To Kill a Mockingbird Pre-Reading Webquest

Introduction

You are about to read the novel To Kill a Mockingbird!

The story is set in the sleepy town of Maycomb, Alabama. In the novel, Atticus Finch is asked to defend a black man charged with the rape of a white woman. Through the eyes of his children, Scout and Jem Finch, Harper Lee explores the irrationality of adult attitudes toward race and class in the South during the 1930’s.

The consciousness of a town steeped in prejudice, violence, and hypocrisy is underscored by the quiet heroism of one man’s 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

Task

Each one of you will be assigned a section of the Webquest to complete. Please visit each website within your assigned section and answer the questions for each site.

You will eventually be presenting this information to the rest of the class!

KNOW YOUR INFORMATION!!!

Process

You will be searching for information for the topics you have been assigned. Please look at all of the websites in your section and then record your answers on your answer sheet.

This is for points and will be used to present information to the entire class.

Evaluation

1. You will receive points for filling out the webquest worksheet.

2. On Friday you will work in groups to create a poster of the information you have learned. You will be teaching the other students in class about the topic you have researched.

You will not only get points for your presentation, but also for your poster.

Conclusion

After completing this activity, you should have learned the following:

· Background information of the author, Harper Lee

· Historical background for the novel

· Insight into some of the events in the novel

Teacher Page

Section #1 – The History of Jim Crow

http://www.ferris.edu/JIMCROW/what.htm

http://www.jimcrowhistory.org/history/creating.htm

http://www.jimcrowhistory.org/history/resisting.htm

1. Where did the term, "Jim Crow," originate from?

2. After the year 1900, what did the term "Jim Crow" become identified with?

3. What Supreme Court case upheld segregation, or "separate but equal"?

4. Who was Booker T. Washington? What was his stance on the segregation debates?

5. What was the name of the new literary movement, based in Harlem, New York, which featured "New Negro" poetry and literature that emphasized self-respect and defiance under the Jim Crow laws?

6. How did some Southern black people try to resist and escape the Jim Crow laws?