Summer Reading Requirements
9th Grade Literature and Composition
2015-2016
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
*Plagiarism results in a zero.
“The unforgettable novel of a childhood in a sleepy Southern town and the crisis of conscience that rocked it,
To Kill a Mocking bird became both an instant bestseller and a critical success when it was first published in
1960….Compassionate, dramatic, and deeply moving, To Kill a Mockingbird takes readers to the roots of
human behavior-to innocence and experience, kindness and cruelty, love and hatred, humor and pathos.”
Task One: Cause and Effect Chart
The novel is narrated by a woman named Scout who is reflecting on her childhood as a young girl. Scout
reveres her father, Atticus Finch, who is a much respected lawyer of the rural Alabama town in the 1930s.
Make a chart that shows the judgments and actions made by Atticus Finch throughout the course of the novel.
Examine the consequences of those actions and the effect in which it has on the plot/characters of the novel.
Your three columns will be labeled: Judgments/Actions (cite a direct quote to support each statement),
Consequences (cite a direct quote to support each claim), and Reader’s Evaluation (your opinion about how it
impacts the novel’s progression).
*See attached chart to record your response.
Task Two: Outside Research and Writing
This novel is both one of the most beloved and one of the most banned novels in American Literature.
Research the various arguments into its controversial nature and why people have attempted to remove it from
reading lists. Do you find their claims to be a convincing case for banning this book? Why or why not? Write
a two paragraph response, citing at least one direct quote from your sources to illustrate your point. Do not
forget to add your sources to a bibliography at the end. Reference MLA format.
Task Three: Textual Evidence and Theme
Select and cite four short quotations that are important to the theme of the novel (theme being a central message
or insight about life). These quotations do not have to come from dialogue. After each quote, explain why it is
typical or representative of the book as a whole. (2 sentence explanation of each)
Task Four: Comparison Essay
Novels can have many different themes. A theme is a central message or idea that is shown in a text.
Brainstorm several different thematic ideas shown in To Kill a Mockingbird and pick one of those to explore
more fully in a two page comparison piece.
Directions: Write a two page, typed essay (double spaced, Times New Roman, 12 pt. font) that compares a
theme of your choosing found in To Kill a Mockingbird to a similar theme in another work (i.e. movies, books,
television, the Bible). Avoid excessive plot details; rather, show how the themes are presented and how it
contributes to the overall story of each work. Show the similarities between the themes, even if they are
presented in different ways. Include properly cited quotations to support your claims. Reference the MLA style
guide for formatting details.