To Kill a Mockingbird Background Research Challenge

In order to enhance your understanding of To Kill a Mockingbird, as well as other materials we will study, you need to have some additional knowledge about the author, the setting, and specific historical events that are relevant to the novel. For this Research Challenge assignment, each group will research and present information about one of six topics:

 Harper Lee’s Biography – Eventually you will be applying this information to draw parallels between the author and the narrator, Scout

 What was Jim Crow - Eventually you will be applying this information to see how Jim Crow is represented in and contributes to the novel

 Growing up in the South in the 1930’s - Expectations for children, typical pastimes, gender differences, etc., Monroeville Alabama – Eventually you will be applying this information to draw parallels between the real town of Monroeville and the fictional town of Maycomb

 The Scottsboro Trials – Eventually you will be applying this information to draw parallels between the Scottsboro case and Tom Robinson’s trial

 The Emmitt Till Murder and Trial - Eventually you will be applying this information to draw make connections between the Emmitt Till case, the events depicted in the novel, and the publication of the novel

 The Great Depression and the Dust Bowl – These events shaped the world view of the country. It touched every American. Explore the causes and effects of the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl and how it shaped the mindset of the nation.

Procedure:  First Day - Each group will be assigned a research topic from the list above. Individual group members will conduct research on the topic and coordinate HW “assignments”.  Second Day – Groups will conduct further research, discuss and synthesize individual findings and continue to prepare for the seminar.  Third Day – Seminar discussion of research findings! Each group will get about 15 minutes to present. Research notes, images and your MLA Works Cited must be submitted as seminar prep to Canvas before the seminar. You must also bring in a printout of your Canvas entry.

Guidelines:  Research: You must use at least two reliable Internet sources. You must cite all sources, including pictures. Suggested Internet resources are listed in this document. Use www.citationmachine.net to help you cite sources properly. This will be printed and handed in, as a group.  Seminar: Each member of the group must participate equally in the seminar. As part of your participation in the seminar, you may bring in visual aids (pictures, drawings, charts, and/or graphic organizers). If you wish to share visuals using Power Point or other software, you will need to bring these in on a thumb drive or upload them to Canvas. You

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Suggested Internet Resources:

Harper Lee –  Wikipedia is good place to contextualize, but it should not be your only source.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harper_Lee  http://www.encyclopediaofalabama.org/face/Article.jsp?id=h-1126

Growing Up in the South in the 1930’s –  Interview: Growing up black in McCulley Quarters http://fsd79.schoolwires.net/cms/lib/IL01001571/Centricity/Domain/262/Black%20in %201930s.pdf  Interview: Growing up white in the South in the 1930’s - http://resource2.rockyview.ab.ca/ela101/related_reads/TKAM/tkam_interview_growing_up_w hite.pdf  Monroeville Alabama – http://www.frontiernet.net/~mchm/

Jim Crow –  http://www.ferris.edu/news/jimcrow/what.htm  http://www.pbs.org/wnet/jimcrow/  https://www.pbs.org/wnet/jimcrow/segregation.html The Scottsboro Trials –  http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/FTrials/scottsboro/scottsb.htm  http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/scottsboro/

Emmitt Till Murder and Trial –  http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/till/  http://www.heroism.org/class/1950/heroes/till.htm

The Great Depression and the Dust Bowl  http://www.history.com/topics/great-depression  http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/timeline/rails-timeline/  http://www.history.com/topics/dust-bowl  http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/timeline/dustbowl/

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