To Kill a Mockingbird Web Quest

Name: Teacher: Period: Date:

Directions: To begin, go to the Buena Librarys To Kill a Mockingbird Web Quest homepage, which is found at the following web address: http://buenalibrary.weebly.com/to-kill-a-mockingbird-webquest.html As you look through each of the resources in this web quest, answer the questions below on this worksheet. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask your teacher or Mr. Levin for help! Resource One: Strange Fruit by Billie Holiday
1.) What kind of emotion does Billie Holiday express when she sings this song? How can you tell?

2.) Read the lyrics for the song, as reprinted below:

Southern trees bear a strange fruit, Blood on the leaves and blood at the root, Black bodies swinging in the southern breeze, Strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees. Pastoral scene of the gallant south, The bulging eyes and the twisted mouth, Scent of magnolias, sweet and fresh, Then the sudden smell of burning flesh. Here is fruit for the crows to pluck, For the rain to gather, for the wind to suck, For the sun to rot, for the trees to drop, Here is a strange and bitter crop.

What do you think this song is about? What is the strange fruit being described in the song?

Resource Two: The Story of the Man Behind Strange Fruit by Elizabeth Blair
3.) Read (and listen to) the NPR article, The Story of the Man Behind Strange Fruit by Elizabeth Blair. Who wrote the song, and what are the basic details about the songwriters life?

4.) According to the article, what inspired him to write the song?

Resource Three: Lynching Interactive Map

5.) On the Interactive Maps page, click on Lynching & Riots, then click on the states in the map. a.) How many lynchings occurred in California? b.) How many lynchings occurred in Texas? c.) How many lynchings occurred in Alabama? Black: Black: Black: White: White: White: White:

d.) How many lynchings occurred in Mississippi? Black:

To Kill a Mockingbird Web Quest PART II

Resource Four: The Negro Speaks of Rivers by Langston Hughes
6.) What do you think Hughes is trying to say about African-American culture? 7.) What does Hughes mean when he says My soul has grown deep like the rivers in the last line?

Resource Five: Without Sanctuary Photographs

8.) Look through the collection of photographs and postcards, and pay special attention to the reactions of the people who are in the crowd. What kinds of reactions do you see on their faces? 9.) What do these reactions from the crowd tell you about their societys view of lynching at the time?

Resource Six: Only a N----- by Mark Twain

10.) Read Mark Twains newspaper article, Only a N----- (originally published in 1869). What is Twains reason for writing this article? 11.) What kind of tone is Twain using in discussing the issues of racism and lynching?

Resource Seven: To Kill a Mockingbird Movie Trailer

12.) How does the lawyers tone in the video differ from Mark Twains in the Only a N----- piece?

13.) Based off of the brief portions you have now seen of the film, what do you think the story of To Kill a Mockingbird is going to be about?

Resource Eight: Harper Lee Mini-Biography

14.) What did Harper Lee study in college, before she dropped out to become a writer? 15.) In what year was Lees novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, originally published? 16.) In what year was the film version of To Kill a Mockingbird released? 17.) In 2003, the American Film Institute (AFI) named the character Atticus Finch the greatest of the 20th century. What character traits make him such an admirable character? 18.) In 1999, To Kill a Mockingbird was voted by what organization?