Harper Lee's To kill a mockingbird : teacher's guide

National Endowment for the Arts

TEACHER'S GUIDE

HARPER LEE'S

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The National Endowment for the Arts is a public agency dedicated to supporting
excellence in the arts — both new and established — -bringing the arts to all Americans,
and providing leadership in arts education. Established by Congress in 1 965 as an
independent agency of the federal government, the Endowment is the nation's largest
annual funder of the arts, bringing great art to all 50 states, including rural areas, inner
cities, and military bases.

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heritage, culture, and knowledge; enhance learning and innovation; and support
professional development.

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opportunities, sharing creativity, knowledge, and understanding across boundaries. Based
in Minneapolis, Arts Midwest connects the arts to audiences throughout the nine-state
region of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, Ohio, South
Dakota, and Wisconsin. One of six non-profit regional arts organizations in the United
States, Arts Midwest's history spans more than 25 years.

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Additional support for the Big Read has also been provided by the W.K. Kellogg
Foundation in partnership with Community Foundations of America.

Published by

National Endowment for the Arts
1 100 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20506-0001
(202) 682-5400

Works Cited

Excerpts from To Kill a Mockingbird Copyright © 1960, 1988 by Harper Lee, are reproduced by
permission of HarperCollins Publishers. Production copyright HarperCollins Publishers.

Acknowledgements

Cover portrait: John Sherffius

Writers: Philip Burnham and Sarah Bainter Cunningham for the National Endowment
tor the Arts.

Graphic Design: Fletcher Design / Washington, D.C.

Photo Credits

Page iv: To Kill a Mockingbird book cover, photograph by John Montgomery, courtesy of
HarperCollins; Mockingbird image, Jeremy Woodhouse/Getty Images; Page 1: Dana Gioia,
photo by Vance Jacobs; Inside back cover: Harper Lee, Donald Uhrbrock/Time Life Pictures/
Getty Images

Table of Contents

Introduction 1

Suggested Teaching Schedule 2

Lesson One: Biography 4

Lesson Two: Culture and History 5

Lesson Three: Narrative and Point of View 6

Lesson Four: Characters 7

Lesson Five: Figurative Language 8

Lesson Six: Symbols 9

Lesson Seven: Character Development 10

Lesson Eight: The Plot Unfolds 11

Lesson Nine: Themes of die Novel 12

Lesson Ten: A Great Novel 13

Essay Topics 14

Capstone Projects 15

Handout One: Harper Lee 16

Handout Two: The Great Depression 17

Handout Three: The Civil Rights Movement 18

Teaching Resources 19

NCTE Standards 20

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Mockingbirds don't do one thing but
make music for us to enjoy. They
don't eat up other people's gardens,
don't nest in corncribs, they don't do
one thing but sing their hearts out
for us. That's why it's a sin to kill a
mockingbird."

— from To Kill a Mockingbird

I

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Introduction

Welcome to the Big Read, a major initiative from the National Endowment
for the Arts. Designed to revitalize the role of literary reading in American
culture, the Big Read hopes to unite communities through great literature,
as well as inspire students to become life-long readers.

This Big Read Teacher's Guide contains ten lessons to lead you through
Harper Lee's classic novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. Each lesson has four
sections: a thematic focus, discussion activities, writing exercises, and
homework assignments. In addition, we have provided suggested essay
topics and capstone projects, as well as handouts with more background
information about the novel, the historical period, and the author. All
lessons dovetail with the state language arts standards required in the
fiction genre.

The Big Read teaching materials also include a CD. Packed with interviews,
commentaries, and excerpts from the novel, the Big Read CD presents
first-hand accounts of why Lee's novel remains so compelling four decades
after its initial publication. Some of America's most celebrated writers,
scholars, and actors have volunteered their time to make these
Big Read CDs exciting additions to the classroom.

Finally, the Big Read Reader's Guide deepens your exploration with
interviews, booklists, time lines, and historical information. We hope this
guide and syllabus allow you to have fun with your students while
introducing them to the work of a great American author.

From the NEA, we wish you an exciting and productive school year.

~^U\U HpAo^

Dana Gioia

Chairman, National Endowment for the Arts

National Endowment for the Arts

THE BIG READ • |

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Schedule

Day One

FOCUS: Biography

Activities: Listen to the Big Read CD, Track
One ( 1 5:45). Read Readers Guide essays.
Respond to the novel's epigraph by Charles
Lamb.

Homework: Chapter I -3 (pp. 3-32).

2

Day Two

FOCUS: Arts and Culture

Activities: Listen to the Big Read CD, Track
Two (13:14). Read Handout Two. Read
Reader's Guide essay, "Historical Context:
The Jim Crow South" (pp. 8-9). Write about
the relation between history and the novel.

Homework: Chapters 4-7 (pp. 32-63).

3

Day Three

FOCUS: Narrative and Point ofView

Activities: Explore Scout's narration. Imagine
the novel narrated by Dill. Write the first
pages of Dill's book. Write in first person
from Boo Radley's point of view.

Homework: Chapters 8- 1 I (pp. 63-99).

4

Day Four

FOCUS: Characters

Activities: Explore the protagonist and
antagonist. Examine minor characters that
serve as foils. Write about the antagonist.

Homework: Chapter 1 2 (pp. 99- 1 26).

5

Day Five

FOCUS: Figurative Language

Activities: Review the novel identifying
instances of figurative language. Write a
personal story using techniques of image,
simile, metaphor, and analogy.

Homework: Chapters 13-15 (pp. 1 27- 1 55).

* Page numbers refer to the Warner Books 1982 edition of To Kill a Mockingbird.

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9

Day Six

FOCUS: Symbols

Activities: Discuss the mockingbird as a
symbol in the novel. Write about how the
names of characters serve as symbols.

Homework: Chapters 16-18 (pp. 1 55- 1 89).

7

Day Seven

FOCUS: Character Development

Activities: Explore how the characters change
their beliefs within the story. Write about the
hero of the novel.

Homework: Chapters 1 9-24 (pp. 190-227).

8

Day Eight

FOCUS: The Plot Unfolds

Activities: Chart a time line of the story.
Develop a plot for the sequel.

Homework: Chapters 25-27 (pp. 227-254).

Day Nine

FOCUS: Themes of the Novel

Activities: Explore potential themes. Develop
an interpretation based on one of the
themes.

Homework: Chapters 28-3 1 (pp. 254-28 1 ).
Begin essay.

10

Day Ten

FOCUS: A Great Novel

Activities: Explore the qualities of a great
novel and a voice of a generation. Examine
qualities that make Lee's novel successful.
Peer review of paper outlines or drafts.

Homework: Essay due next class period.

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FOCUS:

Biography

The authors life can inform and expand the readers understanding of a
novel. Some events in the novel mirror circumstances in Harper Lee's life.
In To Kill a Mockingbird, Lee infuses the adventure with her experience as a
lawyers daughter and a tomboy growing up in the South. Although a work
of fiction, the novel reflects a small Southern town during the Great
Depression. And while we more fully understand the book as we learn
about the author, the artistry of the novel does not succeed or fail based on
the author s life. The novel — a work of art — has an internal structure
independent of the authors personality.

Discussion Activities

Listen to the Big Read CD, Track One ( 1 5:45). Students should take notes as they
listen. What do the students learn about Harper Lee from her biographer, Charles
J. Shields and other contributors? What are the three most important points on
the CD?

Copy Reader's Guide essays, "Harper Lee" (pp. 4-5) (or Handout One in this
Teacher's Guide), "The Friendship of Harper Lee and Truman Capote" (pp. 6-7)
and "How To Kill A Mockingbird Came To Be Written" (pp. 10-11). Divide the class
into groups. Assign one essay to each group. After reading and discussing the
essays, each group will present what they learned from the essay. Ask students to
add a creative twist to make their presentation memorable.

Writing Exercise

The novel begins with an epigraph by Charles Lamb: "Lawyers, I suppose, were
children once." Based on what you've learned from the CD, why do you think
Lee chose this quote to begin her novel? Write two paragraphs on how this
statement relates to what students have learned about Lee's life.

EJ Homework

Read Chapters I -3 (pp. 3-32). Prepare your students to read approximately 30
pages per night in order to complete this book in ten lessons. What happens to
Scout on her first day of school? What kind of teacher is Miss Caroline, Scout's
first grade teacher?

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FOCUS:

Culture and
History

To Kill a Mockingbird is set in the mid- 1930s during the Great Depression.
Throughout the decade, jobs were scarce, bread lines were long, and movies
cost only a nickel — a time that left an indelible impression on the young
Harper Lee.

Culturally, the swing era, movies, and radio drama were the talk of the
nation. Writers such as F. Scott Fitzgerald chronicled the lives of the rich
and famous, while writers such as John Steinbeck recounted the tale of
Americas downtrodden. Women could vote, and the prohibition of alcohol
was finally repealed. Government programs such as the Works Progress
Administration and Social Security were established. But some things
endured even the chaos of economic depression. Jim Crow laws continued
to prevent African Americans from enjoying equal rights with other
citizens, even if the Old South seemed to be slowly changing.

Discussion Activities

Listen to the Big Read CD, Track Two (13:14). Based on the CD, why does former
Justice Sandra Day O'Connor say that Atticus "represents the best of the legal
profession"? According to O'Connor, how might "the idea of justice pervade
everything"? Have you seen any indicators of this in your first reading assignment?

Go to NEA's Jazz in the Schools Web site at www.neajazzintheschools.org. Click on
"Listen" and scroll down to Billie Holiday's 1 939 "Strange Fruit," a description of
the Southern practice of lynching. Play the music of Duke Ellington and Louis
Armstrong. This music crossed the racial boundaries drawing audiences from all
walks of life. If you have additional time, you can teach Lesson Two of the NEA
Jazz in the Schools curriculum covering the decades before and after the Great
Depression.

Writing Exercise

Copy Handout Two. Copy Reader's Guide essay, "Historical ContextThe Jim
Crow South" (pp. 8-9). Have students read these brief essays and write a
one-page, in-class essay on how the book reflects historical realities.

K3 Homework

Read Chapters 4-7 (pp. 32-63). What role does reading play in Maycomb? Why is
Boo Radley such a mystery to Scout, Jem, and Dill? What is the significance of the
hole in the tree?

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FOCUS:

Narrative
and Point of
View

First-person narration draws the reader into the perspective of the main
character, as this person tells us, first-hand, about their experiences. This
person uses the first-person, "I", to draw us through her/his adventures.
A first-person narrator is personally invested in how the drama unfolds.

Third-person narration uses "he" or "she" to tell the story from another
point of view. Third-person narration establishes a greater distance between
narrator and audience, as an outside observer relates events. Since this
outside observer does not appear to participate directly in or affect the
events of the story, this narrator seems to relay the drama objectively. A
third-person narrator may or may not be omniscient. An omniscient third-
person narrator knows the thoughts and movements of every character.

To Kill a Mockingbird \s told in first person by Jean Louise "Scout" Finch.
The novel begins from the point of view of the adult Scout, as she looks
back on her childhood. Through the filter of her adult experience, she
revisits her memories that, though long ago passed, have a life of their own.

Discussion Activities

Why might Harper Lee tell the story from an adult perspective, narrated many
years after the fact? In the first seven chapters, can you find statements that
remind us of an adult point of view? Or does the adult narrator enter completely
into the world of her childhood?

How would this story be narrated, in the third-person, from the point of view of
Dill s fabulous imagination? Have the class brainstorm the outline of a new version
of the novel told from this perspective.

Writing Exercise

Based on the previous activity, write a few pages of Dill's version of the story
based on the first seven chapters.

Begin another version of the novel told in first-person from Boo Radley's
perspective. How would Boo Radley describe Jem, Scout, and Dill?

H Homework

Read Chapters 8-1 I (pp. 63-99). Going through the first 99 pages, how many
characters have been introduced? Which are primary? What motivates the
primary characters?

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FOCUS:

Characters

The main character in a work of literature is called the "protagonist." The
protagonist usually overcomes a weakness to achieve a new understanding
by the work's end. A protagonist who acts with great courage and strength
may be called a "hero." The protagonists journey is made more dramatic by
challenges presented by characters with different beliefs or perspectives. A
"foil" provokes or challenges the protagonist in profound ways. The most
important foil, the "antagonist," opposes the protagonist, barring or
complicating his or her fulfillment.

Discussion Activities

Who is the protagonist in the novel? Who is the antagonist? How does their
opposition to one another help develop the drama and the unfolding of the tale?

Divide the class into groups to examine the role of "foils" in the novel. Assign
each group two secondary characters: Calpurnia, Boo Radley.Tom Robinson, Miss
Maudie, Aunt Alexandra, Uncle Jack, Francis, or Miss Caroline. Ask students to
review the first 99 pages of the novel. Have each group list key attributes of their
character. Prepare a presentation that documents moments when these
characters bring out reactions from Scout. How do their unique personalities
help Scout learn about herself?

Writing Exercise

Write two pages on the character that you believe to be the antagonist. If Scout
is our protagonist, why is this character opposed to her? How is this character
forcing her to look at herself in profound ways? What passages from the text
support your conclusions?

HI Homework

Read Chapter 12 (pp. 99-126). Find the three most vivid descriptions in Chapter
1 2. Are they effective? Why or why not? What do Jem and Scout learn from Mrs.
Dubose and going to church with Calpurnia in this section?

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THE BIG READ • 7

FOCUS:

Figurative
Language

Writers commonly use stylistic devices that require a leap of faith by the
reader. Such tools allow readers to visualize events, whether through an
unexpected image, an idea, or an observation. The most common literary
devices are image, simile, and metaphor. Use these terms to identify the
novels figurative language to expand the meaning of the novel.

Image: a vivid representation or description.

Simile: a comparison between two things using "like" or "as."

Metaphor: a comparison in which one thing is figuratively transformed so
as to reveal its essence.

Discussion Activities

Divide the class into groups. Assign each group a selection of chapters ( I -4, 5-8,
or 9- 1 2), asking them to identify figurative language used in those chapters. They
should specifically identify images, similes, and metaphors. In those chapters, how
does the figurative language assist in telling the story? Have groups present their
findings to the class.

Once you have collected some evidence from the novel reflect on whether some
of the figures should be taken literally. What clues help a reader know when the
author uses words figuratively? Can you find these clues in the novel?

Writing Exercise

Find an image in the text. Expand the image by turning it into a simile. For
example, Lee expands an ordinary image with a simile: "she did give Jem a hot
biscuit-and-butter. ..it tasted like cotton" (p. 103).

Have students write a few paragraphs telling a story about an important
childhood event. In their story, students should use image, simile, and metaphor at
least twice. Can they see how developing figurative language in a story contributes
to the artistry of the novel?

F] Homework

Read Chapters 13-15 (pp. 127-155). What might Mrs. Dubose symbolize? Aunt
Alexandra believes the "Finch Family" captures or symbolizes certain values.
What does she think this family symbolizes? How does Scout fit into this image?

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FOCUS:

Symbols

Harper Lee uses images and characters to stand for something above and
beyond what they represent at first reading. These symbols have special
importance — they are interpretive keys to the text.

As a form of figurative language, symbols can maintain our fascination by
hinting beyond the literal, drawing us into the story, and asking us to explore
the authors intentions. Frequently, study of the specific characteristics of die
symbol will shed light on the entire story. For example, Amicus is named for
a leader from ancient Greece. Independent research on the original Atticus
will open doors to a deeper understanding of Lee's Atticus.

The very names of Maycomb s residents symbolize something about their
nature. Mr. Underwood confines himself to a dark office, and Robert E.
Lee Ewell may be the antithesis of his Civil War namesake.

Discussion Activities

The only time Atticus describes "sin" to his children, he advises Scout and Jem to
avoid shooting mockingbirds. Why does the mockingbird (p. 90) become a central
symbol of the novel? How does this warning relate to the other events of the
story? How does exploration of the mockingbird shed light on other elements of
the story?

To further explore this topic, have students do extra research on mockingbirds.
Do mockingbirds have other natural features that relate to the story?

Writing Exercise

In Chapter 1 5, the drama mounts as Atticus is surrounded by a group of men.
How does Scout defuse the potentially violent confrontation? Would you have
expected this? Was it convincing that Scout could defuse such tension? Why or
why not?

Choose a character whose name serves a symbolic function. Explain how the
name as a symbol relates to the real person. Does the person reflect his or her
namesake or contradict his or her namesake? Why has Lee depicted them
this way?

2] Homework

Read Chapters 16-18 (pp. 155-189). Read Handout Three. In the first 18 chapters,
how have Jem, Scout, and Dill changed? Are these profound changes or just a
result of growing up?

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Lesson Seven

FOCUS:

Character
Development

The protagonist gradually undergoes a profound change of heart. The
protagonists shortcomings fundamentally affect the manner in which s/he
is able to respond to the challenge brought by outside forces. While some
changes begin from outside forces, changes also brew within thoughts and
emotions as our hero searches to overcome his/her deepest fears, realize
his/her dreams, or discover his/her identity.

This novel explores human nature, equality, and justice through the trial of
Tom Robinson. A child's inexperience captures an innocent sense of justice,
while an adults world-weariness leads to abandoning the fight for justice.
As a result, this novel hinges on occasions in which adults act like children
and children act like adults. In order to argue for racial equality, Lee must
demonstrate situations in which narrow-minded prejudice can realistically
yield to an expanded moral sensibility.

Discussion Activities

Which characters in the story are beginning to change their views? In what ways
do they change their views? Choose one of the child characters and one of the
adult characters to focus your discussion.

Will Atticus still win the trial if he only succeeds in convincing a number of
Maycomb citizens of Robinson's innocence? Does he fail if he cannot convince
the whole jury? Will it be unrealistic if he is able to convince the jury?

Do the main characters reflect the tensions of the Civil Rights movement? How?

Writing Exercise

On what occasions do you wish a character might have acted more maturely? Why
or why not? On what occasions were you surprised that a character acted very
maturely? Why or why not? Explain how you would define "mature."

Early in the novel. Scout says,"Jem was a born hero" (p. 44). Have students write a
paragraph explaining who is the most heroic character of To Kill a Mockingbird. Is it
Jem? Is it Atticus? Scout? Tom Robinson? Or is it perhaps Boo Radley? Make sure
you define "hero."

H Homework

Read Chapters 1 9-24 (pp. 1 90-227). Ask students to reflect on how Lee has
constructed the plot to reach this dramatic conclusion. Come to class with the
two most important turning points in the novel.

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FOCUS:

The Plot
Unfolds

A novels plot unfolds a series of events leading to a dramatic climax. The
timing of such events can make a novel predictable or riveting. Lee makes
deliberate choices about how to structure and pace events to tell a coming-
of-age story that speaks to all generations. In this lesson, map the events of
the story to assess the artistry of story-telling.

To Kill a Mockingbird begins as a story about curiosity, sibling adventures,
and the first school days. The novel evolves into a saga about criminal
justice, legal representation, and deep-rooted Southern values. All the events
lead to the final, tragic event: Tom Robinsons guilty verdict. At this tragic
moment, Jem forsakes "background" in exchange for how long his family
has "been readin and writin" (p. 227). He believes that literacy allows the
Finches to rise above prejudice, while illiteracy sinks the Cunninghams into
a moral quagmire. In the face of such injustice, Jem realizes that Boo
Radley may want to stay inside to avoid the prejudice and injustice.

Discussion Activities

Have students identify the most important turning points in the novel. Ask
students to reference the passages from the novel, explaining why these events are
the most significant. Use this information for the next activity.

As a class, map a time line that depicts the development of the dramatic build-up
from the beginning. This map should include the most significant turning points,
but also examine the lesser events that build tension. As students develop their
maps, they should define the beginning, middle, and end of the novel.

Writing Exercise

Outline a sequel to Lee's novel. How would this plot unfold? How would students
map the beginning, middle, and end? Have students write the opening paragraphs
to the sequel.

Rewrite the novel's ending as if Tom Robinson was acquitted. If he were acquitted,
would the novel be as powerful? Would it be more powerful?

^3 Homework

Read Chapters 25-27 (pp. 227-254). Why did Lee choose this title? How is
literacy a theme of the novel?

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FOCUS:

Themes of
the Novel

Lesson One through Lesson Eight should assist the class in developing an
interpretation of the novel. The development of characters, the implications
of Lee's figurative language, and the unfolding plot contribute to the themes.
The themes of a novel explore the meaning of human life. Themes are
issues — love, war, freedom, and responsibility — that grab a reader's
attention and don't let up.

Use these themes as springboards. Themes should lend to a specific
interpretation of the novel. Use the historical references provided to support
your ideas. For example, try to decide if the novel is about justice, race,
small towns, the South, or coming-of-age.

Discussion Activities and Writing Exercise

Students can come up with five themes in the novel. Here are some samples:

Race

At what points do different characters make remarks about race? At what points
do other characters' actions speak louder than their words? Does the novel make
a final statement about how race should affect our treatment of others? Does
Dolphus Raymond provide us a clue to this question?

Justice

Return to Sandra Day O'Connors statement that the "idea of justice pervades
everything" in the novel. What evidence supports or rejects O'Connor's view? If
Lee is using the novel to provide us with a definition of justice for the twentieth
century, what is her definition? Remember, she published the novel in I960, during
the Civil Rights era.

Literacy/Illiteracy

Explore Jem's statement about literacy. Review the novel, noting occasions where
reading plays an important role. How is the novel developing an argument about
the value of reading? What is more important the activity of reading or the
content within the text?

Gender

A tomboy, Scout becomes more feminine as the novel closes. How does Scout
battle with her gender role? Does she give a new definition to feminine? How
does this relate to the rest of the story? In what ways do Jem and Dill face the
same coming-of-age dilemma? Finally, does this reflect the 1 930s, 1 960s, or both?

H Homework

Read Chapters 28-3 1 (pp. 254-281). Begin essays, using "Essay Topics" at the end
of this guide. Outlines due next class.

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FOCUS:

A Great
Novel

The topics in this guide reflect the fundamental elements of the novel. The
writers voice, rhythm, and sense of poetry enchant us, providing literary
pleasures while making statements about our humanity. The pacing of the
novel s plot allows us insight into the tempos of another life. As the
protagonist navigates challenges, we are guided through our own adventures
by the successes and failures of the central character. Finally, great stories
articulate and explore the tensions and conflicts within our daily lives.

Discussion Activities

Ask students to make a list of the characteristics of a great book. Put these on
the board. What elevates a novel to greatness? Then ask them to discuss, within
groups, other books they know that include some of the same characteristics. Do
any of these books remind them of To Kill a Mockingbird7. Is this a great novel?

A great writer can be the voice of a generation. What kind of voice does Lee
provide through Scout and the Finch family? What does this voice tell us about
the concerns and dreams of her generation? How does this voice represent the
era of the Great Depression and Jim Crow?

In response to Ewell's death, what does Scouts concluding comment, "Well, it'd be
sorta like shootin' a mockingbird, wouldn't it?" (p. 276) mean? How might Lee's
portrayal of Scout, in this scene, make this a great novel?

Writing Exercise

If you were the voice of your generation, what would be your most important
message? Why might you choose to convey this in a novel rather than a speech
or essay? What story would you tell to get your point across?

Have students work on their essays in class. Be available to assist with outlines,
drafts, and arguments. Have them partner with another student to edit outlines
and/or rough drafts. For this editing, provide students with a list of things they
should look for in a well-written essay.

Ul Homework

Finish essay. Students will present their paper topics and interpretations to the
class. Celebrate by participating in a Big Read community event or show Horton
Foote's film version of To Kill a Mockingbird.

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The discussion activities and writing exercises in this guide provide you with possible essay topics,
as do the Discussion Questions in the Readers Guide. Advanced students can come up with their
own essay topics, as long as they are specific and compelling. Other ideas for essays are provided
here.

For essays, students should organize their ideas around a thesis about the novel. This statement or
thesis should be focused, with clear reasons supporting its conclusion. The thesis and supporting
reasons should be backed by references to the text.

1 . What are the different views of reading
portrayed by Scout, Jem, and Atticus? How is
reading linked to morality for each of these
characters? Which view does the author
advocate?

2. Lee writes of the Ewell property that "against 5.
the fence, in a line, were six chipped-enamel

slop jars holding brilliant red geraniums, cared

for as tenderly as if they belonged to Miss

Maudie Atkinson" (p. 194). What do the

flowers tell us about their keeper, Mayella

Ewell? Are the geraniums a symbol? If so, why,

and if not, why not? 6.

3. A true gift is, in one sense, an unexpected
blessing bestowed by a person — or even,
perhaps, by fate. Some of them may be objects,
while some may be things that cannot be seen

but are no less important. Early in the novel, 7.

the children find a mysterious shiny package in
the knothole of a live oak tree (p. 53). What
gifts are given in To Kill a Mockingbird? Why
might they be important to the unfolding of
the story?

4. The Radley place undergoes a change in the
course of the novel. At the beginning, we are

told, "Inside the house lived a malevolent
phantom" (p. 9). By the end, Scout fearlessly
walks Boo up to his front porch. What change
has taken place in Scout that allows her to walk
with Boo?

Maudie Atkinson says,"Atticus Finch was the
deadest shot in Maycomb County in his time"
(p. I 1 2). What lessons do the Finch children
learn from the incident with the mad dog?
Explain in detail, indicating how they change
their understanding of their father. Is the
mad-dog a symbol of some Maycomb citizens?
What does the visit to the Negro church teach
Scout and Jem about black people in Maycomb?
How is their culture different from the culture
of white people the children know? How are
the two connected?

At the novel s end, Scout says of Boo Radley,
"...neighbors give in return. We never put back
into the tree what we took out of it we had
given him nothing, and it made me sad" (p. 320).
Is Scout right, that they gave nothing in return?
Does this comment come from the adult-Scout
narrator or the child-Scout narrator?

I 4 * THE BIG READ National Endowment for the Arts

Teachers may consider the ways in which these activities may be linked to other Big Read
community events. Most of these projects could be shared at a local library, a student assembly,
or a bookstore.

1 . Invite your visual arts specialist to assist
students. Draw a portrait of a favorite
character in To Kill a Mockingbird. Other
students can draw maps of Maycomb or
illustrations of prominent buildings. Still
others can draw something that we are
never allowed to see in the novel: the inside
of Boo Radley's house. Team with a local
bookstore to display the visual art.

2. Parents' Night: Have students choose a
dramatic scene from the novel and draft a
script using Harper Lee's dialogue. Memorize
the lines. Before each presentation, have a
narrator explain the context of the scene.
Then, have students act out the scene. After
each scene, have a commentator explain why
the students chose that particular scene.

3. Ask students to prepare a speech by Boo
Radley. They should imagine what Boo might
want to say about the town where he was
raised — a subject on which he has been
completely silent. They should use their
imaginations, but also references to the novel.
Have students give their speeches at a local
bookstore or library.

4. Ask students to produce a scene in which
they put one of the characters of To Kill a
Mockingbird on trial. They can choose anyone
they like whom they think is guilty. They should
write the dialogue including characters who
testify. The scene can be produced at a student
assembly and include a discussion session
afterward.

5. Explore the historical period of the 1 930s
by creating posters that provide in-depth
information on what is happening in the
following artistic communities: music and jazz,
theater, visual arts, photography, and dance.
Display these posters in the school or
classroom.

National Endowment for the Arts

THE BIG READ • | 5

HANDOUT ONE

Biography: Harper Lee

Nelle Harper Lee was born on April 28, 1926, in
Monroeville, Alabama. Her father, Amasa
Coleman Lee, was a lawyer, newspaper editor, and
state senator during her formative years. Harper
Lee's childhood in a small Southern town decades
before the triumph of the Civil Rights movement
provided all the material she needed for her
celebrated, and only, novel, To Kill a Mockingbird.

Though narrated by a child, Mockingbird was not a
story Lee could have written without experience in
the larger adult world. She studied at Huntingdon
College, the University of Alabama (where she
never finished a law degree), and at Oxford
University in England. In 1950, she moved to
New York City, where she worked as an airline
reservation clerk. Convinced she had a story to tell
about her own magical childhood, she moved to a
cold-water apartment and, in earnest, took up the
life of a struggling writer.

In 1957, her attempt to publish the novel failed.
On the advice of an editor, she decided to turn
what was a manuscript of short stories into a
longer, more coherent narrative about the
Depression-era South. She gained valuable
inspiration when, in 1959, she traveled to Kansas
with childhood friend Truman Capote (the
inspiration for Dill in Mockingbird). There she
helped Capote research In Cold Blood, a novel
published to wide acclaim in 1 966.

To Kill a Mockingbird, finally published in 1960,
was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1 96 1 . The
following year the book was adapted as a movie
with an Academy Award-winning screenplay by
Horton Foote. Virtually overnight Lee became a
literary sensation. A resolution was passed in her
honor by the Alabama legislature in 1961, and in
1 966 she was named to the National Council of
the Arts by President Lyndon Johnson.

In the last 40 years, Lee has received numerous
honors, including several honorary university
degrees. Most recently she was awarded the Los
Angeles Public Library Literary Award in 2005.

Expectations notwithstanding, Lee has never
published another book. Her entire published
oeuvre consists of a brilliant novel and
miscellaneous articles, mostly from the 1 960s.

I 6 • THE BIG READ

National Endowment for the Arts

HANDOUT TWO

The Great Depression

The 1 929 stock market crash set into motion a
series of events, plunging America into its greatest
economic depression. By 1933, the country's gross
national product had been nearly cut in half, and
16 million Americans were unemployed. Not until
1 937 did the New Deal policies of President
Franklin Roosevelt temper the catastrophe. This
economic down-turn did not end until massive
investment in national defense demanded by
World War II.

The causes of the Depression were many, and still
debated. High-spending in the 1 920s created a gap
preventing working class people from increasing
their incomes. The trade policies of earlier
administrations increased the cost of American
goods abroad. Lines of credit were overextended,
which fueled speculation on Wall Street. The crash
that occurred on October 24, 1929 ("Black
Thursday"), soon spread across the world, ruining
European economies not fully recovered from
World War I.

American writers and artists depicted the
devastation in prose and pictures. John Steinbeck
immortalized the plight of Oklahoma tenant
farmers fleeing the Dust Bowl in The Grapes of
Wrath (1939). James Agee's Let Us Now Praise
Famous Men ( 1 94 1 ) used the grim but dignified
photographs of Walker Evans to illustrate the
catastrophe in rural areas. Photographer Dorothea
Lange, employed by the Farm Security
Administration, documented in magazines and
newspapers nationwide the reality that confronted
American farmers.

Harper Lee experienced the Great Depression as a
child in Monroeville, Alabama, and used her
memory of it in To Kill a Mockingbird. "Maycomb
county," she writes, "had recently been told that it
had nothing to fear but fear itself" (p. 6), a
reference to a famous speech by President
Roosevelt. Walter Cunninghams father refused a
WPA (Works Progress Administration) job, fearing
what would come of his independence if he went
on relief. And Bob Ewell, as Scout tells us, was "the
only man I ever heard of who was fired from the
WPA for laziness" (p. 284).

National Endowment for the Arts

THE BIG READ • | 7

HANDOUT THREE

The Civil Rights Movement

Civil rights are something most Americans take for
granted today. But millions of Americans were long
denied fundamental democratic rights: voting,
freedom of movement, due process, and equal
protection under the law. At the end of the
Civil War, the U.S. government began passing
constitutional amendments and civil rights
legislation on everything from voting rights to the
right to own property and appear in court. The civil
rights movement in America really began as
a newly freed African-American population
demanded rights.

Well-intentioned federal law was obscured by the
failure of Reconstruction in the 1870s. Southern
states passed a variety of "Jim Crow" laws
enforcing racial segregation in education, housing,
transportation, and public facilities. Marriage
between blacks and whites was forbidden. For
almost 90 years following Reconstruction, poll taxes
and literacy tests made voting all but impossible for
African Americans.

A forceful, non-violent movement opposed Jim
Crow. In 1909, W.E.B. Dubois co-founded the
National Association for the Advancement of
Colored People (NAACP), leading the 20th-
century civil rights struggle. With opposition from
the Ku Klux Klan, the civil rights movement
struggled through the 1 920s and 1 930s, marred by
race riots and lynching. Between 1 882 and 1 968,
some 300 blacks were lynched in Alabama alone.

Slowly, the federal government and the courts
endorsed the lead of the NAACP and other
organizations. In 1954 the Supreme Court, in
Brown v. Board of Education, ruled that "separate
but equal" school facilities were unconstitutional,
ordering integration in public schools. The next
year Rosa Parks refused to give up her bus seat to a
white person, leading to the Montgomery Bus
Boycott. In the decade that followed, under the
spiritual and political leadership of Martin Luther
King, Jr., the movement for civil rights expanded,
even if the path was hard and bloody. With the
Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of
1965, and the Civil Rights Act of 1968, the civil
rights of ^//Americans were established by law.

I 8 * THE BIG READ

National Endowment for the Arts

Printed Resources

Bloom, Harold, editor. Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird
Bloom's Modern Critical Interpretations. (New York: Chelsea
House, 1996).

Childress, Mark. "Looking for Harper Lee." Southern Living
(May 1 997). pp. 148-50.

Erisman, Fred. "The Romantic Regionalism of Harper Lee."
Alabama Review, No. 26, (April, 1 973). pp. 1 22- 1 36.

Going, William T. "Truman Capote: Harper Lee's Fictional
Portrait of the Artist as an Alabama Child." Alabama Review,
Vol. 42, No. 2. pp. 136-149.

Johnson, Claudia Durst. UnderstandingTo Kill a Mockingbird:
A Student Casebook. (New York: Greenwood, 1994).

Johnson, Claudia Durst. To Kill a Mockingbird: Threatening
Boundaries. (New York: Twayne Publishers, 1994).

Shields, Charles J. Mockingbird: A Portrait of Harper Lee. (New
York: Henry Holt, 2006).

Web sites

http://www.chebucto.ns.ca/Culture/HarperLee/
A site that deals with every facet of Lee and her novel,
including a biography, bibliography, and little known facts
about her life and career.

http://www.lausd.k 1 2.ca.us/Belmont_HS/tkm/
A very detailed guide for student and teacher on idioms,
vocabulary, and allusions in the novel. It was assembled by
a high school teacher in Los Angeles.

http://library.advanced.org/l2l I 1/

A compendium of exercises, study tools, and links for both
the novel and the film, the site is very useful but somewhat
out of date.

National Endowment for the Arts

THE BIG READ • | 9

National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) Standards*

1 . Students read a wide range of print and non-
print texts to build an understanding of texts,
of themselves, and of the cultures of the United
States and the world; to acquire new
information; to respond to the needs and
demands of society and the workplace; and for
personal fulfillment.Among these texts are
fiction and nonfiction, classic and contemporary
works.

2. Students read a wide range of literature from
many periods in many genres to build an
understanding of the many dimensions (e.g.,
philosophical, ethical, aesthetic) of human
experience.

3. Students apply a wide range of strategies to
comprehend, interpret, evaluate, and appreciate
texts.They draw on their prior experience,
their interactions with other readers and
writers, their knowledge of word meaning and
of other texts, their word identification
strategies, and their understanding of textual
features (e.g., sound-letter correspondence,
sentence structure, context, graphics).

4. Students adjust their use of spoken, written,
and visual language (e.g., conventions, style,
vocabulary) to communicate effectively with a
variety of audiences and for different purposes.

5. Students employ a wide range of strategies as
they write and use different writing process
elements appropriately to communicate with
different audiences for a variety of purposes.

6. Students apply knowledge of language structure,
language conventions (e.g., spelling and
punctuation), media techniques, figurative
language, and genre to create, critique, and
discuss print and non-print texts.

7. Students conduct research on issues and
interests by generating ideas and questions, and
by posing problems.They gather, evaluate, and
synthesize data from a variety of sources (e.g.,
print and non-print texts, artifacts, people) to
communicate their discoveries in ways that suit
their purpose and audience.

8. Students use a variety of technological and
information resources (e.g., libraries, databases,
computer networks, video) to gather and
synthesize information and to create and
communicate knowledge.

9. Students develop an understanding of and
respect for diversity in language use, patterns,
and dialects across cultures, ethnic groups,
geographic regions, and social roles.

1 0. Students whose first language is not English
make use of their first language to develop
competency in the English language arts and to
develop understanding of content across the
curriculum.

I 1 . Students participate as knowledgeable,

reflective, creative, and critical members of a
variety of literacy communities.

1 2. Students use spoken, written, and visual
language to accomplish their own purposes
(e.g., for learning, enjoyment, persuasion, and
the exchange of information).

*This guide was developed with NCTE Standards and State Language Arts Standards in mind. Use these standards to guide and develop
your application of the curriculum.

20 * THE BIG READ

National Endowment for the Arts

>

J

"There is one way in this country in which all
men are created equal — there is one human
institution that makes a pauper the equal of

a Rockefeller, the stupid man the equal of
an Einstein, and the ignorant man the equal

of any college president. That institution,

gentlemen, is a court. It can be the Supreme

Court of the United States or the humblest

J. P. court in the land, or this honorable court

which you serve. Our courts have their faults,

as does any human institution, but in this

country our courts are great levelers, and in

our courts all men are created equal."

— from To Kill a Mockingbird

The one thing that
doesn't abide by
majority rule is a
person's conscience

— from To Kill a Mockingbird

m I

i ■

N AT I O N A L
ENDOWMENT
FOR THE ARTS

« ■ ™

77^ 5/g- /fo&/ if #« initiative of the National Endowment
for the Arts designed to restore reading to the center of
American culture. The NEA presents The Big Read in
partnership with the Institute of Museum and Library
Services and in cooperation with Arts Midwest. The Big
Read brings together partners across the country to
encourage reading for pleasure and enlightenment.

■rt* ..INSTITUTE of , ..

•—.•••.. Museum,, library

• -••• SERVICES

A great nation deserves great art.

The Big Read for military communities is made possible by