New Directions Guided Reading Worksheet
Guided Reading & Analysis
"New Directions" by Maya Angelou
Focus Skills: Predictions & Narrative Arc
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Setting the Path:
In this autobiographical essay, Maya Angelou tells the story of her grandmother, Annie Johnson. As you read, look for clues that foreshadow Annie’s success, and observe how she navigates the exposition and conflict of her life's journey.
PART I
Exposition & Hard Realities
In 1903 the road of Anise Johnson’s life lay before her, a narrow, dark, and challenging path. She was twenty-five years old, but her marriage had dissolved, leaving her with two toddler sons, no job, and a mere handful of resources. She found herself in Arkansas, where opportunities for a Black woman were limited to domestic labor in white homes—a path that would require her to leave her precious young children in the care of others for long, grueling hours.
Annie looked at her two boys and decided that domestic service was not an option. She could not bear the thought of letting others raise her children while she tended to someone else’s. However, she had to earn a living, and her physical strength was her primary asset. She was, as Angelou writes, "a big window of a woman," tall, strong-framed, and exceptionally determined.
Annie devised a plan. Instead of taking a ready-made job, she would create her own. She resolved to bake fresh meat pies and sell them to the workers at the local cotton gin and lumber mill. She would need to carry a heavy iron pot, charcoal, and ingredients over miles of dusty roads, but she was resolved to carry her own weight and carve a new path for her family.
Read carefully and note foreshadowing details.
1. Narrative Structure
Based on the exposition, what is the primary conflict (both internal and external) that Annie face?
2. Making Predictions
Look at the details: "a big window of a woman" and her refusal to leave her children. Predict how these specific traits will influence her entrepreneurial journey.
Unit: Narrative Essays & Decisions Page 1
Guided Reading & Analysis
"New Directions" by Maya Angelou
Focus Skills: Predictions & Narrative Arc
PART II
Execution & Rising Action
To test her plan, Annie conducted a careful, covert reconnaissance mission. She walked to the cotton gin, carrying a small sample of her pies, and offered them to the workers. She then walked to the lumber mill, calculating the exact distance and the physical toll of carrying her supplies. Her calculations were meticulous: she wanted to arrive at the cotton gin just as the workers grew hungry, and at the lumber mill right as their mid-day shifts changed.
On her first official day, Annie woke up at four in the morning. She lit her coal stove, prepared her dough, and baked her meat pies. She packed them carefully in a heavy bucket, placed a five-gallon iron pot on her head, balanced a jar of charcoal, and set off on foot. She walked three miles to the cotton gin, arriving in perfect time to sell hot, steaming pies for five cents each to hungry workers.
Once that crowd dispersed, she packed her remaining wares and walked another four miles to the lumber mill. The workers there, smelling the fresh-baked pastry, eagerly bought up the rest. For years, Annie maintained this grueling schedule, walking through blistering heat and freezing rain, balancing her heavy pots on her head, always punctual, always reliable.
Eventually, Annie’s physical strength and calculated marketing paid off. She built a small wooden stall between the cotton gin and the lumber mill, offering shelter from the elements. Over time, that stall became a permanent structure, expanding to sell other necessities: flour, sugar, oil, and dry goods. Annie Johnson had successfully built a store and secured her independent future.
Notice the transitions in Annie’s career path.
3. Predicting Strategy
Annie performs a "covert reconnaissance" before starting. Why is this detail important? What does it predict about how she will face competition or scaling her business?
4. Climax & Shift
What marks the climax or turning point of Annie’s physical labor? How does building the physical stall symbolize her victory over her initial conflict?
Unit: Narrative Essays & Decisions Page 2
Guided Reading & Analysis
"New Directions" by Maya Angelou
Focus Skills: Predictions & Narrative Arc
PART III
Resolution & Reflection
Maya Angelou concludes her reflection with powerful wisdom: "Each of us has the right and the responsibility to assess the roads which lie ahead and those over which we have traveled, and if the future road we see is one we decide or are forced to take, and if we do not like that path, we must make the decision to step off the track and cut a new direction for ourselves." Annie Johnson chose her direction, showing us that determination can carve paths where none existed.
Text-Dependent Analysis Questions
1. Analyzing Foreshadowing & Evidence (Making Predictions)
Look back at Part II. What specific evidence from Annie’s early habits (such as waking up at 4:00 AM, walking miles with heavy buckets, or calculating shift times) foreshadows her transition from an itinerary peddler to a permanent store owner? Explain using text evidence.
2. Structural Arc of the Essay
Trace the narrative structure of "New Directions". Map the exposition, key rising action event, climax, and ultimate resolution. How does this structural arc emphasize Angelou's central theme of personal agency?
3. Connecting Predictions to Personal Agency
Consider Angelou's concluding quote. If a person in today’s world decides to "step off the track," what are the typical obstacles they might face, and how can they use Annie’s strategy to predict and plan their way to success?
Unit: Narrative Essays & Decisions Page 3
