Understanding the social and historical context of Harper Lee’s, To Kill a Mockingbird

Introduction: The purpose of this activity is for you to use the Internet to find and review the social and historical backdrop of Harper Lee’s, To Kill a Mockingbird. It is important to understand information about the social climate in the South during the 1930’s, when racism and prejudice were prevalent, and when poverty was rampant due to the Great Depression. The historical context will provide you with a deeper understanding of the significance of the novel.

Task: In groups of no more than four, use the websites below to research what life was like in the South in the 1930’s. Each group will be assigned a specific concept to research, and then your group will be responsible for presenting this information to the class using the Public Policy Analyst as a guideline. These presentations should be approximately 3-5 minutes in length.

Under each concept listed below, there are questions that should be used to guide your research. Your group must use the websites to answer each question, complete the Public Policy Analyst worksheets, and search for any other information that you wish to share with the class regarding your assigned concept.

There are several different websites for each idea, so be sure to divide up the responsibility within your groups. All group members must actively participate in this activity. Points will be deducted from the group’s final grade if any group member fails to do so. Upon completion of your research, each group member must answer the following reflection questions on a separate sheet of paper.

1. What surprised/shocked you the most about the information you read? What

made you angry?

2. What do you think life would have been like for a small town, teenage,

Caucasian girl or boy during this period?

3. How would life have been different for a teenage, African American girl or

boy during this period? What concerns would they have had?

4. How have these events shaped the world today?

5. If you could go back and make one change to the history that you have

investigated in this assignment, whose shoes would you step into and what

would you do?

Process:

1. Define the Problem
2. Gather the Evidence
3. Identify the Causes
4. Evaluate an Existing Policy
5. Develop Solutions
6. Select the Best Solution (Feasibility vs. Effectiveness)

Resources:

1. The Great Depression

Questions to Consider:

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

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

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

· What was the New Deal? How did the New Deal affect American citizens? 

· How did the Great Depression impact the global community?

Related Websites:

· http://odur.let.rug.nl/~usa/H/1994/ch9_p8.htm

· http://odur.let.rug.nl/~usa/H/1994/ch10_p1.htm

· http://www.library.csi.cuny.edu/dept/history/lavender/cherries.html

· http://us.history.wisc.edu/hist102/lectures/lecture18.html

· http://history1900s.about.com/od/photographs/tp/greatdepressionpictures.htm

2. Jim Crow Laws

Questions to Consider:

· What were the Jim Crow Laws?

· How did these laws oppress African Americans living in the 1930’s?

· Explain at least 5 rules African Americans were supposed to follow under the Jim Crow Laws.

· Where did the term "Jim Crow" come from? How is the origin of this term offensive?

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

· List 3 ways whites made it nearly impossible for blacks to vote.

· 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?

· Describe at least 3 Jim Crow Laws that were in effect in Alabama in the 1930’s.

Related Websites:

· http://www.ferris.edu/news/jimcrow/what.htm

· http://www.jimcrowhistory.org/history/overview.htm

· http://academic.udayton.edu/race/02rights/jcrow02.htm

3. Growing up Black in the South in the 1930’s

Questions to Consider:

· What were living conditions like for blacks in the south in the 1930’s?

· What is the most astounding difference between the ways whites and blacks lived during this time period?

· What was school like for black children in the South in the 1930’s?

· What kinds of jobs were available to black people?

· How did black people view white people during this time period?

Related Websites:

· http://library.thinkquest.org/12111/mculley.html

· http://mgagnon.myweb.uga.edu/students/3090/04SP3090-Briggs.htm

4. Growing up White in the South in the 1930’s

Questions to Consider:

· What were living conditions like for whites in the south during this time period?

· What was school like for white children in the South in the 1930’s?

· How did whites interact with blacks during this time period?

Related Websites:

· http://library.thinkquest.org/12111/girl.html?tqskip1=1&tqtime=0227

· http://lcweb2.loc.gov/wpaintro/exinterv.html

5. The Scottsboro Boys

Questions to Consider:

· Who were the Scottsboro Boys?

· What were they accused of and why?

· Where did the original trial take place?

· What was the outcome of the original trial?

· Why were the Scottsboro Boys not provided with adequate defense lawyers?

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

· Summarize the results of the case. What happened to the Scottsboro Boys?

Related Websites:

· http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/FTrials/scottsboro/SB_acct.html

· http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/scottsboro/scottsb.htm

· http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/scottsboro/timeline/index.html

Evaluation: Your group presentation will be evaluated using the following rubric.

Conclusion: This webquest will allow you and your classmates to experience what life was like in the South in the 1930’s and provide historical background to Harper Lee’s, To Kill a Mockingbird. As a result of this project, you will have the opportunity to share the information you learned and express your opinions with your classmates about how to improve public policies that affect our society.

Standards:

Standard 1: Information and Understanding:

Students will listen, speak, read, and write for information and understanding. As listeners and readers, students will collect data, facts, and ideas; discover relationships, concepts, and generalizations; and use knowledge generated from oral, written, and electronically produced texts. As speakers and writers, they will use oral and written language that follows the accepted conventions of the English language to acquire, interpret, apply, and transmit information.

Standard 2: Literary Response and Expression:

Students will read and listen to oral, written, and electronically produced texts and performances from American and world literature; relate texts and performances to their own lives; and develop an understanding of the diverse social, historical, and cultural dimensions the texts and performances represent. As speakers and writers, students will use oral and written language that follows the accepted conventions of the English language for self-expression and artistic creation.

Standard 3: Critical Analysis and Evaluation:

Students will listen, speak, read, and write for critical analysis and evaluation. As listeners and readers, students will analyze experiences, ideas, information, and issues presented by others using a variety of established criteria. As speakers and writers, they will use oral and written language that follows the accepted conventions of the English language to present, from a variety of perspectives, their opinions and judgments on experiences, ideas, information and issues.

Standard 4: Social Interaction:

Students will listen, speak, read, and write for social interaction. Students will use oral and written language that follows the accepted conventions of the English language for effective social communication with a wide variety of people. As readers and listeners, they will use the social communications of others to enrich their understanding of people and their views.