Exploring Power Dynamics in To Kill a Mockingbird: Unit Plan

1. Examining The Concept of the “Culture of Power” Through To Kill a Mockingbird: A Unit Plan Joshua Farrish English Department Chair Plainfield High School Plainfield, CT

2. Unit Goals • To increase student engagement while reading the first • half of the To Kill a Mockingbird. • To use the novel to facilitate a discussion of the “culture • of power” and it’s effect on society • To make strong connections between the novel and my • students’ lives • To create and implement a diverse series of assessments • to accommodate students with varying learning styles. • To make my students more aware of the “rules and codes • or power” and how they will effect students lives.

3. Common Core Standards Addressed By This Unit: Priority Area 1: College and Career Anchor Standards for Reading: Literature Priority Area 2: College and Career Anchor Standards for Reading: Informational Text

4. Priority Area 3: College and Career Readiness Anchor Standards for Writing

5. Main Components of the Unit Note: This unit was designed to take 3-4 weeks of class time in a 90 minute block schedule • Daily Journals and discussion (approx 20 minutes per day) • Standards Addressed: Priority Area 3, Goal 3 • Town Map poster project (approx 1 week) • Standards Addressed: Priority Area 1, Standards 1-3. Priority Area 3, Goal 2 • Reflective Essays (approx 1 week) • Standards Addressed: Priority Area 3, Goals 1-3 • Homework Reading (approx 20 pages per night +study guide Qs) • Standards Addressed: Priority Area 1, Anchor standards 1+2 • Jim Crow internet research assignment (approx 2 days) • Standards Addressed: Priority Area 2, Objective 1

6. Journaling and Discussion • Prompts heavily inspired by Delpit and Finn, designed to get • students thinking about the rules and codes of power • Prompts are also designed to make connections between • the text and students’ lives. • Sample Prompts • Topic: Do Teachers “Get” You? • Do you feel like most of your teachers understand who you • are as a person. Do they understand what you need to • succeed in school? What factors might prevent teachers • from having a better understanding of you?

7. Topic: School Attendance • How do you feel about our country’s laws about school • attendance? Should students be allowed to drop out of • high school? Should the government require students to • come to school at all? Explain your answers. • How should society respond to families like the Ewells? • Should we force the children to come to school? Should • the government provide food, welfare, or other financial • support to the family? Explain.

8. Topic: America’s Future Most American parents believe that their children will have more opportunities for success than they had. However, some people fear that changes in the world (the rise of foreign powers, global warming, etc) may cause your generation to be the first American generation to have less opportunities to succeed than their parents. Are you confident that you will get the opportunities you will need to build a good life for yourself? Why or why not?

9. Town Map Poster Project Objective: Students will increase their understanding of the culture of the town of Maycomb through creating a town map poster Project components: Part 1: Students will complete a character analysis graphic organizer. The organizer must include a general description of each character, analysis of how each character is a reflection of the culture of the town, and a defining quote from/about that character. Focus on events from the first half of the novel. Part 2: Students will create a map of the town. Map must accurately reflect information from novel. Part 3: Students will create a poster containing both the town map and character analysis info.

10. Reflective Essay Objective: Students will write a 2-3 page reflective essay in which they make extended connections between the text and their lives. Below is a list of potential topics to write about: • How is Maycomb similar to Plainfield? How is it different? • How is America’s current economic recession similar to the Great Depression? How is it different? • How are your parents/guardians similar to Atticus? How are they different? • How does the history of Plainfield compare to the history of Maycomb? What was Plainfield • like during the Great Depression?

11. Compare and contrast people in your neighborhood to characters in the novel (do not include your neighbor’s names) • What to people do for fun in Maycomb? What do people to for fun in Plainfield? • Compare and contrast issues of racism in the novel with issues of racism in modern society

12. Unit Assessments • This unit contains three separate assessments, all of which • measure different skills: • Study Guide: Measures reading comprehension • Town Map: Measure analytical skills, creativity • Reflection: Measure writing skills, ability to make • text-to-text connections, creativity • Assignment Rubrics • Directions are very explicit, designed to help kids who don’t know what a “good job” looks like. • Students will self assess, edit before handing in final product

13. Videos and Internet Resources Jim Crow Laws: Student Presentation http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uc_16sGDkto&feature=results_video&playnext=1&list=PL00390CF7C8658DCC Video: “The Rise and Fall of Jim Crow” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ChWXyeUTKg8&feature=related Reading of Atticus’ Closing Argument Speech http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mM-FrKuTwpQ&feature=results_video&playnext=1&list=PL00390CF7C8658DCC Project Mockingbird Interactive Website http://www.projectmockingbird.org To Kill a Mockingbird: Historical Context http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sgC09oMIwLc&feature=related Trial Scene From Stage Version of To Kill a Mockingbird http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L87mPqzPD88&feature=fvwrel

14. Relflection on Unit Implementation I have used this unit a few times over the past few years. Below are some observations based on my experiences. • One component skill that I did not deal with in this unit is vocabulary. I skipped it because I had so much going on, and didn’t want to overwhelm students. However, students regularly struggled with vocabulary from the novel, needed additional guidance. If I were going to teach this unit again, I would add a vocabulary component. • Because my students often tend to feel disconnected from this novel, I used journaling as an opportunity to foster connections between the text and their lives. The prompts worked well • in this regard. They generated written responses and drove dynamic class discussions. • The town map project also went well. Students enjoyed the artistic elements of the project, • and most turned in a quality project. However, a few groups got distracted by the artwork and didn’t focus enough on the content. If I were to teach this unit again, I’d work to clarify my expectations for the town maps, and make sure students read and understand the assignment rubric. • For the town map project to work, it is important for students to have the ability to work • productively in groups. I had to review my expectations for group multiple times over the • course of the project