Seeking Justice: To Kill a Mockingbird (2020)

Lesson 29
icon/ela/white

ELA

Unit 6

8th Grade

Lesson 29 of 35

Objective


Determine themes from To Kill a Mockingbird and explain how Harper Lee uses specific characters to develop them over the course of the text.

Readings and Materials


  • Book: To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee  — whole text

Fishtank Plus

Unlock features to optimize your prep time, plan engaging lessons, and monitor student progress.

Target Task


Writing Prompt

What theme does Harper Lee develop about good and evil/human nature? What characters in the text help to develop this theme? Provide at least two examples from the text and explain how they develop this theme.

Sample Response

Create a free account or sign in to view Sample Response

Key Questions


  • Make a list of at least four thematic topics addressed in this text.
  • What theme does Harper Lee develop about the relationship between parents and children?
  • How does Atticus’s behavior toward his children help to develop this theme? Provide at least two examples from the text that demonstrate this theme.
  • Discussion: What is the most valuable lesson that you have taken from To Kill a Mockingbird? What has it taught you about the way the world works?

Lesson Guidance


Standard and Literary Concepts

  • When talking about how an idea is developed over the course of a text, students must be able to identify multiple places in the text where this idea is explored.
  • Thematic Topic: One- or two-word phrase that describes the overarching topic of a text or section of text. One way of thinking about thematic topic is thinking about what the central character learns an important lesson about. They are big concepts/ideas like Love, Relationships, Family, Growing Up, and Loss. (Not to be confused with theme!)
    • Some thematic topics in To Kill a Mockingbird: Good and evil, social inequality, racism, justice/injustice, community, family, parent/child relationships, morality
  • Theme: Theme is the author’s message in the text about the way the world works or what it means to be human. A text can have many themes, although usually authors put their energy into communicating a few big themes.
    • Themes are messages that can be applied to real life, not just a text.
    • Themes are expressed as complete sentences.
    • Themes do not include characters’ names.
    • Themes generally do not include “you” or “should.” (This structure is commonly used in a story with a moral, which a theme is not.)
    • Themes must be supported by multiple pieces of evidence from the text.
    • Themes are generally developed through character words, actions, and beliefs, and/or significant plot events.

Notes

  • Developing strong theme statements can be tricky. One way to ensure that students understand what differentiates strong thesis statements from weaker ones is to use show-call and have students assess the work of an almost-there example for key question and target task.

Homework

  • Prepare for tomorrow’s Socratic Seminar.

Common Core Standards


  • RL.8.2 — Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text, including its relationship to the characters, setting, and plot; provide an objective summary of the text.
icon/arrow/right/large copy

Lesson 28

icon/arrow/right/large

Lesson 30

Lesson Map

A7CB09C2-D12F-4F55-80DB-37298FF0A765

Request a Demo

See all of the features of Fishtank in action and begin the conversation about adoption.

Learn more about Fishtank Learning School Adoption.

Contact Information

School Information

What courses are you interested in?

ELA

Math

Are you interested in onboarding professional learning for your teachers and instructional leaders?

Yes

No

Any other information you would like to provide about your school?

Effective Instruction Made Easy

Effective Instruction Made Easy

Access rigorous, relevant, and adaptable ELA lesson plans for free