Jolley, Susan Arpajian. Integrating poetry and To Kill a Mockingbird, English Journal, 92.2, Nov 2002, 34-40.
How to search using Education Source:
Search Education Source for the phrase "to kill a mockingbird". Other options:
NYT Learning Network
Schulten, Katherine. Making Connections: 50 Teenagers Suggest Creative Ways to Link Classic Texts to the World Today. NYT Learning Network, 22 Feb 2018.
“Refreshing the Canon.” School Library Journal, vol. 68, no. 7, July 2022, p. 10.
Wheeler, Winn C., et al. “Know Better, Do Better: We Can Do Better Than To Kill a Mockingbird.” Ohio Journal of English Language Arts, vol. 61, no. 1, Summer/Fall2021 2021, pp. 7–11.
Young, Lauren J. “Summer Switch-Up.” School Library Journal, vol. 68, no. 4, Apr. 2022, pp. 28–30.
Library of Congress Classroom Materials
To Kill a Mockingbird: A Historical Perspective
"This unit guides students on a journey through the Depression Era in the 1930s. Activities familiarize the students with Southern experiences through the study of the novel and African American experiences through the examination of primary sources."
"The Scottsboro Boys" Trial, 1931
Book Pairing suggestions: To Kill a Mockingbird is paired with 12 texts: poems, speeches, and informational text
Flora, Joseph M., Lucinda Hardwick. MacKethan, and Todd W. Taylor. The Companion to Southern Literature : Themes, Genres, Places, People, Movements, and Motifs. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 2002. Print.
New York Times: The Learning Network: Text to Text
To Kill a Mockingbird is paired with History of Lynchings in the South Documents Nearly 4,000 Names.
The New York Times Learning Network provides 3 graphic organizers to support analysis of these two texts:
New York Times**
Coates, Ta-Nehisi. (23 November 2013). In Defense of a Loaded Word, New York Times, New York Times Op-Ed Guest Columnist
** Please note that you can only access the New York Times for free by clicking on the links 5 times or less**
In his 1997 article Thoughts on Visual Literacy, Philip Yenawine describes visual literacy as:
the ability to find meaning in imagery. It involves a set of skills ranging from simple identification (naming what one sees) to complex interpretation on contextual, metaphoric and philosophical levels. Many aspects of cognition are called upon, such as personal association, questioning, speculating, analyzing, fact-finding, and categorizing. Objective understanding is the premise of much of this literacy, but subjective and affective aspects of knowing are equally important. (p.1)
New York Times Learning Network: What’s Going On in This Picture?
Sharecropper Bud Fields and his family at home. Hale County, Alabama, from the Library of Congress
Minstrel poster. Alabama, from the Library of Congress
Meet 10 Depression-Era Photographers... The Smithsonian
Video / Film
For more video content see our Find Video page.
Facing History and Ourselves, “The Origins of Lynching Culture in the United States,” video, last updated April 18, 2022.
Ted Talk. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: The Danger of a Single Story.
How I found it: Searching Edutopia for "To Kill a Mockingbird"
Hey, Boo: Considering the Character of Scout
Novelists, as well as the actress Mary Badham, who played To Kill a Mockingbird's narrator, Scout, reflect on this character and the ways in which she addresses issues of gender, race relations, and growing up in the South.
Music and Spoken Word
Strange Fruit as sung by Billie Holiday and more, a Wikipedia entry and NPR article about the author of the song, Abel Meeropol, a high school teacher, and what inspired him to write it. A TC last year suggested the Kayne West version Blood on the Leaves might have more resonance with teens.
Sounds of the Civil Rights Movement. From Smithsonian Folkways Recordings, an open access virtual encyclopedia of the world's musical and aural traditions. Listen to Birmingham 1963- Keep Moving.
Visual Data
From the New York Times: Map of 73 Years of Lynchings
The most recent data on lynching, compiled by the Equal Justice Initiative, shows premeditated murders carried out by at least three people from 1877 to 1950. The killers claimed to be enforcing some form of social justice. The alleged offenses that prompted the lynchings included political activism and testifying in court.
Teaching Tough Topics : How do I use children's literature to build a deeper understanding of social justice, equity, and diversity? by
Teaching Tough Topicsshows teachers how to lead students to become caring citizens as they read and respond to quality children's literature. It focuses on topics that can be challenging or sensitive yet significant for building an understanding of social justice, diversity and equity. Racism, homophobia, bullying, religious intolerance, poverty, and physical and mental challenges are just some of the themes explored. The book is rooted in the belief that, by using picture books, novels, poetry, and nonfiction, teachers can enrich learning with compassion and empathy as students make connections to texts, to others and to the world.
Teaching Mockingbird by
Teaching Mockingbird presents educators with the materials they need to transform how they teach Harper Lee's classic novel To Kill a Mockingbird. Interweaving the historical context of Depression-era rural Southern life, and informed by Facing History's pedagogical approach, this resource introduces layered perspectives and thoughtful strategies into the teaching of To Kill a Mockingbird.
Using Informational Text to Teach to Kill a Mockingbird by
The new Common Core State Standards mean major changes for language arts teachers, particularly the emphasis on "informational text." How do we shift attention toward informational texts without taking away from the teaching of literature? The key is informational texts deeply connected to the literary texts you are teaching. Preparing informational texts for classroom use, however, requires time and effort. Using Informational Text to Teach Literature is designed to help. In this volume, we offer informational texts connected to Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird. Readings range in genre (inaugural address, historical analysis, autobiography, etiquette book, newspaper editorial, and Supreme Court decision) and topic (the Depression, entails, etiquette, the right to a lawyer, stereotypes, lynching, miscegenation, and heroism). Each informational text is part of a student-friendly unit, with reading strategies and activities. Teachers need to incorporate nonfiction in ways that enhance their teaching of literature. The Using Informational Text to Teach Literature series is an invaluable supportive tool.
Online: http://www.usinginformationaltext.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Growing-Up-White-for-ncte-2015.pdf
No More Fake Reading by
With the blended model, teachers lead close examinations of key passages from classic texts, guiding students to an understanding of important reading strategies that they can transfer to their choice books. Teachers gain a platform for demonstrating the critical reading skills students so urgently require, and students thrive on reading what they want to read. In this research-backed book, teachers are also shown the basics of creating a classroom library and how to build a blended curriculum for both fiction and non-fiction units.
