To Kill a Mockingbird Social, Historical, and Cultural Context Presentation

Introduction:

To Kill a Mockingbird, a novel by Harper Lee, takes place in the 1930‘s, an age of poverty, simplicity, and prejudice of many kinds. For the next several days, you will search through the artifacts of this era and find out the rules that made up our society 82 years ago. You will be given a topic. Collect data on your topic, write a reflection piece on what you learn and how you feel about America in the 1930‘s, and present your findings to the class through a power point presentation.

This project will expand your knowledge of the people, situations, time period, and events which are significant to the plot, theme, or character development of the novel To KillA Mockingbird.

The Process (100 points)

□ (25 Points) Creativity

Your presentation was engaging, interesting and created curiosity. Many visuals were used.

□ (25 Points) Content

Your pair brought your topic to life with complete and thorough information that shows it was well researched.

□ (10 Points) All Members’ Participation

Groups divided information/responsibilities up equally--Responsibilities must be written out and submitted.

□ (20 Points) Completed Power Point and Presentation

Pairs will create a 10 question quiz about their presentation to give to the class. Group was well-prepared.

□ (10 Points) Sources must be cited and turned in a Works Cited Page in MLA Format.

□ (10 Points) Reflection

Write a thorough (typed) paragraph reflecting on what you learned through your research and how it enhances your understanding of the novel.

TOPICS:

The
Great Depression / Herbert Hoover &
Franklin D. Roosevelt / Civil Rights Movement / Civil Rights:
Court Cases / Science, Technology, & Inventions 1930’s
▪
▪ Causes & Effects
▪ Living Conditions / ▪ Historical Events
▪ New Deal / ▪ Right to Vote
▪ Influential Leaders / §  ▪ Plessy vs. Ferguson
▪ Scottsboro Boys / §  ▪ Radio, TV
▪ Nobel Prize Winners
§  ▪ Bridge/Dam
Prejudice &
Hate Crimes 1930’s / Education 1930’s / Role of Women 1930’s / Entertainment 1930’s / Harper Lee
▪ Racism/Prejudice
▪ Bigotry
§  ▪ Jim Crow / ▪ Booker T. Washington
▪ Dewy Decimal
§  ▪ Brown vs. Brd of Ed. / ▪ Fashion
▪ Career
§  ▪ Roles / ▪ Movies/Stars
▪ Radio Programs
§  ▪ Music / ▪ Times/Life
▪ TKM

1. The Great Depression

§  Causes and Effects

§  Wall Street Crash http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/snpmech5.htm

§  What was the stock market crash? When did it occur? What effects did it have on people's lives?

§  Living Conditions – food prices, housing, employment, etc.

http://www.scs.sk.ca/edf/library/rcentereng_dep.htm

http://www.indianchild.com/the_great_depression.htm

http://www.huppi.com/kangaroo/Timeline.htm

http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/ndlpedu/features/timeline/depwwii/depwar.html

http://www.historesearch.com/20sdep.html (a lot of sites below the 20’s)

http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/fsowhome.html

http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/fsahtml/fahome.html

2. Presidents & New Deal

§  Hoover, Herbert 1929-33

§  Roosevelt, Franklin D. 1933-45

What was the New Deal? What historical events led to its inception?

http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/

http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/life/

http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/aaohtml/exhibit/aopart8.html

http://newdeal.feri.org/ (pics)

3. Civil Rights Movement (working with #4 Court Cases to present together)

§  What was (is) the Civil Rights Movement? When did it begin? What was its purpose?

§  When did African Americans win the right to vote?

§  Leaders

§  Who is Rosa Parks? What role did she play in the Civil Rights Movement?

§  Who was Autherine Lucy? What role did she play in the Civil Rights Movement?

§  Little Rock Nine

http://www.cr.nps.gov/nr/travel/civilrights/

http://www.watson.org/~lisa/blackhistory/civilrights-55-65/

http://www.infoplease.com/spot/civilrightstimeline1.html

http://www.cr.nps.gov/nr/travel/civilrights/intro1.htm

http://www.mrburnett.net/civilwar.html (reconstruction--bottom)

http://www.lucidcafe.com/library/96jan/king.html

http://www.slider.com/Kids_and_Teens/People_and_Society/Biography/Civil_Rights_Leaders.htm

http://library.thinkquest.org/J0112391/civil_rights_leaders.htm

http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/aaohtml/exhibit/aopart8.html

http://pbskids.org/wayback/civilrights/features_school.html

4. Court Cases concerning Civil Rights (working with #3 Civil Rights Movement to present together)

§  Plessy vs. Ferguson

§  Scottsboro Boys

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/jimcrow/stories_events_plessy.html

http://www.gibbsmagazine.com/Plessy.htm

http://www.infoplease.com/spot/civilrightstimeline1.html

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/scottsboro/index.html

http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/FTrials/scottsboro/scottsb.htm

http://library.thinkquest.org/12111/scottsboro/scottsbo.htm

http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/trials4.htm

http://www.writing.upenn.edu/~afilreis/88/scottsboro.html

5. Technology/Inventions

§  Television, radio, World’s Fair (1933)

§  U.S. Nobel Prize winners

§  Glenn Curtiss, Sigmund Freud, T.A. Edison, Thomas Hunt Morgan

§  Golden Gate Bridge, Boulder Dam

http://www2.sjsu.edu/faculty/wooda/chicago/cwf.html

http://nobelprize.org/

http://library.thinkquest.org/J0111064/index.htm

http://www.scaruffi.com/politics/1930s.html

http://collections.ic.gc.ca/cbc/radiotv/decades/1930/index.html

http://www.goldengate.org/

http://www.nps.gov/goga/

http://newdeal.feri.org/library/w14.htm

6. Prejudice/Racism/Hate Crimes and Bigotry EXAMPLES

§  What is racism? What is prejudice? Define the difference.

§  What is bigotry?

§  What is a hate crime?

§  Jim Crow Laws

http://www.answers.com/topic/racism

http://search.eb.com/Blackhistory/home.do;jsessionid=BAE99037131A974E397EC7F84787B5C7

http://xroads.virginia.edu/~UG97/stone/klan.html

http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/list/085_disc.html (pics)

http://americanradioworks.publicradio.org/features/remembering/laws.html

http://www.jimcrowhistory.org/home.htm

7. Education 1930’s

§  Booker T. Washington (1856-1915)

§  Brown vs. Board of Education

§  Educational Reforms: John Dewey - "Experience and Education"

§  Level of education - State Laws

§  When were literacy tests abolished?

http://www.nps.gov/bowa/

http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/aaohtml/exhibit/aopart6.html

http://www.watson.org/~lisa/blackhistory/early-civilrights/brown.html

http://www.nationalcenter.org/brown.html

http://www.nps.gov/brvb/

http://www.nationalcenter.org/brown.html

http://www.infed.org/thinkers/et-dewey.htm

http://www.utm.edu/research/iep/d/dewey.htm

8. Role of women in 1930’s

§  Fashion, careers, family roles, taboos for women, the work place, wages

§  Gertrude Stein, Mrs. Wallis Simpson, Margaret Mitchell, Jane Addams, Pearl S .Buck, Amelia Earhar

http://www.wic.org/misc/history.htm

http://www.distinguishedwomen.com/

http://frank.mtsu.edu/~kmiddlet/history/women/wh-rite.html

http://search.eb.com/women/timeline?tocId=9404138&section=249217

http://frank.mtsu.edu/~kmiddlet/history/women.html

9. Fads, Fashion, Pastimes & Entertainment of the 1930’s

§  Movies, Hollywood Stars

§  Dance

§  Radio Programs

§  Popular music: "The Cotton Club"

§  Shirley Temple, Charlie Chaplin, Benny Goodman, Glenn Miller, Judy Garland

http://www.costumegallery.com/1930.htm

http://www.kidsnewsroom.org/elmer/infoCentral/frameset/decade/1930.htm

http://www.library.csi.cuny.edu/dept/history/lavender/cherries.html

http://www.otr.com/amosandy.html

http://imet.csus.edu/imet2/herzj/websites/fashion/gallerypages/1930.html

10. Harper Lee, the author of To Kill a Mockingbird

§  Who is Harper Lee?

§  When was To Kill a Mockingbird published?

§  Publishing History

§  Where do you think Harper Lee came up with material for her book? Do you think she may have drawn on her own life experiences? Were Lee's and Scout's childhoods at all similar? In what ways?

http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/harperle.htm

http://www.biography.com/people/harper-lee-9377021

http://www.nndb.com/people/572/000025497/

http://www.writeawriting.com/write/harper-lee-write-kill-mockingbird/

http://resources.mhs.vic.edu.au/mockingbird/harper.htm