To Kill a Mockingbird Unit 9th grade / English Language Arts Andy Bayadsy Context The following unit is for 25 students in an American Literature, "on-level" course for 9th grade. The unit spans five weeks. Individual lessons are divided into 90-minute segments, as students attend class every other day (the course is designed on a block-schedule). Since flexibility can only improve any unit, I'll provide accommodations for EL students, gifted students, and students with learning disabilities, assuming a handful of each could be in any given English class. I'll also assume a neareven split between males and females. To demonstrate how widely applicable To Kill a Mockingbird is to all American students, I'll situate the class in an urban school. While it might be easier for a rural, Southern class to understand what motivates the characters of Maycomb, demonstrating the similarities between Maycomb residents and current-inner city teenagers is a more worthwhile feat. Urban schools are also generally more diverse, and I'll break up the demographics to represent what can be regularly found in large cities like Chicago or DC: a third African-American, a third White, with Hispanic and Asian students making up the rest. Finally, since the teacher is ultimately responsible for all students in the class, I will not make use of any hypothetical para-professionals or volunteers. Part of a teacher's challenge is using the resources provided, and just as I wouldn't plan a lesson requiring exorbitantly expensive materials, I won't plan for staff I might not have available. Rationale The purpose of this unit is for students to have a thorough understanding of the themes and issues within To Kill A Mockingbird. Students should first use a variety of reading strategies to clearly understand the plot and characters of the novel. I want students to be able to "break into" any text with confidence, so I'll offer them a chance to practice reading strategies using authentic text. In this manner, students learn that they can approach any piece of writing. What's more, I hope to empower them, however slightly, by familiarizing them with a piece of literary canon. Whether or not To Kill a Mockingbird deserves the attention it has received, the fact is that it is a part of mainstream American literature, and my students should be able to recognize allusions made to it. After understanding the basic literary mechanisms of the novel, students should then be able to analyze how Harper Lee uses stylistic and narrative devices for certain purposes. By looking at what
works (or doesn't), students learn the value of literary criticism, and hopefully come to realize how their own insights, when backed with evidence, have as much weight as any book reviewer's. With a repertoire of critical tools, students can also study other pieces of literature to determine author purpose and message. Ultimately, students should be able to evaluate their own writing to determine its effectiveness. In addition to fully understanding what is happening within the novel, I'll help students explore how To Kill a Mockingbird operates throughout American society. They will look at the effects of setting, comparing the perspectives represented in the book to those that were evolving outside of it. They'll look at what was happening in America during the 1930s, considering how issues of race, pride, education, etc. change or remain constant through time. If I do anything at all, I hope to engage students in the novel. Reflecting upon larger themes like equality or bravery will, I hope, help students find a personal meaning in the book. Though written 50 years before their time, students can still develop empathy with the characters, the author, and learn that reading even "old" pieces of literature can be a worthwhile pursuit. Unit Objectives 1. Students will demonstrate an understanding of writer's craft by: a. writing their own poems using similes and/or metaphors b. writing dialectical journals in which they select examples of personification, allusions, or hyperbole from the text of TKAM and expand on the effects of such figurative language c. highlighting issues of irony through the use of a graphic organizer that compares character statements to the reality of the situation 2. Students will demonstrate an understanding of theme by: a. filling out an anticipatory survey about race, justice, education, and coming-of-age b. brainstorming about the book's title c. completing a graphic organizer which highlights the different types of conflict that occur in the novel d. character statements vs. realities (Scout's statements, perceptions of the world, vs. realities) e. viewing a documentary about the Scottsboro trial and make connections to the trial scene in TKAM f. evaluating authentic op-ed pieces that discuss the Emmett Till incident. g. writing an essay about the nature of courage
3. Students will demonstrate an understanding of character by: a. creating a character timeline (reference Burke's Continuum of Change) b.creating their own effigies of characters from the novel c.participating in "Who am I" dinner parties. Students assume a character, and then discuss how they feel about: the Finches, Tom Robinson's and his trial, and the character's current situation. providing film critiques that discuss a character as portrayed in the film version of TKAM 4. Students will demonstrate an understanding of perspective by: a. writing a diary entry from Scout or Atticus's point of view b. character statements vs. realities (Scout's statements, perceptions of the world, vs. realities) c. participating in "Who am I" dinner parties. Students assume a character, and then discuss how they feel about: the Finches, Tom Robinson's and his trial, and the character's current situation. 5. Students will demonstrate an understanding of symbolism by: a. keeping a running list of items that Lee mentions more than once, recording the contexts in which they appear and then speculating on what each could represent b. reading and annotating literary criticism regarding Lee's use of symbolism c. identifying the items shown in the movie opening credits 6. Students will demonstrate an understanding of setting by a. researching a social aspect of the 1930s (role of women, children, or race) and jigsawing to share information with the class b. creating a map of Maycomb, using textual evidence to highlight the significance of certain places and families c. viewing a documentary about the Scottsboro trial and making connections to the trial scene in TKAM
The Maycomb Caste System Objective: Students will demonstrate an understanding of setting by using Scout's historical narrative and Aunt Alexanda's description of Maycomb families to create a neighborhood map of Maycomb. In groups of 4-5, students brainstorm about the different types of social cliques that occur in school. Using school maps, they approximate where each group "lives." Discussion about how people contribute to characterization of a community. After brief re-reading of parts of Chapter 13, Example Schedule: Chapters 13-17, Daily Lesson Plans WEEK 2 WEEK 3 When Characters Don't Tell the Truth Objective: Students will demonstrate an understanding of how biased perspectives contribute to irony by completing a graphic organizer that compares what characters say to the reality of the situation. In groups of three, students re-read Chapter 14 to locate quotes provided on graphic organizer,describe context of quote, and note how what character is saying does not match up to reality of the situation. Mini-lesson about The Mob Mentality Creating Suspense The Justice System Objective Students will demonstrate an understanding of theme by evaluating authentic op-ed pieces that discuss the Emmett Till incident. In partners, students compare annotated synopsis of Emmett Till lynching and the trial of Bryant and Milan. Then they read variety of authentic correspondence (opinions about the case), noting whether they agree or disagree with the statements. Before moving to second activity, each students writes on the board answer to following Objective: 1. Students will demonstrate an understanding of how Lee creates suspense by categorizing sentences from Chapter 15 and writing their own "suspenseful" paragraphs. 2. Students will demonstrate an understanding of theme by beginning work on an essay: What is the nature of courage? Teacher read-aloud: sections of Chapter 15 read aloud, with emphasis on elements of foreshadowing, suspense. Mini-lesson about pacing, juxtaposition, imagery to heighten suspense. Students highlight examples of such techniques in photocopies of Chapter 15. Using one of the techniques, students write their own suspenseful paragraphs and post them on wall for others Objective 1. Students will demonstrate an understanding of setting by noting what elements of a documentary about the Scottsboro trial recur in the trial scene of TKAM. Begin watching "American Experience - Scottsboro: An American Tragedy" (PBS). Film will be stopped occassionally for discussion, clarification. (Film will also be fast-forwarded in places to fit within 90 minute time period and allow time for second activity). Students will take notes re: similarities/differences to Chapters 16 and 17 of text. Think-pair-share: Setting is more than the physical spaces where a
students individually create a map of Maycomb, highlighting areas of significance and providing textual evidence for the things they include. Evaluation: Map of Maycomb Read Chapter 14 dramatic irony. In teams, students brainstorm reallife examples from movies, tv. 1. Realities graphic organizer 2. Participation in brainstorming session. Read and annotate Emmett Till article prompt: What kind of people participate in mob movements? When finished, students read Chapter 15 independently in class. 1. Annotated article 2. Student responses on board Finish Reading Chapter 15. Review essay rubric. to read. Activity 3 Students begin drafting essay about the nature of courage. 1. Copies of chapter 15 highlighted 2. Paragraphs displayed on wall 3. Essay: to be finished at later date. Read Chapters 16 and 17. Work on essay.. novel occurs. It also includes the social and political climate. In what ways have social or political situations played out in TKAM? 1. Notes on film (not graded) 2. Participation in think-pairshare 3. Quick exit slip - Why do you think I decided to show this documentary? Read Chapters 18 and 19 Work on essay.
Materials 25 copies of To Kill a Mockingbird campus maps, one for each group of 4-5 large sheets of paper, colored pencils for map graphic organizer: character statements and the reality (example below) Emmett Till article Op-Ed pieces: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/till/filmmore/ps_reactions.html copies of Chapter 15 to mark up highlighters Essay prompt and rubric PBS Documentary and transcript: Scottsboro: An American Tragedy Exit slip: At this point in the novel, why did I show the Scottsboro documentary? Chapter 14 - What's Really Going On? Quote What's happening? What is the reality of the situation? How do you know? "I breathed again. It wasn't me, it was only Caplurnia they were talking about" (183). Atticus didn't appear to have anything especially on his mind (183). "Miss Rachel Haverford's excuse for a glass of neat whiskey every morning was that she never got over the fright of finding a rattler coiled in her bedroom closed, on her washing, when she went to hand up her negligee" (186). "...[H]aving been bound in chains and left to die in the basement (there were basements in Meridian) by his new father, who disliked him, and secretly kept alive on raw field peas by a passing farmer who heard his cries for help (the good man poked a bushel pod by pod through the ventilator), Dill worked himself free by pulling the chains from the wall" (186-7). "'I'm not scared... ' Dill muttered" (188).