StudySync Lesson Plan
To Kill a Mockingbird
Objectives
1.
Engage students in the plot, characters, themes, setting, and language of Harper Lee’s To
Kill a Mockingbird so that they are prepared to discuss and write about the excerpt and/or
the entire novel.
2. Practice and reinforce the following Grade 9-10 ELA Common Core Standards for reading
literature, writing, and speaking and listening:
READING: LITERATURE – RL.9-10.1-5, 7, 9-10
WRITING: W.9-10.1-10
SPEAKING AND LISTENING – SL.9-10.1-6
Time
140 minutes (with up to an additional 230 minutes of extension possibilities)
Materials
SyncTV Premium Lesson on Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird
Overview
These excerpts, taken from Chapters Three and Fifteen of Harper Lee’s Pulitzer Prize-winning
1960 novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, are simple scenes involving complex issues of compassion,
social alienation, and social class. These three scenes prefigure the main events of the novel,
and adequately introduce and develop reader interest in the characters, setting, and time period.
To this day, To Kill a Mockingbird is the only novel Lee has ever written, but she has been
awarded numerous honors for this classic novel, which remains a staple in high school
classrooms around the country and beyond. Close examination of these excerpts will prepare
students to read the entire novel, and to write thoughtful, informed, and textually-rooted
responses, consistent with the ELA Common Core Standards for grades 9-10.
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Lesson Plan: To Kill a Mockingbird
Background (10 minutes)
1.
Watch the Preview (SL.9-10.1-2). As a group, watch the video preview of the premium
lesson. After viewing, use the following questions to spur a discussion:
a. What do you already know about the time periods and region in which this novel
takes place or was written? What historical information do you need to know
about the Great Depression, the African-American Freedom Movement, or the
American south in order to understand the novel better?
b. What image or images stand out for you and why? What words come to mind
after seeing the images in the preview?
c. Based on these images, what do you think the novel will be about? What
inferences can you make based on these images?
Extension (additional 60 minutes)
d. Discuss (SL.9-10.1, 3-4, 6). The narrator of the preview describes the novel as a
coming of age tale and stresses that the first person narrator of the novel and the
novel’s protagonist, Jean Louise “Scout” Finch, sees her childhood as both
“idyllically good an terrifyingly evil.” Ask the students to reflect on their own
childhoods and whether or not they ever shared Scout’s dualistic view.
e. Describe (ELL). Ask English Language Learners to write one word to describe
each individual image in the preview or convey a feeling it produces. If possible,
show them more images from the Deep South in the 1930s and the 1950-60s. (A
great series of images can be found at http://life.time.com/history/rare-colorphotos-segregation-in-1956-south-carolina/#1)
f.
Create (SL.9-10.4-5). The preview states that To Kill a Mockingbird is about
“racism, justice and integrity,” but what do you think of when you hear these
words? Using social media (Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, etc.), create an
account, group, or hashtag where students can post images and start discussions
related to these three themes. Have students choose an image related to one (or
all) of these themes, explaining why they chose their particular image and what it
exemplifies about the concept at hand.
Engaging the Text (130 minutes)
2. Read the Text (35 minutes)
a. Read and Annotate (RL.9-10.1-5). Have students read and annotate the excerpts
from To Kill a Mockingbird. If students are completing as a homework assignment,
ask them to write any questions into the annotation tool–these questions are
visible to you after the students submit their writing assignments or beforehand if
you use the “Mimic” function to access the students’ accounts.
b. Discuss (SL.9-10.1, 3). Have students get into small groups or pairs and briefly
discuss the questions and inferences they had while reading. As a class, discuss
the following: What is the moral lesson at the heart of this excerpt? How does
Scout learn this lesson, and why is this lesson important?
Extension (additional 20 minutes)
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Lesson Plan: To Kill a Mockingbird
c. Listen and Discuss (SL.9-10.1-2). As a class, listen to the audio reading of the text.
Ask students to share how their understanding of the text changed after listening.
What additional images came to mind? What words did the author use to develop
the setting? Ask them to identify at least 2 places in the reading where the
narrator’s tone or speed was different than they expected during their first
reading.
d. Comprehend (RL.9-10.1-5, 10). Have students complete the multiple-choice
questions. Collect papers or discuss answers as a class.
3. Watch SyncTV (35 minutes)
a. Watch. Either watch the SyncTV discussion as a class or ask students to watch it
on their individual computers.
b. Focus (SL.9-10.1-3 and RL.9-10.3-4). Use the portion of the SyncTV discussion from
0:45-2:05 as a model for the class of how to discuss the questions raised by a
writing prompt (Prompt 1). Have students follow the SyncTV students as they
develop ideas about the meanings of concepts like “compassion” through the
examples provided by the excerpts.
c. Focus (SL.9-10.1-3 and RL.9-10.3, 5). From 2:28-3:34, focus on the discussion of
how Scout’s perspective of Walter evolves as the story progresses. Consider
Alison’s point about how Lee’s choice of perspective (telling the story through
Scout’s eyes) affects the reader’s impression of the characters in the story.
d. Focus (SL.9-10.1-3 and W.9-10.6). Approach the SyncTV discussion from 5:31-7:31
as either another model for how to discuss a writing prompt (Prompt 3) or as an
extension and application of the concepts developed in the SyncTV students’
discussions of Prompt 1.
e. Discuss (SL.9-10.1-4 and RL.9-10.1-5, 10). After watching the model discussion,
have a conversation with the class about the ideas discussed in the SyncTV
episode. What new thoughts do they have after hearing the students' discussion?
Next, divide students into small groups (3-4 students). Move around the room
monitoring groups as students follow the SyncTV episode as a model to discuss
some of the following questions:
1.
How does Scout change or grow across the excerpts? Cite
evidence from the text to support your thinking. What caused
these changes?
2. How does the author use specific language to develop the tone,
setting, and characters?
3. One SyncTV student discusses the idea that the title To Kill a
Mockingbird relates to Atticus Finch’s lesson in empathy for Scout
(5:08-31 in the video). Can the student’s interpretation account for
Atticus telling his children that they may “shoot all the bluejays they
want” (147)? Scout asks their neighbor, Maudie Atkinson about
Atticus’s rule, and Maudie explains the innocence of mockingbirds
that “don’t do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That’s why
it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird” (148). How does this understanding
of the title relate to Atticus’s lesson and Scout’s situation in the
excerpts?
4. How does Scout’s gender affect the actions in the excerpts? How
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Lesson Plan: To Kill a Mockingbird
does her behavior as a tomboy depart from the traditional
expectations for white southern womanhood and girlhood? Why
does Walter Cunningham, Sr. call her “little lady” before calling off
the lynch mob?
5. Why does Walter, Sr. decide to recognize Scout and call off the
lynch mob? Will Scout causing Walter, Sr. to disperse the lynch
mob have any lasting effects or consequences?
f.
How do outcasts play roles in both the excerpts and the larger context of southern
society? How might Arthur “Boo” Radley, Atticus, Calpurnia, Scout, and Walter
Cunningham, Sr. or Jr. have different outcast roles in either context?
Extension (additional 50 minutes)
g. Blast! (W.9-10.3, 9 and SL.9-10.1-2, 4-6). In this excerpt, Atticus tells Scout, “You
never really understand a person until you climb in his skin and walk around in it.”
Give students a Blast! assignment asking them to share other aphorisms about
compassion that they are familiar with. Discuss these aphorisms as a class. Why
do you think these sayings endure? What can we learn about compassion from all
these different expressions?
h. Diagram (RL.9-10.1 and W.9-10.2). As a class, ask students to complete a diagram
comparing the characters in the excerpts: Atticus, Boo, Cal, “Dill” Harris, “Jem”
Finch, Scout, and Walter, Sr. and Jr. Try to have every student add something to
the comparison chart, if possible. Then, have students explain their findings in
writing. They should cite evidence from the excerpt to support their descriptions.
4. Think (10 minutes)
a. Respond (W.9-10.1, 4). Ask students to read the “Think” questions, watch the
corresponding video clips, and respond to the questions, either in class or for
homework.
5. Write (60 minutes)
a. Discuss (SL.9-10.1). Read the prompt you have chosen for students, and then
solicit questions regarding the prompt or the assignment expectations. Whichever
prompt you have chosen, make sure you are clear about the assignment
expectations and the rubric by which you and the other students will be evaluating
them.
b. Organize (RL.9-10.1-5, 10 and W.9-10.1-2, 5). Ask students to go back and annotate
the text with the prompt in mind. They should be organizing their thoughts and the
points they’ll address in their writing as they make annotations. If you’ve worked
on outlining or other organizational tools for writing, this is a good place to apply
them.
c. Write (W.9-10.1-2, 4-6, 8-10). Have students go through the writing process of
planning, revising, editing, and publishing their writing responses.
d. Review (W.9-10.4-6). Use the StudySync “Review” feature to have students
complete one to two evaluations of their peers’ work based on your chosen
review rubric. Have the students look at and reflect upon the peer evaluations of
their own writing. What might you do differently in a revision? How might you
strengthen the writing and the ideas?
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Lesson Plan: To Kill a Mockingbird
Extension (additional 100 minutes)
e. Write (W.9-10.1-2, 4-6, 9-10). For homework, have students write an essay using
one of the prompts you did not chose to do in class. Students should publish their
responses online.
f.
Write Creatively (W.9-10.3-4, 9). In an anecdotal response of at least 200 words,
have students write about a time they learned a valuable lesson about
compassion, integrity, or justice. The story should be an account told from
experience, and it should be modeled after the excerpt from To Kill a Mockingbird,
offering a lesson about compassion, integrity, or justice in the form of a short
story.
g. Present (W.9-10.9 and SL.9-10.4-6). Have students give a short, two- to threeminute presentation about one of these three themes, explaining what it means to
them and where they’ve encountered it in their own lives, integrating digital media
wherever applicable. If preferred, students may opt to create a two- to threeminute film (using iMovie or similar multimedia program) about their chosen
theme.
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Lesson Plan: To Kill a Mockingbird
SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIALS
Key Vocabulary
1.
haint (n.) – Southern colloquialism for ghost, haunting, apparition, or lost soul
2. magnesia (n.) – A white substance, magnesium oxide, often served in a milky suspension
of water for medicinal purposes as an antacid or a laxative
3. wisteria (n.) – Ten species of woody climbing vines and shrubs belonging to the legume
family and having clusters of blue-violet, white, purple, or rose flowers; common in the
southeast U.S.
4. entailment (n.) – In common law, a fee tail or an entail is inherited property which cannot
be sold or otherwise alienated by the owner, but can only pass to the owner's heirs upon
death
Reading Comprehension Questions
1.
Who promises that Scout will no longer beat up Walter, Jr.?
a. Scout
b. Jem
c. Cal
d. Atticus
2. What does Walter, Jr. think that Boo did?
a. chased Walter, Jr. while wearing a white sheet
b. framed Walter, Jr. for stealing
c. left poisoned pecans on the school side of fence
d. nothing
3. What does Walter, Jr. forget that he is?
a. a Cunningham
b. a student
c. a white boy
d. both b and c
4. Where does Atticus say he’ll windup if he doesn’t take Scout and Jem back to school?
a. the madhouse
b. the poorhouse
c. the governor’s mansion
d. the jail
5. What does Atticus mean by: “You never really understand a person until you…climb into
his skin and walk around in it”?
a. Jem owes Cal more respect.
b. Scout should cease beating up Walter, Jr.
c. Scout should cease using racist language.
d. Scout needs to imagine how other people’s experiences shape their behaviors.
6. Which of the following could be considered themes of the excerpts?
a. empathy
b. social class relations
c. importance of mutual recognition
d. all of the above
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Lesson Plan: To Kill a Mockingbird
7. In what season does the mob gather?
a. summer
b. autumn
c. winter
d. all of the above
8. What is Atticus’s relationship to Scout?
a. her father
b. her school teacher
c. her friend of the same age
d. her grandfather
9. How does Atticus tell Scout to make polite conversation?
a. Talk to people about your interests.
b. Talk to people about their interests.
c. Talk to people about other peoples’ interests.
d. None of the above.
10. Why does Atticus have his mouth half-open?
a. He cannot believe that the mob wants to lynch Tom Robinson.
b. He cannot believe that Scout wants to participate in the lynch mob.
c. The way Scout puts his moral lesson into practice amazes him.
d. Both a and b.
Answer Key
1. B
2. C
3. A
4. D
5. D
6. D
7. A
8. A
9. B
10. C
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Lesson Plan: To Kill a Mockingbird
Further Assignments
1.
After reading the novel, have students look back at the excerpts and select three
alternative scenes that would capture similar themes from the story. How would the
alternative excerpts have changed the students’ initial impressions of To Kill a
Mockingbird? Ask students to write a persuasive essay arguing whether the original or
the alternative sets of excerpts would provide a better introduction to the novel. (RL.910.1-2, 10 and W.9-10.1. 4)
2. Have students research the history of class and racial division in the American South and
how those divisions shaped events like Jim Crow segregation, legal and extralegal
lynchings, the Great Depression, and the African-American freedom movement. Have
students discuss and write on what aspects of the novel and its characters challenge,
subvert, or uphold these historical situations. (RL.9-10.9 and W.9-10.1-2, 7-10)
3. After reading the novel, have students view either the 1962 film adaptation or the stage
adaptation of To Kill a Mockingbird in order to discuss and write on how those
adaptations might have changed how the students regard the novel and what aspects of
the novel the adaptations stress. (RL.9-10.7 and W.9-10.1-2)
4. Have students read, view, or listen to another work that depicts lynching. Possibilities
include the William Faulkner short story “Dry September” (1931), the Langston Hughes
short story “Home” (1933), the Fritz Lang film Fury (1936), the Richard Wright short story
“Big Boy Leaves Home” (1938), the Billie Holiday version of the song “Strange Fruit”
(1939), the Eudora Welty short story “Where Is the Voice Coming From?” (1963), or the
Alice Walker short story “The Flowers” (1973). Have the students discuss and write about
the different thematic presentations and aspects of lynching that the new text(s) offers
when compared with To Kill a Mockingbird. (RL.9-10.1-2, 7, 10 and SL.9-10.1-2 and W.910.9)
5. Have students read the 28 June 2000 Los Angeles Times article, “A Different Read on
Mockingbird,” and discuss why the novel often appeals to white readers while alienating
African-American readers. Consider having the students read or view a comparable
coming of age story in the deep south story from an African-American perspective and
discuss where the two perspectives compliment and conflict with each other. Possibilities
include the Richard Wright short story “The Man Who Was Almost a Man” (1961), the
Ernest J. Gaines novel A Lesson Before Dying (1993), or the Kasi Lemmons film Eve’s
Bayou (1997). (RL.9-10.1-2, 7, 10 and SL.9-10.1-2 and W.9-10.9)
6. Ask students to rewrite in a less colloquial and more standard style the conversations
between Jem, Scout, and Walter, Jr. or between Atticus and Scout in the excerpts. Have
students focus on the grammar and punctuation used in dialogue. After students have
written their dialogues, pair them up and have them read their dialogues together,
focusing on the ways in which punctuation and verbiage outside the quotation marks
inform speech as well as how the character’s colloquialisms enrich the dialogue’s
meanings. (ELL and RL.9-10.4 and SL.9-10.6)
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Lesson Plan: To Kill a Mockingbird