TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD

Hello! Welcome to Maycomb, Alabama; we have a lot of learning to

do today, but first, we need a little question answered.

We just need to know, are you a teacher, or are you a student?

I’m a teacher! I’m a student!

Theme: To Kill a Mockingbird

Audience: 10th graders (sophomores)

Environment: In a computer lab, with each student having access to their own computer.

Objectives

Given a situation, students will be able to discuss the main characters of To Kill a Mockingbird.

Given a situation, students will be able to discuss the supporting characters of To Kill a Mockingbird.

Given a situation, students will be able to describe the main plot of To Kill a Mockingbird.

Given a situation, students will be able to analyze the ‘mockingbird’ symbolism throughout the novel.

Standards

EL.10.3 2006 - READING: Comprehension and Analysis of Literary TextStudents read and respond to grade-level-appropriate historically or culturally significant works of literature, such as the selections in the Indiana Reading List illustrate the quality and complexity of the materials to be read by students. At Grade 10, students read a wide variety of literature, such as classic and contemporary literature, historical fiction, fantasy, science fiction, folklore, mythology, poetry, short stories, dramas, and other genres.

Harper Lee

Plot

Characters

Quiz

MAIN MENU

Click the links to find out more about the author, the plot, and the characters!

Harper LeeBirth

Childhood

Work

Life Today

Birth

(Nelle) Harper Lee was born in Monroeville, Alabama, on April 28th, 1926.

She’s actually descended from the famous Southern General, Robert E. Lee.

Her father and mother are Frances and Amasa Lee.

ChildhoodHarper Lee grew up in her small Southern town of Monroeville,

Alabama; it would actually serve as the basis for Maycomb,

Alabama.

During her childhood, she witnessed an unfair trial of nine black men, who were accused of

raping two white women. This served as the influence for To Kill

a Mockingbird.

WorkHarper’s only famous work is

To Kill a Mockingbird.

She won the Pulitzer Prize in 1961 for To Kill a

Mockingbird.

She decided to retire from writing after the huge success of her novel.

Life TodayHarper Lee will celebrate her

88th birthday on April 28th of this year.

She was presented the Presidential Medal of Freedom by former president George W.

Bush in 2007.

Today, she lives in Monroeville, avoiding the eyes of the public.

Characters

Main Characters

Supporting Characters

Main Characters

Atticus

Jem Scout

Tom Robinson

Bob Ewell

Miss Maudie

Once you’ve viewed all the main characters,

please click here:

Just to review, please write who the narrator is in To Kill a Mockingbird.

Then, please write who Atticus is defending in court.

ScoutThe protagonist of the novel, and the narrator.

6 year old girl, ends the book at nearly 10.

Goes by Scout, but her full name is Jean Louise Finch.

Adds a sense of innocence to the novel.

JemScout’s brother, older than her by four years.

10 years old when the story starts, almost 13 when it ends.

Jem serves as a kind of guide for Scout in the novel. She idolizes him, and mimics him a lot. They get a little distant when Jem first begins to go through puberty, but they come through it.

AtticusJem and Scout’s father.

A smart, older, intellectual man, he serves the children as a role model and moral compass.

He defends Tom Robinson not because he needs the case, but because it’s the right thing to do.

Tom RobinsonThe black man who is accused of raping Mayella Ewell.

His left arm is crippled, half the size of his right arm; the novel says this is because he got it caught in a cotton gin when he was a boy.

Because of his arm, it would have been impossible for him to have hurt Mayella, because the injuries she had received indicate someone left handed.

A handsome man, but also good natured, polite, and one to keep to himself.

Bob EwellA mean, drunk man.

Accuses Tom Robinson of raping his oldest child, Mayella.

It’s implied that he abuses his kids; he does, however, spend all of the welfare money they’re given on alcohol, leaving the children to fend for themselves.

Boo RadleyThe town shut in, Jem and Scout’s neighbor.

Throughout the novel, the children (Jem, Scout, and Dill) are obsessed with getting Boo Radley to come out of his house.

Boo (Arthur) Radley only comes out at the very end, to save Jem and Scout.

Boo gives Jem and Scout presents through a knot hole in a tree between their houses;

this includes a package of Wrigley’s chewing gum, two soap dolls, and a pocket

watch.

Miss MaudieA kind, wise older lady, around Atticus’s age.

She’s another moral compass through the story, and always provides the children with good advice.

Supporting Characters

Dill

Aunt Alexandra

Calpurnia

Mayella

Once you’ve looked at all the supporting characters, please

click here:

What do you think of Mayella? Is she cruel, like her father, or is it just that she doesn’t know any better? Please explain your answer.

DillJem and Scout’s friend who visits every summer.

Dill is imaginative, creative, and obsessed with Boo Radley.

Aunt AlexandraAtticus’s sister, who comes to stay in hopes of providing the children with a little bit of feminine influence, as the children lost their mother when Scout was two.

Aunt Alexandra provides an example of what makes a “proper lady”, and is also a foil to the tomboy Scout.

CalpurniaThe black cook who works for the Finches.

She helped raise the children, and Atticus considers her part of the family.

MayellaThe lady who Tom Robinson allegedly raped.

Bob Ewell’s daughter.

As uneducated and ignorant as the rest of the Ewells, but there’s evidence in the novel that she wants a better life.

Plot

Main Plot Sub Plot

Main PlotThe main plot of the novel is Atticus defending Tom Robinson, a black man, from Bob and Mayella Ewell. The main plot of the novel is a question of morals, and

defines the underlying racism that still was prevalent in America until the mid 20th century.

Tom Robinson is wrongly convicted, and is later killed when he tries to escape from prison.

Bob Ewell swears that he will “get back” at Atticus for trying to defend Tom Robinson, and at the very end of the novel, attempts to kill Jem and Scout as

they walk home from a school play. Luckily, Boo Radley saves the children, but Bob Ewell dies in the struggle.

Sub plotThe sub plot of the novel is one that involves Boo Radley, both in a

concrete sense and a metaphoric sense.

Boo Radley is the target of Jem, Scout, and Dill for a while. They don’t make fun of him, exactly, but they perform plays about him and only wish to get a good glimpse of him. In other words, they don’t leave him alone.

Boo is a representation of a mockingbird in the novel because he does nothing wrong, and just minds his own business.

Atticus says, “it’s a sin to shoot a mockingbird”, and this is because mockingbirds do nothing to others, but keep to themselves.

Another example of a mockingbird is Tom Robinson.

QUIZ

Practice Quiz(just in case you’re

nervous)

Take the Quiz(I’m ready!)

Practice Quiz

When was Harper Lee born?

A

B

C

D

April of 1981

April of 1926

August of 2001

November of 1959

Hint: She’ll be 88 years old!

Great job, that’s correct!

I’m sorry, that answer is incorrect.Please try again.

Practice Quiz

Who is the protagonist of To Kill a Mockingbird?

Bob Ewell

Mr. Heck Tate

Aunt Alexandra

Scout

Hint: Her real name is Jean Louise.

Great job, that’s correct!

I’m sorry, that answer is incorrect.Please try again.

Practice Quiz

Who is Scout’s neighbor?

Boo Radley

Tom Robinson

Calpurnia

Jem

Hint: Jem, Dill, and Scout perform a play about him.

Great job, that’s correct!

I’m sorry, that answer is incorrect.Please try again.

Awesome, you’ve passed the practice quiz!

Are you ready for the real quiz?

I’d like to study a little more first.

Let’s go!

QuizWhat year did Harper Lee win the Pulitzer Prize?

1975

2014

1961

She didn’t win a Pulitzer.

Hint: It was in the 20th century.

Great job, that’s correct!

I’m sorry, that answer is incorrect.Please try again.

QuizWho is the antagonist of To Kill a Mockingbird?

Scout

Dill

Miss Maudie

Bob Ewell

Hint: His daughter is Mayella.

Great job, that’s correct!

I’m sorry, that answer is incorrect.Please try again.

QuizName one thing that Boo gives Jem and Scout through the knot in the tree.

Two dolls carved out of soap.

A newspaper clipping.

A key to the Radley house.

An empty Coca-Cola bottle.

Hint: It looks like Jem and Scout.

Great job, that’s correct!

I’m sorry, that answer is incorrect.Please try again.

QuizDo you think that Tom Robinson is guilty or not guilty? Explain your answer.

QuizPlease describe one example of a character who represents a ‘mockingbird’

in the novel. Defend your answer.

Well done, you’ve

finished!

References

Harper Lee:

http://www.harperlee.com/ http://

www.gradesaver.com/author/harper-lee/

References

Pictures:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/45/MontreGousset001.jpg

http://www.legendaryauctions.com/ItemImages/000078/70801a_lg.jpeg

http://www.djfood.org/djfood/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/Mockingbird_Final.jpg

http://a4.files.saymedia-content.com/image/upload/c_fill,g_face,h_300,q_70,w_300/MTE4MDAzNDEwNTk2MjM0NzY2.jpg

http://cdn.cnwimg.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/harper-lee.jpg

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/06/26/article-1289793-0A377264000005DC-693_468x556.jpg

http://www.nndb.com/people/572/000025497/harper-lee.jpg

http://blog.coldwellbanker.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Radley-3.jpg

http://www.clipartbest.com/cliparts/4cb/GXq/4cbGXqzcg.jpeg

ReferencesPictures (cont.):

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/85/Smiley.svg/800px-Smiley.svg.png

http://foothilltech.org/rgeib/english/tkm/scout1.jpg

http://hannahemac.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/jem.jpg

http://marshallmatlock.com/wp-content/gallery/the-mans-man-xxiii-gregory-peck/Gregory%20Peck%20To%20Kill%20a%20Mockingbird%20Atticus%20Finch.jpg

http://thecinemamonster.files.wordpress.com/2013/07/tokillmockngbrd_146pyxurz.jpg

http://images6.fanpop.com/image/photos/35800000/Bob-Ewell-bob-ewell-35841089-1600-1032.jpg

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jECVBY5m7t8/Tdz5RlaG7jI/AAAAAAAAAAc/ikzRKiwsbew/s1600/boo_radley.jpg

http://blackwalnutdispatch.files.wordpress.com/2012/05/miss-maudie.gif

http://images.sodahead.com/polls/000827395/polls_Buio13_3619_411664_answer_5_xlarge.jpeg

ReferencesPictures (cont.):

http://baker13tkam.weebly.com/uploads/2/4/0/3/24032654/1503636_orig.jpg

http://tokillamockingbirdchaptertwo.weebly.com/uploads/6/7/9/1/6791331/734210472.jpg

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FVwzuCaNByE/UMOr6jlp8XI/AAAAAAAAhoM/WGd2k1_U4HU/s1600/Collin-Wilcox-Paxton-Dies-500x285.jpg

http://greenlanternpress.files.wordpress.com/2009/02/courtroom-1.gif