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Summary for Lesson 1
In today’s lesson we began our study of To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. The powerpoint with all of the resources is attached below, which should be used to help the research assigned for homework. The powerpoint contains our work on the history and context of the novel, focusing particularly on the theme of racism and the way this permeates the fabric of the book. We discussed the sensitive nature of some of the themes and language used in the book, and spoke about Lee’s use of racial slurs and how to understand this language in context without helping to perpetuate the racist attitudes it illustrates. We considered the history of Black Americans, thinking about how a knowledge of the history and legacy of slavery, lynchings, the KKK, Jim Crow laws, the Great Depression and racial inequality can help us to fully understand the events of the novel. We thought about notions of censorship, discussing the debate around whether To Kill a Mockingbird should be taught in schools as a result of the racial slurs it uses, and considered why Harper Lee might have wanted to write this book. I was really impressed by everyone’s work today, and thought the class demonstrated fantastic maturity and sensitivity in handling a very delicate and emotional subject. The students all thought deeply about the traumatic impact of racism and the legacy it has had on the US’s history, and were able to apply this to the book beautifully, thinking about how the attitudes of 1960, when the book was published, are different to those we hold today. Really well done everyone, you were all fantastically intuitive in today’s class and should be really proud of your work! Good luck with your research and I’ll see you all next week! 🙂
Homework
P.S. Here are some useful links you can use to help you research Harper Lee:
The interview with Harper Lee: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/jul/13/interviewed-harper-lee-to-kill-a-mockingbird-sequel-go-set-a-watchman
An article about the sequel she published to the book: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/jul/11/atticus-finch-racist-go-set-watchman
More information about the context of the novel and race relations in the 20th century: https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/z3wcdmn/revision/1
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Hi Beth!
Thank you so much for the fantastic class. Attaches below I have my homework for To Kill a Mockingbird.
See you soon!
Alvin
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Summary for Lesson 2
In today’s lesson we continued our study of To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. The powerpoint with all of the resources is attached below, which should be used to help plan and write the paragraphs assigned for homework. The powerpoint contains our work on digging deeper into the style and form of the novel, thinking about the moral of the story, themes, author’s intent, and genre. The class worked fantastically today, identifying themes beautifully and thinking deeply about how Lee’s own life may have inspired her work on the story. They also dealt with the notion of genre fantastically, and were able to analyse, interpret and re-imagine the book through the lens of different genre conventions. We discussed three central genres that the book plays upon: Southern Gothic, courtroom drama and Bildungsroman, which the students were able to analyse brilliantly. Everyone worked really well today, we covered a huge amount of content and I was super impressed at their enthusiasm and imaginative takes on the novel. I really enjoyed hearing their thoughts on what genre they would re-write certain scenes in, and thought that their understanding of the semantic field of the novel was superb. You were excellent today everyone, really well done! I look forward to seeing you all next week, and in the meantime keep up the amazing work! 😊
Here is the video on Southern Gothic: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9VzRhVLxlGU
Homework
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Hi Beth,
Thank you for the lesson. Here is my homework :
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1fKRjGO3tACYILVpVPMELUwJpcdJGfh1ov4q4FBB4fwk/edit?usp=sharing
Thank you 😀
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Hi Beth,
Thanks for the wonderful class. Attached below I have my homework for lesson 2. See you soon! 🙂
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Summary for Lesson 3
In today’s lesson we concluded our study of To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. The powerpoint with all of the resources is attached below, which should be used to help plan and write the speeches assigned for homework. The powerpoint contains our work on some of the deeper and more complex ideas in Harper Lee’s writing, focusing on symbolism as a framework with which to understand the book. We looked at how important symbols are in this novel, focusing firstly on the eponymous mockingbird and then expanding out to understand how Lee elucidates her themes through the use of symbols and references. We then discussed the key notion of justice in the novel, thinking about how to relate this to historical events of the time and analysing judicial opinions from 1944 to give some context to how our own notions of what is just and unjust may be different from those at the time the book was set and written. Finally, the class discussed the question ‘ultimately, To Kill a Mockingbird illustrates the failure of justice, not the success of it’. They conducted this beautifully, with real passion and enthusiasm, and I was super impressed with all of their gorgeous work today and in the past few weeks! Really well done everyone, it has been an absolute joy working with you all and I have loved listening to all of your fascinating and invigorating opinions on this novel. Keep up the amazing work and I hope to see you all very soon! 😊
Here is the video on symbolism: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GR9VbSXxouM&t=2s
Here is the video on symbols in the novel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BzhAHrgppzY
Here is the video on the Scottsboro Affair: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_q4GG3iHGY
Homework
P.S. The speech from the lawyer I said you could read to help you with the homework is on page 215-220 of the PDF I have attached below (the one titled Teaching Mockingbird).
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Here are two poems you can read about the experience of being Black in America. The first one (Sympathy) was written in 1899 by Black American poet Laurence Dunbar. The second (I know why the caged bird sings) was written in response to Dunbar’s poem in 1983, almost one hundred years later, by Black American poet Maya Angelou. Think about this in relation to the bird imagery in the book, but also in relation to the themes of racism throughout.
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Dear Beth,
Thank you for the spectacular lesson! Thank you too for the extra resources! I have attached my homework below 🙂
Good luck on your test！😁💎🏡🎀✨
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