“Why Is To Kill a Mockingbird Relevant?”

1. “Why Is To Kill a Mockingbird Relevant?” Objective: To read a nonfiction article on the current significance of To Kill a Mockingbird and discuss how historical, cultural, geographical, and social contexts have on novels and on readers’ reactions to them

2. Quickwrite • Think about a time when you were judged unfairly by how you look, what you wear, how you sound. • Write a narration describing the time. Try to write about it with the perspective of the age you were when it happened; yet, in a voice that reflects your writing skills.

3. Read and Annotate • Read the passage • Silently and independently • Annotate • Highlight or underline two key ideas that support the main idea of section of text • Summarize each section

4. Small Group Socratic Seminar • Discuss each of the following questions in your small groups. Reference your quickwrite, background knowledge, and the text. • This book was written in the early 1960s. What was going on in the US, especially in the South, that may influence thematic elements within the novel? • Why does Lee choose to have the setting in the South? What is the significance of the setting(mood, historical background, connotations)? • How do the cultures of the South differ from the rest of the country? What kind of impact does that have in terms of the community in the novel?