Seeking Justice: To Kill a Mockingbird (2020)

Lesson 30
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ELA

Unit 7

8th Grade

Lesson 30 of 35

Objective


Take a clear position on questions and support those positions with appropriate textual evidence and thoughtful analysis.

Readings and Materials


  • Book: To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee 

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Key Questions


  • Are humans inherently good or inherently evil? What drives people to commit evil?
  • How does Scout change over the course of the text? What events are most important in her character’s development?
  • Who is the hero of this text?
  • Is justice served in To Kill a Mockingbird?
  • Is To Kill a Mockingbird still relevant today? Is this book worthwhile for students to be reading in schools?
  • In what ways are people categorized in To Kill a Mockingbird? How do these categories limit individuals?
  • What is Harper Lee’s message about race and prejudice?
  • How would this text be different if it were told from the perspective of a black narrator?

Lesson Guidance


Pre-Seminar Teacher Prep:

  • Print out and post sentence starter posters.*
  • Determine groups/jobs and how you will communicate these to students.
  • Prepare teacher-tracker.*
  • Decide how students will be graded for the seminar and develop the rubric you will use.*
  • Print out student packets, if using.*
  • Think through logistics: How will students move through the classroom? How will desks be arranged? How will you make sure students understand the expectations and logistics of the seminar?

Day of Seminar:

  • Set seminar ground rules with students or ask them to develop their own as a group.*
  • Provide students with the rubric you will be using to grade their participation (this can also be provided during the prep day). Ask students to explain the difference between exemplary, satisfactory, and unsatisfactory participation.
  • Explain logistics and flow of the block: what groups students will be in, how to move around the room, what will happen at each stage of the seminar, etc.
  • Begin the seminar.
  • Ask students to self-reflect after each round or at the conclusion of the seminar.*

*Examples/guidance provided in the Socratic Seminar Guide in the materials section of this lesson

Common Core Standards


  • SL.8.1 — Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 8 topics, texts, and issues, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly.
  • SL.8.1.a — Come to discussions prepared, having read or researched material under study; explicitly draw on that preparation by referring to evidence on the topic, text, or issue to probe and reflect on ideas under discussion.

Next

Explain the expectations of the writing task and begin to delineate arguments and gather evidence from both sides of the debate.

Lesson 31
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