To Kill a Mockingbird: Growing up in the
1930's
Introduction
|Task | Resources
|Process
| Evaluation| Conclusion
Introduction
Welcome to the world of Harper Lee's novel To Kill a
Mockingbird. You are living in the 1930's. Your home, neighborhood, school,
activities, clothes and social interactions are vastly different from anything
you are familiar with in the 21st century. This WebQuest will take you back in time to
learn what your life is like as a young person growing up in the 1930's. Using what
you learn, write a series of pen pal letters to someone living in 2006.
The Task
With a partner, you are going to begin by researching the resources listed
below to learn about your life in the 1930's. Using the information you learn,
you will write two letters to your pen-pal living in 2006. Each letter will
focus on the following two aspects of your life.
- In your first letter, describe your home and neighborhood in
detail. Include lots of specific and interesting information so that the
reader of your letter can visualize your environment. Tell about your family. What types of
activites do you enjoy as a family? What is your standard of living? How do
your parents make a living? Also,
tell about your school and your
friends. Describe your school, classes and teachers. Who are your friends, and
what are some activities you enjoy doing together?
- In your second letter, describe
what is going on in the world
around you. What is happening in the nation politically and economically? Tell
about popular fashions, music, radio programs, and other interesting
facts.
Resources
Harper
Lee:To Kill A Mockingbird, Chapter One.
Paul Fournier: A Guide to Correct Writing, pages 4-6 + 8-9
(for the letter format and blueprint)
America in the 1930s
A
visual web site which is definitely worth a tour.
Background
and interviews
Take a look at the interviews about
growing up black or
white in the
1930's.
"I
Remember . . . " Reminiscences of the Great Depression
During the Great Depression of the 1930's, some Michiganians bartered
and traded for food, clothes, shelter and services. Sharing and "making do"
became a way of life. People who lived during the Depression have interesting
stories to share about how they coped with hard times. The following
reminiscences were published in Michigan History Magazine, January-February,
1982 (Vol. 66, No. 1).
Federal
Writer's Project: Interview Excerpts
The Federal
Writers' Project of the 1930's recorded more than 10,000 life stories of men and
woman from a variety of occupations and ethnic groups. This site is a sampling
of these interviews.
Then
and Now: Prices
This site compares 1930s prices with
prices today.
The
Great Depression and the New Deal
Read about the
Federal Works Progress Administration started by the federal government during
the Depression.
The Process
The following instructions will make completion of your task
easy!
- Read the first chapter of To Kill a Mockingbird to familiarize
yourself with the setting and characters in this novel. This preparation will
help you as you begin to research life in the 1930's.
- You are going to write two letters in the voice of a person growing up in
the 1930's. Before you begin your research, consider the sex, race, and age of
the "character" that you will become as you write these letters. You may also
want to decide on a name for your character. Also decide who you are going to
address your letters to. You might consider writing to a friend, family member
or even to your teacher.
- Begin your research by writing the following topics
at the top of 4 different pages: Home and Neighborhood; Family and Standard of Living; School and
Friends; and Social and Political Events in the 1930's.
- Begin exploring the resources listed above.
- As you explore the sites, record facts on the appropriate
sheet. Some tips
to make notetaking more effective include printing excerpts from sites that
you find useful and using highlighters to mark pertinent information. This
information can then be recorded, IN YOUR OWN WORDS, on your reference sheets.
- When you have collected information about all
the topics, you are
prepared to begin the writing process. This process begins with brainstorming
and prewriting followed by the actual drafting of your letters. Remember, you
are writing from the perspective of a person living in the 30's. You are
explaining your life to a person living in 2006. Your letters should include
enough detail and description for your reader to gain a good sense of what
your life is like.
- When you have drafts of your two letters, you will share your letters in
a conferencing session with another team. You must bring your draft to
class on Monday, the 13th of February 2006 (Day 7). After conferencing, you will have time to revise your letters
and enter them into a word processing program. You must refer to the
letter format in A Guide to Correct Writing.
- After your revisions, you and your classmate will work to edit your letters
before final publication.
- You will be required to turn in your two published letters, your
reference sheets, all writing drafts, notes, and highlighted copies of your research.
These materials should be presented in an organized, labeled folder.
Evaluation
This WebQuest will be evaluated according to the following
criteria:
Do you have two complete, revised, edited and typed letters?
Is each letter focused on the subjects described in the Task section of
this WebQuest? Do your letters acurately describe facts about life in the 1930's?
Has each letter been written using the writing process? (Brainstorming,
Prewriting, Drafting, Response, Revision, Editing, Publication). Do your
letters show improvement from first draft to final copy?
Does the presentation of your folder
contain your letters, reference sheets and
drafts neat and professional?
Conclusion
When you complete this WebQuest, you will be able to identify
and understand the setting of To Kill a Mockingbird. As you read the
novel, you will have a greater understanding of the personal, social, and
political issues which are dealt with in the story.
Based on a template from
TheWebquest
Page.