To Kill a Mockingbird WebQuest

Introduction

To Kill a Mockingbird: Historical Context Web Quest

Although Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird is a work of fiction, the story is based on and set in a historically accurate time period. In order to appreciate the novel’s setting and understand why we still read it today, you must understand this time period.

Task
  1. Use the websites provided for you in each section to answer questions regarding the novel’s controversy, the Great Depression, Jim Crow Laws, the Scottsboro Trials, and the Civil Rights Movement. We will be discussing all of these topics when we discuss To Kill a Mockingbird.
  2. Write your answers on a separate sheet of paper from these questions. 
Process

Controversy

ALA— http://www.ala.org/bbooks/frequentlychallengedbooks/classics

“Books Under Fire”— http://www.tolerance.org/magazine/number-27-spring-2005/feature/books-under-fire

  1. Where does To Kill a Mockingbird appear on the 100 Most Frequently Challenged Book List? Does this surprise you considering the kinds of books that are currently in print?
  2. Name two to three other titles that you were surprised to find on the list. Why were you surprised these titles had been challenged?
  3. A challenge occurs when someone attempts to remove a book from school curriculums and libraries; if the material is removed, it is considered banned. Why has To Kill a Mockingbird been challenged? Do you agree or disagree with the challenge?
  4. Why do others disagree with this challenge?

The Great Depression

Overview—  http://www.english.illinois.edu/maps/depression/depression.htm

Photographs— http://www.english.illinois.edu/maps/depression/photoessay.htm

  1. Look at some of the photographs from the Great Depression. Describe one and explain why it caught your eye.
  2. What year did the Great Depression begin?
  3. What started the Great Depression?
  4. Who was the president when the depression started, and who was president during the New Deal?
  5. What was the New Deal?

Jim Crow Laws/ Segregation

History— http://www.crf-usa.org/black-history-month/a-brief-history-of-jim-crow

Laws— http://www.ferris.edu/jimcrow/what.htm

The Scottsboro Trial— http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/scottsboro/scottsb.htm

  1. What was the purpose of the Jim Crow Laws?
  2. Put at least two of these laws into your own words.
  3. Go to the website about the Scottsboro Trial. Read about the trial and then summarize both the accusations and the outcome in a FULL paragraph which is at least five full sentences.

The Civil Rights Movement

http://www.watson.org/~lisa/blackhistory/civilrights-55-65/

  1. What years did the Civil Rights Movement occur?
  2. This site lists seven aspects of the Civil Rights Movement. Choose one and write at least one full paragraph about your chosen aspect.