text?

Identification and Application:

- Authors may or may not explicitly state the central idea of a text.

- As the author develops a central idea, they will include details and ideas that support it. When it is not explicitly stated, you can determine a central idea by looking at particular information and asking yourself: What subject do the details in one or more paragraphs explain or describe?

- Each paragraph or group of paragraphs in a text may have a central idea. As these ideas emerge, they become details that support a more significant central idea of the complete text.

- An objective summary is a shortened text that incorporates the most essential ideas. An objective summary can be written after the central idea and supporting details have been determined.

- Begin your objective summary with a topic sentence and include supporting details.

- Do not include personal opinions or judgments in your objective summary.

Theme - I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

What is the process for determining the central idea of a text?

Identification and Application:

- Authors may or may not explicitly state the central idea of a text.

- As the author develops a central idea, they will include details and ideas that support it. When it is not explicitly stated, you can determine a central idea by looking at particular information and asking yourself: What subject do the details in one or more paragraphs explain or describe?

- Each paragraph or group of paragraphs in a text may have a central idea. As these ideas emerge, they become details that support a more significant central idea of the complete text.

- An objective summary is a shortened text that incorporates the most essential ideas. An objective summary can be written after the central idea and supporting details have been determined.

- Begin your objective summary with a topic sentence and include supporting details.

- Do not include personal opinions or judgments in your objective summary.

Theme - I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

What should be included in an objective summary?

Identification and Application:

- Authors may or may not explicitly state the central idea of a text.

- As the author develops a central idea, they will include details and ideas that support it. When it is not explicitly stated, you can determine a central idea by looking at particular information and asking yourself: What subject do the details in one or more paragraphs explain or describe?

- Each paragraph or group of paragraphs in a text may have a central idea. As these ideas emerge, they become details that support a more significant central idea of the complete text.

- An objective summary is a shortened text that incorporates the most essential ideas. An objective summary can be written after the central idea and supporting details have been determined.

- Begin your objective summary with a topic sentence and include supporting details.

- Do not include personal opinions or judgments in your objective summary.

Theme - I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

What are the requirements for an objective summary?

Identification and Application:

- Authors may or may not explicitly state the central idea of a text.

- As the author develops a central idea, they will include details and ideas that support it. When it is not explicitly stated, you can determine a central idea by looking at particular information and asking yourself: What subject do the details in one or more paragraphs explain or describe?

- Each paragraph or group of paragraphs in a text may have a central idea. As these ideas emerge, they become details that support a more significant central idea of the complete text.

- An objective summary is a shortened text that incorporates the most essential ideas. An objective summary can be written after the central idea and supporting details have been determined.

- Begin your objective summary with a topic sentence and include supporting details.

- Do not include personal opinions or judgments in your objective summary.

Based on the provided excerpt from "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings", which of the following best represents the central idea?

In nonfiction texts, the most important point an author makes is referred to as the central or main idea. Readers can uncover the central idea by looking for supporting ideas and details and identifying the idea that they are all describing or explaining.

For instance, consider this excerpt from "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings":

"For nearly a year, I sopped around the house, the Store, the school, and the church, like an old biscuit, dirty and inedible. Then I met, or rather got to know, the lady who threw me my first lifeline."

Here, the character Marguerite is talking about a time in her life when “for nearly a year,” she “sopped around.” Based solely on the excerpt, readers do not know why Marguerite acted this way. Still, the description “like an old biscuit, dirty and inedible,” combined with the detail that someone threw her a “lifeline,” indicates that something bad had happened to Marguerite, but that someone helped her recover. This suggests that the central idea of this excerpt may have something to do with an event or encounter that helped Marguerite heal.

Read this passage from I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings to analyze the central or main idea and answer the follow-up questions. “Now no one is going to make you talk—possibly no one can. But bear in mind, language is man’s way of communicating with his fellow man and it is language alone which separates him from the lower animals.” That was a totally new idea to me, and I would need time to think about it. “Your grandmother says you read a lot. Every chance you get. That’s good, but not good enough. Words mean more than what is set down on paper. It takes the human voice to infuse them with the shades of deeper meaning.”

Which of the following states the central or main idea of the paragraphs?

Read this passage from I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings to analyze the central or main idea and answer the follow-up questions. “Now no one is going to make you talk—possibly no one can. But bear in mind, language is man’s way of communicating with his fellow man and it is language alone which separates him from the lower animals.” That was a totally new idea to me, and I would need time to think about it. “Your grandmother says you read a lot. Every chance you get. That’s good, but not good enough. Words mean more than what is set down on paper. It takes the human voice to infuse them with the shades of deeper meaning.”

Which of the following states the central or main idea of the paragraphs?

Whenever you describe something by comparing it to something else, you are using figurative language. This is language writers use to produce images in readers’ minds and to express ideas in fresh, vivid, imaginative ways. To create figurative language writers use figures of speech. These are words and phrases whose connotations go beyond their literal meanings. When writers use literal language, they are stating facts as they are. Figurative language, by contrast, often uses comparison or exaggeration to make a point, and to help readers imagine something in an unexpected way. For example, in the sentence, The dancer glided like a swan, the writer uses a figure of speech (“glided like a swan”) to produce an image that tells more about the dancer's movement than the literal sentence, The dancer danced. Figurative language is very common in poetry, though it is also used in prose (both fiction and nonfiction). It can help you understand or imagine something in a way you would not otherwise.

Which of the following sentences is an example of figurative language?

-To identify figurative language, look for inventive comparisons between dissimilar things or for words and phrases that are exaggerated or seem to have a meaning beyond the literal meaning.

-Use context to figure out the meaning of the figurative language. Determine why the author chose to include this language.

-Think about the tone the author establishes through figurative language.

-Identify how the figurative language affects the meaning of the text’s theme or central idea, and how it heightens the description of events and individuals.

-Remember that figurative language comes in many different forms, including figures of speech such as metaphors and personification.

-Finally, remember to enjoy the effects of figurative language. It can make texts more interesting to read and often help readers think about the texts in an entirely new way.

What should you look for in order to identify figurative language in a text?

-To identify figurative language, look for inventive comparisons between dissimilar things or for words and phrases that are exaggerated or seem to have a meaning beyond the literal meaning.

-Use context to figure out the meaning of the figurative language. Determine why the author chose to include this language.

-Think about the tone the author establishes through figurative language.

-Identify how the figurative language affects the meaning of the text’s theme or central idea, and how it heightens the description of events and individuals.

-Remember that figurative language comes in many different forms, including figures of speech such as metaphors and personification.

-Finally, remember to enjoy the effects of figurative language. It can make texts more interesting to read and often help readers think about the texts in an entirely new way.

How can figurative language affect the meaning of a text's theme or central idea?

-To identify figurative language, look for inventive comparisons between dissimilar things or for words and phrases that are exaggerated or seem to have a meaning beyond the literal meaning.

-Use context to figure out the meaning of the figurative language. Determine why the author chose to include this language.

-Think about the tone the author establishes through figurative language.

-Identify how the figurative language affects the meaning of the text’s theme or central idea, and how it heightens the description of events and individuals.

-Remember that figurative language comes in many different forms, including figures of speech such as metaphors and personification.

-Finally, remember to enjoy the effects of figurative language. It can make texts more interesting to read and often help readers think about the texts in an entirely new way.

Which of the following is a form of figurative language?

Read this section from I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings to identify an example of figurative language and answer the follow-up questions.

Mrs. Bertha Flowers was the aristocrat of Black Stamps. She had the grace of control to appear warm in the coldest weather, and on the Arkansas summer days it seemed she had a private breeze which swirled around, cooling her. She was thin without the taut look of wiry people, and her printed voile dresses and flowered hats were as right for her as denim overalls for a farmer. She was our side’s answer to the richest white woman in town.

Which statement accurately describes something Marguerite notices about Mrs. Flowers?

Read this section from I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings to identify an example of figurative language and answer the follow-up questions.

Mrs. Bertha Flowers was the aristocrat of Black Stamps. She had the grace of control to appear warm in the coldest weather, and on the Arkansas summer days it seemed she had a private breeze which swirled around, cooling her. She was thin without the taut look of wiry people, and her printed voile dresses and flowered hats were as right for her as denim overalls for a farmer. She was our side’s answer to the richest white woman in town.

Which of the following is an example of figurative language from the excerpt that supports your answer?