Mockingbird Day 4 (Part 1 Chapter 4, Pages 43-54)

Robert Janoski
English 2 Honors
Period 5 51 minutes
OVERVIEW/ RATIONALE
This lesson is the fourth in the Mockingbird unit. Students will have read the fourth
chapter for the previous nights homework. This will be the first lesson in Mockingbird
to have the students work in small groups. I will be asking them to complete worksheets
on how this chapter shows readers that the book is A) told from the perspective of an
adult looking back on their childhood B) an example of Southern Gothic literature.
The groups will be divided into two camps for A and B, and share their findings with
each other as a whole class at the end. This work will be graded, a point that I will stress
to the students before starting. The class can be fairly talkative, and I want them to be
able to work in groups in a focused manner. I will inform them that I will collect their
work and also ask them to provide enough examples that they will need to work
diligently in the time they have.
ENDURING UNDERSTANDINGS
Students will recognize the importance of perspectives in TKAM and be able to apply that
knowledge to other literature and their own life experiences. Students will also be able to think
about why a text fits into a certain group of literature.
GOALS/OBJECTIVES
Students will be able to read critically which includes looking up words that they do not
understand
SWBAT pull information about perspective from a fictional text
SWBAT pull information from a text that discerns what genre of literature the text falls under
SWBAT offer textual examples and evidence to support answers
STANDARDS
CC.1.2.9 10.A
Determine a central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text, including how it emerges and is
shaped and refined by specific details; provide an objective summary of the text.
CC.1.2.910.B
Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly, as well as inferences and
conclusions based on an authors explicit assumptions and beliefs about a subject
CC.1.2.9 10.K
Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases based on grade level reading and content,
choosing flexibly from a range of strategies and tools

MATERIALS
Two sets (Group A and B) worksheets
Lecture notes
PROCEDURES
See attached notes

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ASSESSMENT/EVALUATION
I will collect the worksheets to determine if the students used their time effectively and provided
a number of examples for the question and topic asked of them. The depth of their answers will
determine their level of close reading, group discussion and engagement with the book. The
sharing between groups as a whole class will allow be to see the students ability to express the
ideas they have worked on verbally in from of a larger group of peers.
PERSONAL REFLECTIONS / NOTES
The discussion went will today. I wasnt too caught up in the level of chatter in the
background, as long as everyone was able to hear their peers when they talked. I
realized that the students were more talking to me than their peers, and that is
definitely something that I want to work on in the future. Sometimes they raise their
hands (complex answers) and sometimes they call out (simple answers). I think that
is good if directed correctly, and it could be a good starting point for more organic
discussions.
In terms of the worksheets, as I look at the quality of responses on the two, I feel as if
the students were more easily able to engage with the one on Southern Gothic. I
realize now that it is probable that genre defining is a fair bit easier than perspective
defining. I do like the idea of two different worksheets being done and their contents
shared among the class (we ran out of time to do this today, the discussion was lively
and went too long so we will have to share answers tomorrow). Also, I notice that a
lot of answers were things that I directed students to during the time I was walking
around and answering questions. In the future I would like to improve at getting
students to arrive at their own answers through their own reasoning. I did not tell
anyone any explicit answers, but I think that I might have made them focus on my
opinions of the text more than I am comfortable with. Perhaps this is a fault of both
the students and myself.

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Quick Write (0-10 Minutes)

Checking Reading Logs (0-10 Minutes)
Introductory Mini Lecture on Vocab (10-15 Minutes)
Dividing into Groups (15-20 Minutes)
Group Worksheet Work (20-41 Minutes)
Class Discussion and Sharing of Work (41-51 Minutes)

QW:
Describe something that happened to you around the age of six. What emotions were
you feelings? What was the context? Do you look at the event differently now that you
are older? Use a lot of DETAIL!
During the time that students are working on their QW, I will be walking around and
checking reading logs. This will be a simple completion check, 1-5 points for each
chapters log (they should have 4 logs by this point).

Introduction and brief discussion of vocab:

Look at the very first sentence in the chapter: The remainder of my school days were no
more auspicious than the first. (page 43). Ask if any student defined auspicious for
their vocab list. If they did, did they just look up the definition or try to figure it out on
the context first? Before I define it, students and I will work through the sentence,
examine the first school days of Scout, and hopefully work towards a definition of
auspicious. Then we will confirm it with the dictionary definition. I will point out that
it is useful to define things in your own words from the dictionary definition.

Transition into groups:

First I will break the room into two down the middle, and will tell the two sides of the
room to break into groups of between 3 and 4 students. The groups themselves will be
up to their choosing, but I will stress heavily the fact that they will have 20 minutes to do
the activity, and I will be collecting it and grading it carefully, so they need to use their
time wisely and not have a lot of tangential talking. Half will get worksheet A and half

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worksheet B. I will explain both, and then be available for help walking around the
room.

Group sharing at the end of class:

Each group will share one of their quotes and explain why the quote shows why
answers the respective question and concern of the worksheet. The students will be
encouraged to take notes on the things that their peers groups say on separate paper.
After sharing, I will collect the sheets (1 per person, not per group, to try to help insure
that everyone contributes).

Closing: HW: Read Chapter 5 and do Reading Log

Perspective in To Kill a Mockingbird

We have discussed in class that To Kill a Mockingbird is told
from the perspective of an adult Scout looking back on her
childhood, specifically during the time that she was six years
old.
Provide 3 quotes from Chapter 4 with page numbers that
show this perspective clearly. To start, think about you own
views when you were younger. What did the world and
those around you look like?
After each quote, explain how the selected text shows the
reader what the perspective of the narrator is. Are certain
words used? Do the events described appear in a unique
way?
Quote 1 (and page number):
Explanation:

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Quote 2 (and page number):

Explanation:
Quote 3 (and page number):
Explanation:

To Kill a Mockingbird as an example of South

Gothic
We have discussed in class that To Kill a Mockingbird is an
example of the Southern Gothic genre of literature. This
genre is defined below:
Southern Gothic literature is a genre of Southern writing. The stories often focus on
grotesque themes. While it may include supernatural elements, it mainly focuses on
damaged, even delusional, characters.
Southern Gothic literature was inspired by early Gothic writing, a genre that was popular
in 18th century England. In Gothic literature, the authors wanted to expose the problems
they saw in society. The authors wrote fiction, but included supernatural and romantic
elements. They were often stories of hauntings, death, darkness and madness. Some of
the more well-known examples of this genre are Frankenstein and Dracula.

Provide 3 quotes from Chapter 4 with page numbers that

show TKAM is an example of this genre. To start, think
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about what qualities make up Southern Gothic writing, then

look for them in the text.
After each quote, explain how the selected text shows the
reader that TKAM is Southern Gothic. Are certain themes
explored? Are sentences constructed in a unique manner?
Quote 1 (and page number):
Explanation:
Quote 2 (and page number):
Explanation:
Quote 3 (and page number):
Explanation:

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