To Kill a
Mockingbird
Have out at the bell:
Objective: Access prior knowledge relevant to TKAM and
continue working with the book’s historical context and themes.
Binder & Unit
Calendar
Paper & writing
implement
Quick write
Please answer 1 and 2 in
complete sentences
1) What do you know about race and society in US history? What
more do you know about the south, slavery, emancipation, the
civil war, segregation, the civil rights movement, etc?
2) What do you know about race and society today? What recent
events that you are aware of have involved race?
Group quotations
As we read, look for a quote(s) that you think is particularly
important in this chapter. Note the page number and
location of the quote to use for your next activity.
In table groups please discuss the quotes that you
picked and your reasoning for your choices. From your
group’s quotes, select one to share with the class. Each
group will be asked to read their quote and have one
member share (60 seconds or less) why they found it
important.
Atticus Finch
○ Based on Lee’s father, a
lawyer who was criticized
during her childhood for
defending African Americans
○ His character is well-loved,
and has inspired many young
readers to become lawyers
“But there is one way in this country in which all
men are created equal- there is one human
institution that makes a pauper the equal of a
Rockefeller, the stupid man the equal of an
Einstein, and the ignorant man the equal of any
college president. That institution gentlemen, is a
court. It can be the Supreme Court of the United
○
States or the humblest JP court in the land, or this
honourable court which you serve. Our courts have
their faults as does any human institution, but in
this country our courts are the great levelers, and in
our courts all men are created equal"
“Jem & I were accustomed to our
father's last-will-and-testament
diction, & were at times free to
interrupt Atticus for a translation
when it was beyond our
understanding.”
Allude v. - to refer to something indirectly or in little detail.
Allusions n. - the references.
Historical Allusions in TKAM
Frequently, allusions are used as a short and simple way to convey
information. Some allusions you may recognize and quickly get the point. For
example: “More than one friend referred to him as Lincolnesque.”
Immediately, you know the reference is to Abraham Lincoln and, in context,
you get the image of a tall, gaunt man with a beard.
If you do not know the object/person/place alluded to, you missed the point
the author was making.
For example: “At the last moment, he changed his mind, and the captain
would never know of the auto-da-fé that had been prepared for him.”
Additional context may or may not allow you to figure out the meaning of
“auto-da-fé,” but if it does not, you would need to check a dictionary,
encyclopedia, or the Internet, which would tell you something like:
auto-da-fé—During the Spanish Inquisition, this was the term that referred to
the official ceremony of pronouncing judgment upon a heretic and executing
him or her. Today, it is used to refer to metaphorical executions, as in personal
or business relationships.
By knowing and understanding the allusion in the example about the captain,
you would immediately realize that his career or life was in danger.
Exit Ticket
Please complete the anticipation
guide half sheet
HW
HW: