To Kill a Mockingbird Lesson Plan Outline
• INTRO:
1863-Emancipation Proclamation
1865-Thirteenth Amendment to Constitution
(North pulls out of South leaving same leadership in charge)
1892-Story of Homer Plessy 7/8 Caucasian 1/8 black “octoroon”
Supreme Court –“separate but equal” doctrine
1960-Nelle Harper Lee publishes TKM
*Why so controversial if slavery was abolished 95 years
ago? (see 1892)
1967-Thurgood Marshall becomes first ‘black’ justice
• “octoroon” was a label in the south for mixed race blacks
• Discuss examples of labels teens use today: hipster, popular, laxboys
• 1980-Ferris Bueller’s Day Off scene: -sportos
-motorheads
-geeks
-sluts
-bloods
-wasteoids
-dweebies
-dorkheads
• These are all SYMBOLS that represent a concept or idea and communicate
meaning and facilitate understanding. (draw on white board: Nike swoosh,
peace sign, @, =, recycle symbol, Olympic circles, deathly hallows, triforce,
stop sign shape)
•
Now define these concepts: PAIN, LOVE, and MARRIAGE-they are
harder to understand without some form of experience, either your
own or through relationships with those who do.
• “Jim Crow” was a symbol for extreme ideas about black people in the south
and came to represent the laws governing segregation. (explain Minstrel
groups and the character ‘Jim Crow’)
laws: buses, trains, bathrooms, water fountains, restaurants, hospitals,
ambulances, nurses, barbers, cemetery’s, ticket takers at the circus,
movie theatres, telephone booths, prisons, libraries, crime (not equal
under the law) theft, murder(if a white man hit a dog with his car on
the way home from work-the owner has legal recourse to be
compensated. If he hits a black man-nothing happens)
• Understanding: we didn’t live in that time, do we really understand the
concept of ‘slavery’ or ‘oppression’
--Denzel Washington and Oprah Winfrey wanted to make a movie that
communicates the meaning of those two words-would have very powerful
symbols Movie-The Great Debaters (set in 1935)
What are some of the symbols used in this clip?
• Educated, clean, civilized black family was afraid of the dirty uneducated
hicks
• What are some reasons the black family was so afraid?
Why were whites in the south so afraid of black people? (part of their culture,
taught, learned)
• Dirty-unclean-diseased-cursed-evil-not human (zombies in the Walking
Dead?)
READ the historical newspaper editorials from 1958. Ask for student volunteers
to read.
Writing Assignment-Divide room in half. Working with seat partners, write an
editorial response to the protests of the 1950’s, half the room from a ‘white’
perspective and half from a ‘black’ perspective. (10 minutes max)
Directions for Assignment #1 (Oppression)-READ excerpt from the text together
(popcorn reading-students read 5 lines then choose another student to read next)
Discuss the quote selected from the text reading.
Questioning-Ask students to answer the four questions in the critical thinking box
as a group. Wait for responses.
Closure-Tie the use of symbolism in TKM back to the meaning the author is trying
to communicate.
Assign-remaining questions for homework.
*Follow up with remaining assignments on Prejudice and Protest