“Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit ‘em, but remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.”
— Atticus Finch
Click to read the story.

Click to read the story.

Atticus's advice to his children, Jem and Scout, as he defends the real mockingbird of Harper Lee's classic novel—a black man charged with the rape of a white girl. Lee's novel told through Scout's perspective explores the irrationality of adult attitudes toward race and class in the Deep South of the 1930s. 

 

 

Handouts 

  1. Harper Lee Biography: Here's a link to a good biographic article on Lee. 
  2. TKAM Characters on Facebook Worksheet - Use this handout to see how Scout, Atticus, and Jem would communicate on Facebook. Keep your posts true to each character's personality. Refer to your Venn Diagram on character traits.
  3. Plot Structure - This handout explains the 5 plot stages (exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, resolution).
  4. Vocabulary Worksheet - This handout is where students list and define words that they do not know while reading. 
  5. Literary Terms Handout - This handout lists all of the literary terms and definitions students need to know for this unit.
  6. Literary Terms Worksheet - This handout is where students demonstrate their understanding of the literary terms for this unit.

Lectures/Presentations

  1. Introduction to the Great Depression - This is the PPT we used in class to introduce the Great Depression. It begins with the stock market crash of 1929 and touches upon the Dust Bowl.
  2. To Kill A Mockingbird Debate - This is the PPT I used in class to set up the first debate on TKAM. We held this debate after reading the first ten chapters of the book, and the questions reflect that.
  3. Overview of Civil Rights - This is the PPT I used in class to introduce the Civil Rights Movement to provide context for TKAM's publication date. This also includes an overview of The Scottsboro Boys incident and trial that parallels Tom Robinson's trial in the book.
  4. Introduction to To Kill A Mockingbird Powerpoint - This is the PPT that went over Harper Lee's life and some basic facts about the novel.