1. To Kill a Mockingbird Mentor Text
A brief look at the background, characters, themes, criticisms and controversy surrounding one of the most popular novels of all time.

2. Pulitzer Prize Winning Author
Harper Lee
Pulitzer Prize Winning Author
“We can all benefit from more compassion, more empathy, more understanding.”

3. About the author… A short biography –
Handout provided
To Kill a Mockingbird was loosely based on her experiences in her hometown of Monroeville, Alabama

4. Setting Maycomb, Alabama (fictional town) Early 1930’s
The Great Depression (see handout)
Civil Rights Movement (see handout)

5. “Maycomb, Alabama” – view of the Finch’s street
Screenshot from the motion picture To Kill a Mockingbird

6. Your turn!
In groups, you will be responsible to complete a KWL chart for either The Great Depression or The Civil Rights Movement (teacher will assign topic). Topic handouts will be provided
It is your responsibility to fill out your own chart (each group member needs their own)
Determine who is going to present your findings to the class (can be 1-2 people)
During presentations, take notes on your KWL chart (filling in the “learned” section), especially for the topic you did not work on.

7. In your words Think-Pair-Share!
What do you know so far about the setting of To Kill a Mockingbird ?
Be prepared to share with the class.

8. The setting of To Kill a Mockingbird
To Kill a Mockingbird takes place in the “tired old town” of Maycomb, in southern Alabama, modeled on Lee’s hometown, Monroeville. The novel spans three years of the Great Depression. Due to the era and the sense of racial inequalities and social injustice, the novel depicts a restless and sometimes violent movement towards a better future. (read passage, p. 6)

9. Narrative Point of View
Scout (Jean Louise) Finch
First person
She is almost 6 years old when the story begins
Told as a flashback, but with adult perspective
Reliable narrator?
How do children tell a story/see the world? We must keep this in mind as the reader

10. Plot Summary The book is divided into to parts (One and Two).
Part One is referred to as “the Boo Radley plot”
Part Two is referred to as the trial
The general population and critics tend to focus more on the trial (whereas I have always been more interested in the Boo Radley/coming of age part of the story).
Plot Summary :

11. Controversy
To Kill a Mockingbird is on the list of 100 most banned books and yet it is considered classic literature – as we know, there are frequently two sides to every story (and the truth generally lies somewhere in between).

12. What’s the big idea? In groups of 3-4, read the two articles provided.
After reading, discuss reasons given for and against the reading of Mockingbird in schools.
Record your findings on the chart paper provided and be prepared to briefly present to the class.

13. What is the problem?
There is a lot of debate as to whether or not TKAM should be taught in schools. Some of this debate stems from the use of the N-word; some argue a privileged white woman’s perspective on racism and injustice is invalid and skewed. Others are opposed to the stereotypes presented in the novel – specifically in the characters of Atticus Finch and Tom Robinson.

14. Why we continue to read it…
It allows us to see for ourselves what is considered to be a “classic” novel, and to analyze and discuss what makes it so
It gives us details on a particular time and place in American history
It teaches us lessons such as putting oneself into another’s shoes, trying to protect the innocent, and how to mature in the face of adversity
It allows us the opportunity to discuss perspective and background knowledge as it relates to an author, time, place, and socio-political climate

15. When you read…
There are several things we need to keep in mind when reading anything (newspaper, novel, play, Facebook, Twitter, etc.):
Who is doing the writing?
For whom are they writing (intended audience)?
What is their purpose (inform, entertain, persuade, etc.)?
When they wrote (time period, their age, historical context, etc.)

16. In addition
We also need to consider how our life experience, age, race, gender, socio- economic status, etc. affect the way we read. What do we bring to our view/understanding of the piece?
All of this and so much more play a role in reading, viewing and understanding text and we need to make sure we are critical thinkers as we read.

17. In the news: Oprah/Jay Z discussing the N-word
Jay-Z-on-the-N-word-Video
Justin Beiber telling racist joke/Canadians don’t understand the word (The View)
E4Wq1Uko
Canadian morning show re: N-word in Canada

18. Themes Racism (Tom Robinson, Calpurnia, black community)
Justice (Tom Robinson, Atticus, the Ewells, the townspeople)
Social division (black community, the “good poor” and the “bad poor”)
Moral education (Atticus re: Scout, Jem and maybe Dill)
Loss of innocence (Scout, Jem, Dill, Tom Robinson, Boo Radley, Mayella Ewell)
Co-existence of good and evil (Atticus, Boo Radley, the Ewells)
-gothic imagery motif vs. small town motif

19. Symbolism - mockingbirds
There is a literal reference to mockingbirds a few different times in the novel, as when Atticus buys the children air rifles and refuses to teach them how to shoot:
“I’d rather you shoot at tin cans in the backyard, but I know you’ll go after birds. Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit ‘em, but remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.” (Atticus, page 119)

20. Mockingbirds, continued…
As To Kill A Mockingbird is the title of our book, we can logically infer that the significance of mockingbirds is beyond the literal.
As their neighbour, Miss Maudie, tells the kids, “Your father’s right…mockingbirds don’t do on thing but make music for us to enjoy. They don’t eat up 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.” (page 119)
In the novel, mockingbirds represent innocence, or sometimes weakness, and “shooting” one refers to destroying a character’s innocence or harming them in some way.

21. Mockingbird characters
“Shooting a mockingbird” can be intentional, or a by-product of losing one’s innocence through the natural process of growing up or encountering adversity and the realities of our world.
This list may not be comprehensive, but here are a few of the novel’s key “mockingbird” figures:
-Tom Robinson (society; the Ewells) -Scout (the trial; the townspeople; Bob Ewell)
-Boo Radley (townspeople; his father and brother) -Dill (the trial)
-Jem (the trial; the townspeople; Bob Ewell) Mayella Ewell (her father; the townspeople)

22. Character Development
We have a whole separate power point for this – let’s take a look!