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English I To Kill a Mockingbird Background Webquest

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INTRODUCTION You are about to read the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. The story is set in the sleepy town of Maycomb, Alabama. Atticus Finch is asked to defend a black man charged with the rape of a white woman. Through the eyes of his young children, Scout and Jem Finch, Harper Lee explores the irrationality of adult attitudes toward race and class in the Deep South of the 1930s. The consciousness of a town steeped in prejudice, violence, and hypocrisy is pricked by the quiet heroism of one mans struggle for justice. To best understand the lessons of this great novel, you must first understand the author, the times, and the place in which the story is set.

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TASK Your task for this Webquest is to visit various websites (provided for you) to learn the needed background information before starting the novel. Each website will also have a few questions for you to answer, simply to ensure that you are finding the important material at each site. This Webquest will give you a good feel for the 1930s and a good understanding of the historical context of the novel as well; therefore, you will be much more equipped to understand the introductory notes to follow and the novel itself.

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QUESTIONS You should answer all questions thoroughly. You have ample time to complete ALL questions; so be sure to SPEND YOUR TIME WISELY. The questions will be graded for correctness!

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The Process You will be working with a partner for this assignment. One of you should be in charge of finding the appropriate websites, while the other writes the answers. However, both of you should observe the websites and both of you should provide input on the answers.

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CONCLUSION After completing this activity, you should have learned the following: Background information of the author, Harper Lee Historical background of the times Insight into some of the events in the novel

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Website #1 Jim Crow Laws http://americanhistory.si.edu/brown/history/1- segregated/white-only-1.html http://americanhistory.si.edu/brown/history/1- segregated/white-only-1.html What did Jim Crow laws do for African-Americans? What was the first step in taking away black mens civil rights? Where did the term Jim Crow come from?

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Website #2 Separate But Equal http://americanhistory.si.edu/brown/history/1- segregated/separate-but-equal.html http://americanhistory.si.edu/brown/history/1- segregated/separate-but-equal.html What was the name of the Supreme Court case of 1896 and what was the decision of this case? What did Homer Plessy do that sparked this Supreme Court case?

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Website #3 Stock Market Crash http://www.history.com/topics/1929-stock- market-crash http://www.history.com/topics/1929-stock- market-crash What was the date of Black Thursday and what happened on this day? What date was Black Tuesday and what did the events of this date lead to?

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Website #4 American History 1930s http://www.history.com/topics/1930s How many Americans were unemployed at the start of the 1930s? When did the stock market crash and what might have caused it? Who was president at the time of the stock market crash and the beginning of the Great Depression? What did Franklin Delano Roosevelt promise the American people and what would this do? Describe what the culture in America was like in the 1930s. Name and describe one program that President Roosevelt launched during his Second New Deal. What brought about the end of the Great Depression?

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Website #5 Harper Lee http://www.enotes.com/authors/harper-lee Where and when was Harper Lee born? When did she win the Pulitzer Prize and for what piece of literature? Why was her novel banned by a school board in 1966?