To Kill a Mockingbird Webquest

Introduction

This webquest is designed to teach the class of important historical and social aspects of living in Alabama during the 1930s. This information will help us, the reader, to better understand our author, Harper Lee, and the setting of To Kill a Mockingbird.

Each group will be assigned 1 component of the quest.

                                           

GOAL: After conducting research, answering questions, and creating a poster, your goal is to teach the class about your topic. By the end of the class we will all have thorough background information for our text. 

Tasks: 

1. Read the selected texts for your topic.  (click the links)

Answer the corresponding questions 

2. Create a poster to present to the class

       Topic Title

       Information

       Illustration 

3.  Present your information to the class. 

Task

GOAL: After conducting research, answering questions, and creating a poster, your goal is to teach the class about your topic. By the end of the class we will all have thorough background information for our text. 

Tasks: 

1. Read the selected texts for your topic.  (click the links)

Answer the corresponding questions 

2. Create a poster to present to the class

       Topic Title

       Information

       Illustration 

3.  Present your information to the class. 

Process

Group 1: Scottsboro Boys

Your job is to become an expert on the Scottsboro Boys. Click on the link below to start learning about them. When you are finished, answer the questions below. Be sure to read carefully because you will be teaching your classmates everything you know about The Scottsboro Boys and their trials.

 

Use the following link to answer the questions below:

Scottsboro Boys Trial

 

Questions:

1. Who were the Scottsboro Boys? How did they get into so much trouble? 

 

2. Where and when did the Scottsboro Boys' original trial take place? How do you think this affected the outcome of their trial?

 

3. What does the NAACP acronym stand for? Why did the NAACP decide not to help the Scottsboro Boys?

 

5. The Scottsboro Boy were not provided with adequate defense lawyers. Please list at least 3 ways in which the defense lawyers were inadequate.

 

6. Describe the trials. Were they fair or unfair? Please include at least 3 supporting facts to back up your description.

 

7. Were the Scottsboro Boys ever pardoned of their convictions? 

 

8. The Scottsboro Boys' trial took place during the childhood of To Kill a Mockingbird's author, Harper Lee. Make a prediction about how this trial might be an important impetus for the book.    

 

 

GROUP 2:Jim Crow

Your job is to become an expert about the history of Jim Crow laws. Please read the link below. When you are finished, answer the questions provided to you. Be sure to read carefully because you will be teaching your classmates everything you know about Jim Crow Laws. 

 

Use the following links to answer the questions below:

http://www.ferris.edu/jimcrow/who.htm

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/jimcrow/

 

Questions:

1. Where did the term "Jim Crow" come from? How is the origin of this term offensive? List 3 ways.

 

2. How did the term "Jim Crow" become synonymous with the segregation laws in the South?

 

3. What ended Reconstruction in the South, and what effect did that have on southern blacks?

 

4. Legally, African-Americans had the right to vote. How was their right to suffrage compromised? Please list 3 ways whites made it nearly impossible for blacks to vote.

 

5. How did the Plessy v. Ferguson case (1896) uphold Jim Crow laws? What effect did this case have on the lives (transportation, education, social implications, etc) of southern blacks?

 

6. Who was Booker T. Washington? Where did he live? What did he believe was the best way for southern African-Americans to survive in the South?

 

7. Who was W.E.B. DuBois? Where did he live? What did he believe was the best way for southern African-Americans to survive in the South?

 

8. Why do you think Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. DuBois had differing opinions on how to survive in the South? Please give 3 facts to support your opinion.

 

9. How did many southern blacks escape the South? Where did they go? What was this movement called?

 

Group 3: Growing Up Black/White in the South

Your job is to become an expert on what it was like to group up white and black in the South in the 1930s. Please read the links below and answer the questions. Be sure to read carefully because you will be teaching your classmates everything you know about what it was like to be white/black in the South.

 

"Growing up Black in the 1930s"

INTERVIEW: GROWING UP BLACK IN THE SOUTH IN THE 1930s

Things to think about while reading:

1. What does Mrs. Barge know about her ancestry? How does she talk about her family?

2. What were her and her family's living conditions like?

3. When was the first time she noticed a difference between the lives of black people and the lives of white people? From Mrs. Barge's account, what do you think is the most astounding difference?

4. What was school like for Mrs. Barge?

5. What kind of jobs were available to black people in the South?

6. Were black people allowed to vote?

7. Mrs. Barge clearly has a different opinion of white people than her father does. What does she say that proves this? How does her perception of white people differ from her father's? Why do you think that is?

 

"Growing up White in the 1930s"

INTERVIEW: GROWING UP WHITE IN THE SOUTH IN THE 1930s

Things to think about while reading:

1. What do these three ladies have in common about their ancestry? How do they talk about their families?

2. What were the three ladies living conditions like? 

3. What were these ladies' first experiences with black people? 

4. Did these white ladies ever play with their black peers?

 

Analysis (answer these questions in your poster):

1. Please compare the three ladies' backgrounds from "Growing up White in the 1930s." How do their backgrounds differ from Mrs. Barge's background from "Growing up Black in the 1930s"? 

 

2. The ladies in "Growing up White in the 1930s" talk about what made a "good family" in the South. What do they say makes a "good family"? How do you think Mrs. Barge would describe a "good family"? Compare and contrast the three ladies' families to Mrs. Barges family, explain the similarities and differences. Based on your explanation, would Mrs. Barge's family be considered a "good family"? Why or why not?

 

3. List the occupations available to black women in the South in the 1930s according to Mrs. Barge's interview. How did these occupations influence Mrs. Barge's perception of white people? How did these occupations influence the perception of black people according to the three ladies' accounts from "Growing up White in the 1930s"? 

 

4. Mrs. Barge ends her interview on a positive note by saying "you shouldn't put people into categories." Make a prediction based on these interviews about how Calpurnia might feel about the Finches. Why? 

 

Group 4: The Great Depression

Your job is to become an expert on the Great Depression. Read through the links provided, and then answer the questions below. Be sure to read carefully because you will be teaching your classmates everything you know about the Great Depression.

 

Use this website for the first 4 questions:

The Great Depression

 

Use this website for the last questions.

Memories of the Dust Bowl

 

Questions:

1. What is "Black Tuesday" and why does it mark the beginning of the Great Depression?

 

2. Many people believe that WWII marked the end of the Great Depression. How did the war affect the economy?

 

3. What president was inaugurated in 1933? What were some of the changes made by this administration?

 

4. What was the New Deal? How did the New Deal affect American citizens? 

 

5. What was the Dust Bowl? 

 

6. How did the Dust Bowl affect the Southern Plains?

 

7. What affect did the Dust Bowl have on agriculture? How would this affect farmers and their employers? 

 

8. Given what you learned about the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl, make a prediction about what you think the setting of To Kill A Mockingbird will look like. What will the houses look like? What will the characters be wearing? How will the characters act towards each other? How will Scout's classmates act toward Scout knowing that her father is a lawyer?