NAME_____________________________________________ PERIOD________________
WEBQUEST: To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee
EQ: How can we learn from history and the past mistakes we’ve made? How does literature
(created characters and subject matter in novels) allow us to understand the nature and
ways of people in our lives? Is it important to study history, to allow history to help guide
our choices today?
Goal: To use the internet to learn about the historical background of the novel, the information
in regards to the author, and the significant facts relating to the study of To Kill a
Mockingbird.
Directions: Go to the shared (“S”) drive.
Go into the “Student Work” folder.
Look for my name and open folder.
Open “Assignment” folder. There will be a “WebquestTKAM” document. This is
the assignment. Open it and immediately, save it to your “H” drive folder.
Before you start typing your answers on this document, be sure you have saved it
to your documents in YOUR “H” drive folder—NOT on your computer or laptop.
Then, follow the directions under each topic in the Webquest. Type your answers on
this document (bold your answers OR type in a different color dark enough to be
easily read by an old, blind man).
When you are finished with the Webquest, save it under your last name and send
(drag, copy, move) your document to my Folder on the “H” drive, and save it under
the proper class. The document should be titled YOUR LAST NAME and
WebquestTKAM (i.e. StephensWebquestTKAM).
There are six pages including this information and direction sheet. Each section
starts a new page. Use your delete/backspace key as needed to put each section
back at the beginning of a page. (The information will shift and move down as you
put in your answers.)
I. The Great Depression & 1930s in America Explore the following websites; Use the information to answer the questions.
a. http://www.english.uiuc.edu/maps/depression/overview.htm
This site is about the Depression in the United States during the 1930s.
b. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/dustbowl/peopleevents/pandeAMEX05.html
This site discusses The Great Depression.
1. What was the Great Depression?
2. What was Black Tuesday?
3. Who were the Presidents during the 1930s?
4. Why did the banks fail?
5. What Safeguards were put into place to make sure this wouldn’t happen again?
6. From what you have read, what can you conclude it was like to grow up during that time?
The History of Jim Crow Explore the following websites; Use the information to answer the questions.
a. http://www.pbs.org/wnet/jimcrow/
This site offers an overview of Jim Crow and Jim Crow stories.
b. http://americanhistory.si.edu/brown/history/1-segregated/jim-crow.html
This site provides examples of Jim Crow laws.
c. http://www.ferris.edu/jimcrow/what.htm
This site answers the question: What was Jim Crow?
1. What does the term, “Jim Crow” refer to, when were the laws originally enforced, and how
long did they last as actual laws?
2. What was the origin of the title “Jim Crow”?
3. In what way can segregation laws be traced back to the Supreme Court’s decision in the case
Plessy vs. Ferguson in 1896?
4. How did the Supreme Court’s decision in the case Cumming vs. County Board of Education
(1899) further support segregation?
5. Name a restriction (a Jim Crow Law) each of the following states created as a result of the
Supreme Court’s rulings on Plessy vs. Ferguson and Cumming vs. County Board of Education?
Georgia:
Alabama:
South Carolina:
6. What are some examples of “Jim Crow etiquette norms”?
7. What are a few examples (name at least 3) of Jim Crow laws?
II. The Scottsboro Case Explore the following websites; Use the information to answer the questions.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/scottsboro/timeline/index.html
This site provides a time line of events in the Scottsboro Boys case.
http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/FTrials/scottsboro/scottsb.htm This site explains Harper Lee's source of inspiration for her novel (a very
comprehensive site with pictures as well).
http://archive.lib.msu.edu/DMC/AmRad/scottsborocase.pdf
Archived trial transcripts and evidence presented. This is lengthy, but worth the
read.
1. What was the Scottsboro incident?
2. Describe the women who made the accusations.
3. What evidence existed to prove that the boys were innocent?
4. What was the outcome of the first trial of the Scottsboro Boys?
5. Create a timeline of the release of the Scottsboro Boys.
6. How did the case wind up in court again in 1977? What was the result of this trial?
III. Harper Lee & To Kill a Mockingbird Explore the following websites; Use the information to answer the questions.
Here are two biographical links about the author:
a. http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/harperle.htm
b. http://www.biography.com/search/article.do?id=9377021&page=print
More biographical information about Harper Lee.
c. http://www.quotationspage.com/search.php3?Author=Harper+Lee&file=all2
Various interesting quotations by the author.
1. In what way was Harper Lee’s childhood inspiration for the novel (cite specifics about
where she grew up, what her father did, etc.)?
2. What was the novel originally going to be called? Why do you think Lee changed the title
to To Kill a Mockingbird?
3. Which quote from the quotation’s page is most meaningful to you and why?
4. Who is Truman Capote and how is he relevant to both Harper Lee and the novel?
IV. Related Reading (Brown vs. the Board of Education, Rosa
Parks, and Martin Luther King, Jr. Explore the following websites; Use the information to answer the questions
http://www.watson.org/~lisa/blackhistory/early-civilrights/brown.html
The 1954 case: Brown vs. the Board of Education – the U.S. Supreme Court ruling.
http://teacher.scholastic.com/rosa/sittingdown.htm
Read about Rosa Parks, The Mother of the Modern Day Civil Rights Movement.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/mlk/king/biography.html
This site focuses on Martin Luther King, Jr. (biography, words and photo gallery).
1. Describe the Brown vs. the Board of Education case. What did the Supreme Court rule
during the first trial? What happened during the subsequent appeal trial?
2. Who was Rosa Parks? Why is she called the Mother of the Modern Day Civil Rights
Movement?
3. How did Martin Luther King, Jr. feel equal rights could be achieved?
Finally, Just for Fun (and information, too!)
To Kill a Mockingbird--The Student Survival Guide -- Excellent reference for vocabulary,
allusions, and idioms
