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Worksheets

I know why the caged bird sings

Total questions: 20

Worksheet time: 10mins

Name
Class
Date
1.

Maya grows up believing that she is ___.

a)

ugly

b)

talented

c)

adopted

d)

lucky

2.

In what period does the book take place?

a)

1910s and 1920s

b)

1930s and 1940s

c)

1950s and 1960s

d)

1970s and 1980s

3.

What happens to Maya after her rapist is beaten to death?

a)

She goes deaf

b)

She goes blind

c)

She stops speaking

d)

She runs away

4.

Who saves the money for Maya and Bailey to move to California when they are teenagers?

a)

Maya

b)

Bailey

c)

Vivian

d)

Momma

5.

How old is Maya when she has her son at the end of the book?

a)

Thirteen

b)

Sixteen

c)

Nineteen

d)

Twenty-one

6.

Who is the woman that Maya calls Momma?

a)

Her birth mother

b)

Her step-mother

c)

Her aunt

d)

Her grandmother

7.

How is Willie different from the other young, black men of Stamps?

a)

He is married

b)

He is mute

c)

He lives alone

d)

He is handicapped

8.

Who is Bailey's first love?

a)

Viola

b)

Joyce

c)

Florida

d)

Glory

9.

Who is Maya's first friend outside her family?

a)

Dolores

b)

Willie

c)

Louise

d)

Henry

10.

Who is the teacher who treats Maya as an equal?

a)

Mrs. Cullinan

b)

Mr. Donleavy

c)

Mrs. Taylor

d)

Miss Kirwin

11.

What does Maya fantasize about being as a young child?

a)

Blonde and blue-eyed

b)

Vengeful and terrifying

c)

Tall and seductive

d)

Strong and masculine

12.

Where does Maya learn to see humanity in all its diversity, rather than in white and black?

a)

Visiting her father

b)

Living in a junkyard

c)

Dancing in a club

d)

Working for Momma

13.

Who "puts his soul to sleep" to endure the harshest pains of racism?

a)

Willie

b)

Big Bailey

c)

Daddy Clidell

d)

Bailey

14.

How does Momma handle racist neighborhood children who mock her?

a)

She chases them away

b)

She ignores them

c)

She tells their parents

d)

She swears at them

15.

What college degree does Maya and Bailey's mother, Vivian, hold?

a)

English

b)

Teaching

c)

Nursing

d)

Secretarial

16.

The town of Stamps is so segregated that as a child Maya does not quite believe that ___.

a)

White people exist

b)

It's part of America

c)

Blacks are considered human

d)

It's even legal

17.

What is a central gathering place in Stamps and the physical center of Maya's childhood?

a)

The church

b)

Maya's back yard

c)

The local bar

d)

Momma's store

18.

What does Maya break when she is disrespected by her white employer?

a)

Three windows

b)

An antique lamp

c)

China dishes

d)

A valuable statue

19.

Who is Maya's first literary love?

a)

William Shakespeare

b)

Zora Neale Hurston

c)

Charles Dickens

d)

W.E.B. Du Bois

20.

What does Maya believe will transform her into her idealized, beautiful version of herself?

a)

Her Easter dress

b)

High heeled shoes

c)

A Sunday hat

d)

Her mother's fur coat