1. To Kill a Mockingbird Essential Questions DP Preparation: Written Assessment

2. Essential Questions How is your understanding of the text affected by the various historical, social, and cultural contexts of the novel? How does culture affect personal values?

3. Aims and Objectives Introduce students to a range of texts from different periods, styles, and genres Develop the students’ powers of expression, both in oral and written communication Encourage students to recognize the importance of the contexts in which texts are written and received Develop the students’ ability to form independent literary judgments and to support those ideas Diploma Program

4. Assessment Goal: – To produce an analytical literary essay on a topic generated by the student and developed from a topical free-write Assessment Requirements: – Written Assessment (1,200-1,500 words) – Written Discussion Reflection (300-400 words) Assessment Process: – Four stage process consisting of both oral and written tasks Written Assessment

5. Stage 1: Reflective Oral Discussion Stage 2: Written Discussion Reflection Stage 3: Topic Development Free-Write Stage 4: Written Essay Assessment Four Stage Process

6. The Reflective Oral Discussion is a focused class discussion in which all students and the teacher participate and contribute Each student should be responsible for initiating and contributing to part of the discussion Discussion may be structured in a variety of different ways, including small or large groups Stage 1: Reflective Oral Discussion

7. The Written Discussion Reflection is a short writing exercise and should be completed soon after completing the Reflective Oral Discussion Each student is asked to provide a personal reflection on the Reflective Oral Discussion The Reflective Oral Assessment is graded Stage 2: Written Discussion Reflection

8. Writing prompt for reflection is based upon the Reflective Oral Discussion and upon the Essential Question: How was your understanding of the historical, social, and cultural contexts of the novel developed through the Reflective Oral Discussion? Stage 2: Written Discussion Reflection

9. The Topic Development Free-Write is based on an answer to a prompt and is intended to elicit ideas for the final Written Assessment From these ideas developed in the free-write, the student develops an appropriate topic and sub-points for the final essay Students are required to respond to the Topic Development Free-Write during class time Stage 3: Topic Development Free-Write

10. Each student is required to produce an essay of 1,200–1,500 words in length on a literary aspect of the text, based on the ideas from the Topic Development Free-Write The essay is developed from the supervised writing completed in class, with the guidance of the teacher Stage 4: Written Essay Assessment

11. What is the historical, social, and cultural context of the novel? In small groups, you will choose an element of historical, social and/or cultural context and address the various aspects of that context within Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird Reflective Oral Discussion

12. In what ways do time and place matter to this text? What was easy to understand in relation to the historical, social and cultural context of the novel? What was difficult to understand? What connections did you find between issues in the text and your own culture(s) and experience(s)? Reflective Oral Discussion