Students explore human nature through the story of a young white girl facing the harsh realities of racial injustice in the Jim Crow south.
Students will begin their year-long study of human nature by reading To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee. This Pulitzer Prize–winning novel tells the story of a young white girl’s growing awareness of racial injustice in the Jim Crow South. When protagonist Scout’s father takes on the task of representing a black man falsely accused of raping a white woman, Scout is forced to face the individual and systemic racism present in her small town and the impact of racial prejudice on the lives of all members of the community. This text pushes students to face an uncomfortable past, consider the ways that many of the book’s themes continue to resonate today, and think about how its warnings and lessons should inform the way we move toward the future.
While the majority of lessons in this unit focus on the core text, students will begin the unit by building a very basic contextual understanding of the time period and setting of the text. Additionally, one day is reserved to discuss the book’s use of the N-word, and students will read an article about the use of that word within a contemporary context. The majority of the nonfiction texts students will read are part of writing tasks, which address issues raised by To Kill a Mockingbird in a more contemporary context.
As the first text of the year, this unit primarily focuses on the first four literature standards. Authentic practice with these standards will provide students with a foundation as the year progresses and they begin to work with other standards (and continue to circle back to these).
In the writing tasks in this first unit, students will begin to develop skills in three different types of writing: analytical, informational, and argumentative. Although these three writing styles require students to think and write in different ways, the skills they develop in each task are transferable to the next. The aim of this unit is to provide students with an introduction to three major forms of non-narrative writing, with a focus on collecting quality evidence from a variety of sources to support ideas.
In the first task, students will write a short literary analysis. This task is very close to what students are asked to write every day during their target task writing. It will, therefore, be an opportunity for teachers to provide careful feedback on students’ ability to develop clear claim statements, select the best evidence, and write compelling analysis. The second task is an informational writing task in which students will begin to develop their research skills by pulling information from multiple nonfiction texts in order to write a coherent, informative article on the existence of racial bias in the application of capital punishment. In this task, students will focus on providing different types of information in their writing, including statistics, examples, and quotations, and focus on providing an unbiased account of the issue. In the final task, students will write an argumentative letter in which they will have to provide background on an issue—the debate over whether or not To Kill a Mockingbird should continue to be taught in schools—and then take a clear position. Students will implement research skills developed in the second task, as well as analytical skills developed in the first task. Additionally, these writing tasks provide students the opportunity to dive into a number of nonfiction texts that will supplement their understanding of To Kill a Mockingbird, particularly the ways in which the issues raised in this text continue to resonate today.
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Book: To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (Grand Central Publishing, 1960) — 870L
Website: 1933 Inaugural Address Curriculum Hub (Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum)
Movie: To Kill a Mockingbird
Video: “Understanding Jim Crow (Setting the Setting)” by Facing History and Ourselves
Article: “In Defense of a Loaded Word” by Ta-Nehisi Coates (The New York Times)
Website: NAACP Death Penalty Fact Sheet (NAACP)
Article: “Racism and the Execution Chamber” by Matt Ford (The Atlantic)
Website: The Persistent Problem of Racial Disparities In The Federal Death Penalty (ACLU)
Article: “Race and the Death Penalty by the Numbers” by Aura Bogado (ColorLines)
Article: “Washington State Strikes Down Death Penalty, Citing Racial Bias” by Merrit Kennedy (NPR)
Website: Race and the Death Penalty (ACLU)
Website: Early History of the Death Penalty (Death Penalty Information Center)
Article: “Duluth Teachers, District Grapple with How to Move on from 'Mockingbird'” by Dan Kraker (MPRnews.org)
Article: “Despite 'Discomfort,' Many Teachers Still Teach To Kill a Mockingbird. Here's Why” by Madeline Will (Education Week Teacher)
Article: “Why Schools Shouldn’t Stop Teaching 'To Kill a Mockingbird' because of the N-Word” by Megan G. Oprea (The Federalist)
Article: “No, To Kill a Mockingbird Should Not be Taught in 2018” by Andray Domise (The Globe and Mail)
Article: “Forget Atticus: Why We Should Stop Teaching 'To Kill a Mockingbird'” by Will Menarndt (The Establishment)
Assessment Text: “The Man in the Well” by Ira Sher (CommonLit.org)
See Text Selection Rationale
This assessment accompanies Unit 6 and should be given on the suggested assessment day or after completing the unit.
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“Understanding Jim Crow”
RI.8.1
Define Jim Crow, explain its impact on the lives of white and black Americans, and describe how it was maintained within the social order.
TKAM — chapter 1
1933 Inaugural...
RL.8.4
Explain how author Harper Lee uses figurative language to establish mood and setting in the first chapter of To Kill a Mockingbird.
TKAM — chapters 2 and 3
RL.8.3
Explain how specific events and lines of text reveal aspects of characters in To Kill a Mockingbird.
“In Defense of a Loaded Word”
RI.8.6
Explain Ta-Nehisi Coates’s point of view on the use of the N-word and his response to conflicting viewpoints.
TKAM — chapters 4 and 5
RL.8.3
Explain how specific events and lines of text reveal aspects of characters and develop the plot in To Kill a Mockingbird.
TKAM — chapter 6
TKAM Movie — 00:24:20–00:33:13
RL.8.4
RL.8.7
Identify changes made by the director of the film To Kill a Mockingbird by comparing a scene from the text with the film version, and explain how the director uses specific film techniques to develop mood.
TKAM — chapters 7 and 8
RL.8.3
Identify specific incidents and lines of text that reveal aspects of characters and develop the plot in To Kill a Mockingbird.
TKAM — chapter 9
RL.8.3
RL.8.4
Draw conclusions about Atticus based on specific lines of dialogue by paying close attention to the connotations of words and phrases he uses.
TKAM — chapters 10 and 11
RL.8.3
Explain how specific events and lines of dialogue in To Kill a Mockingbird reveal aspects of characters and cause a change in perspective.
Literary Analysis Writing
TKAM — chapters 1-10
RL.8.9
W.8.1
W.8.1.a
Gather evidence appropriate to the prompt and draft a strong thesis statement.
Literary Analysis Writing
TKAM — chapters 1-10
W.8.1
W.8.1.b
Write two body paragraphs, providing at least two pieces of strong evidence to demonstrate Atticus’s character and clearly explaining how this evidence aligns to the Golden Rule.
TKAM — chapters 12 and 13
RL.8.4
Explain how Harper Lee uses specific words and phrases in To Kill a Mockingbird to develop tone and create meaning.
TKAM — chapters 14 and 15
RL.8.3
Explain how specific incidents and lines of dialogue reveal aspects of characters and propel the action of To Kill a Mockingbird.
TKAM — chapter 15
TKAM Movie — 1:00:00–1:07:55
RL.8.7
Analyze the extent to which the filmmakers have stayed faithful to or departed from the original text of To Kill a Mockingbird by comparing and contrasting text and film.
TKAM — chapters 16 and 17
RL.8.1
RL.8.2
Summarize the events described in Heck Tate’s and Bob Ewell’s testimony.
TKAM — chapter 18
RL.8.3
RL.8.4
Explain how Harper Lee uses specific words, phrases, and lines of text to reveal aspects of Mayella Ewell’s character.
TKAM — chapter 19
RL.8.3
Explain how Harper Lee uses specific lines of text to reveal aspects of characters, as well as racial dynamics within Maycomb.
TKAM — chapters 20 and 21
RL.8.4
RL.8.9
Explain the impact of Atticus’s word choice and references to historic texts in the development of meaning in his closing argument.
TKAM — chapter 20
TKAM Movie — 01:32:25–01:42:48
RL.8.7
Analyze the extent to which the filmmakers have stayed faithful to or departed from the original text of To Kill a Mockingbird by comparing and contrasting text and film.
Informative Writing
NAACP Fact Sheet
“Racism and...”
The Persistent ...
“... By the Numbers”
“Washington State...”
Race and...
History of...
W.8.2
W.8.2.b
Gather evidence relevant to the topic.
Informative Writing
NAACP Fact Sheet
“Racism and...”
The Persistent ...
“... By the Numbers”
“Washington State...”
Race and...
History of...
W.8.2
W.8.2.a
W.8.2.b
W.8.8
Draft body paragraphs and appropriately cite sources.
Informative Writing
NAACP Fact Sheet
“Racism and...”
The Persistent ...
“... By the Numbers”
“Washington State...”
Race and...
History of...
W.8.2
W.8.2.a
W.8.2.f
Write introductory and concluding statements that frame the article.
TKAM — chapters 22 and 23
RL.8.4
L.8.5
Interpret figurative language and explain how Lee uses it to create meaning in To Kill a Mockingbird.
TKAM — chapters 24 and 25
RL.8.3
Explain how specific incidents and lines of text reveal aspects of characters in To Kill a Mockingbird or cause them to change.
TKAM — chapters 26 and 27
RL.8.3
Explain how Harper Lee uses specific lines of text to reveal aspects of characters, as well as racial dynamics within Maycomb.
TKAM — chapter 28
RL.8.4
Explain how Harper Lee uses word choice and literary devices to develop tone and establish a suspenseful mood.
TKAM — chapter 28
TKAM Movie — 1:53:00–1:57:50
RL.8.7
Analyze the extent to which the filmmakers have stayed faithful to or departed from the original text of To Kill a Mockingbird by comparing and contrasting text and film.
TKAM — chapters 29–31
RL.8.3
Explain how Harper Lee uses specific incidents and lines of text to reveal aspects of characters.
TKAM — whole text
RL.8.2
Determine themes from To Kill a Mockingbird and explain how Harper Lee uses specific characters to develop them over the course of the text.
Socratic Seminar
TKAM
Socratic Seminar Guide
SL.8.1
SL.8.1.a
Take a clear position on questions and support those positions with appropriate textual evidence and thoughtful analysis.
Literary Analysis Writing
“Duluth...”
“Despite 'Discomfort'...”
“Why Schools...”
“No, To Kill a...”
“Forget...”
W.8.1
W.8.1.b
Explain the expectations of the writing task and begin to delineate arguments and gather evidence from both sides of the debate.
Literary Analysis Writing
“Duluth...”
“Despite 'Discomfort'...”
“Why Schools...”
“No, To Kill a...”
“Forget...”
W.8.1
W.8.1.a
Develop strong claim statements, including a counterclaim, and continue to draft body paragraphs.
Literary Analysis Writing
“Duluth...”
“Despite 'Discomfort'...”
“Why Schools...”
“No, To Kill a...”
“Forget...”
W.8.1
W.8.1.a
W.8.1.e
Complete a full draft of a letter, including a logical introduction and concluding paragraph.
Literary Analysis Writing
“Duluth...”
“Despite 'Discomfort'...”
“Why Schools...”
“No, To Kill a...”
“Forget...”
W.8.1
W.8.5
Provide meaningful feedback to peers and incorporate peer feedback into own writing.
2 days
Assessment
“The Man in the Well” — paragraphs 1-19