What is the purpose of our WebQuest?: With any piece of literature, understanding the historical context of the novel can be just as important as the text itself. The information in this WebQuest will provide you with essential information about the social, political, and economic climate in the South during the 1930s, along with important author information and background. By providing you with this background knowledge, you will be able to better understand character motivation and action, author point of view, and the important messages within To Kill a Mockingbird.
TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD WEB QUEST
Directions: Research the following websites for each category and answer the questions below in complete sentences.
THE SCOTTSBORO BOYS TRIAL
THE SCOTTSBORO TRIALS
LINK 1: The Scottsboro Boys http://famous-trials.com/scottsboroboys
- Read about the Famous American Trials, "The Scotsboro Trials." Begin reading the article on the bottom of the webpage and hit "cont." to continue onto the next page.
- Answer the questions below in complete sentences
- Be sure to click on links (blue) for full descriptions
1. a. What were The Scottsboro Boys known for? Who were they? What did they do? How did they get in so much trouble?
b. The Scottsboro Boys’ attorneys were extremely incompetent. How did the defense attorneys show their lack of experience?
c. Were The Scottsboro Boys ever pardoned of their wrongful convictions?
d. Define hoboing
d. Define hoboing
2. Who is Haywood Patterson?
3. What started the altercation between the black and white youths?
4. Who is Orville Gilley?
5. Nine African Americans made up the Scottsboro Boys, who are they?
6. Who are the two girls that said a gang of twelve blacks with pistols and knives raped them?
7. Do you feel the boys received a fair trial? Why or why not? Be sure to explain your answer.
8. Who is Harry Emerson and what did he influence Bates to do?
9. What is your overall opinion of what these boys had to experience? Be sure to explain.
HARPER LEE
Bio Link 1:
Bio Link 2:
10. Who is Harper Lee?
11. What work is she most famous for writing?
12. To Kill a Mockingbird won what award?
13. Harper Lee is a descendant of whom?
14. Who were the characters Finch and Dill based on?
JIM CROW
History of the Jim Crow Laws
15. Where did the term, “Jim Crow,” originate from?16. After the year 1900, what did the term, “Jim Crow,” become identified with?
17. What Supreme Court case upheld segregation, or “separate but equal?”
18. Who was Booker T. Washington? What was his stance on the segregation debates?
19. What was Jim Crow?
20. Stetson Kennedy, the author of Jim Crow Guide, offered seven simple rules for Blacks to follow. Name all seven.
21. Give an example of a Jim Crow sign.
22. What is lynching?
23. What are lynch mobs?
THE GREAT DEPRESSION
There is nothing to complete in this section. We discussed this in OMM
PREJUDICE AND RACISM
http://archive.adl.org/hate-patrol/racism.html#.U0Krb6hdXVo
http://www.apa.org/pi/oema/resources/brochures/participation.aspx?item=1
http://archive.adl.org/hate-patrol/racism.html#.U0Krb6hdXVo
http://www.apa.org/pi/oema/resources/brochures/participation.aspx?item=1
http://archive.adl.org/hate-patrol/racism.html#.U0Krb6hdXVo
34. Define prejudice.
35. What is stereotyping and provide an example?
36. What is race and provide an example?
37. Do people still display acts of prejudice or racism today? Use an example to explain your answer.
38. Name five things you can do to fight prejudice and racism.
38. Name five groups that are currently trying to end prejudice.
40. Will we ever become a society that is free from judging others? Why or why
not?
Macomb Map
LINK 1:– Maycomb County Map
41. Based on the Maycomb County map, the Finch’s live next door to whom?
42. Whose house is the school behind?
Part II
Part II
PRE-READINGS AND QUESTIONS
Please provide short, simple answers:
A. How important are parents in shaping their children’s values and beliefs?
B. What is the role of the community in shaping young people’s values and beliefs?
C. How can we ensure that people are treated equally even though they differ in race, wealth, religion, etc.?
D. How fair is our country’s justice system?
E. What makes people good or bad?
F. What do you remember about being in first through third grade?
G. What was important during that time?
Review info: (Please read the following information)
Review info: (Please read the following information)
COMPARE & CONTRAST
1930s: During the Great Depression, unemployment rose as high as 25%; the New Deal program of government-sponsored relief leads to a deficit in the federal budget.
1960: After a decade of record-high American production and exports, unemployment dips to less than 5 percent, while the federal government runs a small surplus.
Today: Unemployment runs between 5 and 6 percent, while the federal government works to reduce a multi-billion dollar deficit amidst an increasingly competitive global economy.
1960: After a decade of record-high American production and exports, unemployment dips to less than 5 percent, while the federal government runs a small surplus.
Today: Unemployment runs between 5 and 6 percent, while the federal government works to reduce a multi-billion dollar deficit amidst an increasingly competitive global economy.
1930s: Schools are racially segregated; emphasis in the classroom was on rote learning of the basics.
1960: Although backed up by force at times, school integration laws were being enforced; the 1959 launch of the Soviet satellite Sputnik leads to math and science gaining increased importance.
Today: School populations are as racially diverse as their communities; classes include a focus on combining subjects and problem-solving skills.
1960: Although backed up by force at times, school integration laws were being enforced; the 1959 launch of the Soviet satellite Sputnik leads to math and science gaining increased importance.
Today: School populations are as racially diverse as their communities; classes include a focus on combining subjects and problem-solving skills.
1930s: Only property owners who were white and male could serve on juries.
1960: Women and minorities could now serve on juries; while the Supreme Court ruled that eliminating jurors from duty on the basis of race is unconstitutional, many trials still exclude blacks and Hispanics.
Today: All registered voters are eligible to serve on juries, although in many cases prosecution and defense teams aim to create a Jury with a racial balance favorable to their side.
1960: Women and minorities could now serve on juries; while the Supreme Court ruled that eliminating jurors from duty on the basis of race is unconstitutional, many trials still exclude blacks and Hispanics.
Today: All registered voters are eligible to serve on juries, although in many cases prosecution and defense teams aim to create a Jury with a racial balance favorable to their side.
1930s: A big trial serves as a entertainment event for the whole town and a child who has been to the movies is unusual.
1960: Television was becoming the dominant form of popular entertainment, while families might see films together at drive-in movie theaters.
Today: Although television and film are still large presences, computers and computer games swiftly gain a share in the entertainment market. Trials still provide public entertainment and are featured on their own cable channel.
1960: Television was becoming the dominant form of popular entertainment, while families might see films together at drive-in movie theaters.
Today: Although television and film are still large presences, computers and computer games swiftly gain a share in the entertainment market. Trials still provide public entertainment and are featured on their own cable channel.
CC.1.2.9-10.A: Determine a central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text, including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details; provide an objective summary of the text.
CC.1.2.9-10.A: Determine a central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text, including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details; provide an objective summary of the text.
