Name: ___________________________________________To Kill a MockingbirdReview and Developing a Research Focus

Close Reading AnalysisRead the following short excerpt from Chapters 23. What do these moments tell you about the characters involved? How does this moment possibly connect to one of the themes we’ve been following: prejudice; courage; equality v. inequality; and, moral education.

Chapter 23, pages 300-301"Aunty," Jem spoke up, "Atticus says you can choose your friends butyou sho' can't choose your family, an' they're still kin to you nomatter whether you acknowledge 'em or not, and it makes you look rightsilly when you don't."

"That's your father all over again," said Aunt Alexandra, "and Istill say that Jean Louise will not invite Walter Cunningham to thishouse. If he were her double first cousin once removed he wouldstill not be received in this house unless he comes to see Atticuson business. Now that is that."

She had said Indeed Not, but this time she would give her reasons:"But I want to play with Walter, Aunty, why can't I?"

She took off her glasses and stared at me. "I'll tell you why,"she said. "Because- he- is- trash, that's why you can't play with him.I'll not have you around him, picking up his habits and learningLord-knows-what. You're enough of a problem to your father as it is."

1. What do we learn about Jem, Scout, or Aunt Alexandra in this moment? Choose one character. Provide textual evidence.

2. Which theme might you connect to this moment? Why? Explain how it’s relevant.

Chapter 24, pages "Sin and squalor- what was that, Gertrude?" Mrs. Merriweather turned on her chimes for the lady sitting beside her. "Oh that. Well, I always say forgive and forget, forgive and forget. Thing that church ought to do is help her lead a Christian life for those children from here on out. Some of the men ought to go out there and tell that preacher to encourage her."

"Excuse me, Mrs. Merriweather," I interrupted, "are you all talking about Mayella Ewell?"

"May-? No, child. That darky's wife. Tom's wife, Tom-"

"Robinson, ma'am."

Mrs. Merriweather turned back to her neighbor. "There's one thing I truly believe, Gertrude," she continued, "but some people just don't see it my way. If we just let them know we forgive 'em, that we've forgotten it, then this whole thing'll blow over."

"Ah- Mrs. Merriweather," I interrupted once more, "what'll blow over?"

"Nothing, Jean Louise," she said, "the cooks and field hands are just dissatisfied, but they're settling down now- they grumbled all next day after that trial."

Mrs. Merriweather faced Mrs. Farrow: "Gertrude, I tell you there's nothing more distracting than a sulky darky. Their mouths go down to here. Just ruins your day to have one of 'em in the kitchen…

"S-s-s Grace," [said Mrs. Farrow], "it's just like I was telling Brother Hutson the other day. 'S-s-s Brother Hutson,' I said, 'looks like we're fighting a losing battle, a losing battle.' I said, 'S-s-s it doesn't matter to 'em one bit. We can educate 'em till we're blue in the face, we can try till we drop to make Christians out of 'em, but there's no lady safe in her bed these nights.' He said to me, 'Mrs. Farrow, I don't know what we're coming to down here.' S-s-s I told him that was certainly a fact."

Mrs. Merriweather nodded wisely.

1. What do we learn about the ladies of Maycomb in this moment? Provide textual evidence.

2. Which theme might you connect to this moment? Why? Explain how it’s relevant.

BrainstormingReflect back on the major events of Chapters 23 and 24. What are you thinking about now? How can we connect events from the book to issues today? What surprised you?

Capturing our thinking: In groups of 3-4, reflect back on Chapters 23 and 24. Each person will summarize and analyze one moment that connects to a theme.

PREJUDICEQUOTE:

ANALYSIS:

COURAGEQUOTE:

ANALYSIS:

EQUALITY v. INEQUALITYQUOTE:

ANALYSIS:

MORAL EDUCATIONQUOTE:

ANALYSIS:

Claim-Evidence-Analysis ResponseAfter reading Chapters 23 and 24, work on your own to write a short response to a moment that focuses on one of the major themes: prejudice; courage; equality v. inequality; and, moral education.

A complete response will include a claim, reasoning supporting your claim, one piece of textual evidence, and an analysis of your evidence.

Question: How does Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird critique issues facing people in the Southern US during the 1930s?

I will be focusing on the theme of _____________________________________.

Claim:

Reasoning (I believe this because…):

Evidence:

Analysis:

Reading Questions – Chapter 25 (answer on a separate sheet of paper and staple to this packet)1. How does Maycomb react to the news of Tom's death?2. Comment on the idea that Tom's death was “typical”?3. Explain the contrast Scout draws between the court where Tom was tried and “the secret courts of

men's hearts”. In what way are hearts like courts?4. Why did Jem not want Scout to tell Atticus about Bob Ewell's comment? Was this a wise thing to

ask her to do?

Name: ___________________________________________To Kill a MockingbirdDeveloping a Research Focus: Chapter 27

Look back at the list of five final questions you can choose from for the final paper. Rewrite the question you’ll investigate here. Ideally, you will adapt the wording of the question (but not it’s core idea).

List three moments in the text that will help you answer your question.

Moment 1Description (chapter and page number if possible)(for example: In Chapters 19-22, the three children (Jem, Scout, and Dill) are emotionally invested and overwhelmed by the trial.)

What questions can you ask about this moment as it relates to your larger question?(for example: What does Dill and Scout’s crying during Tom’s trial tell us about race relations in the South during this time period? Why have two tough white boys cry?)

Moment 2Description (chapter and page number if possible)

What questions can you ask about this moment as it relates to your larger question?

Moment 3Description (chapter and page number if possible)

What questions can you ask about this moment as it relates to your larger question?

Focusing Your Research PlanWhat else do you need to know about this time period to answer your paper question?

1.

2.

3.

4.

Potential OutlineThesis and short summary of specific character or moment in book [2-3 paragraphs]

History of time period and race (using specific sources) [1-2 paragraphs]

Close reading of a small section (ideally, 1-2 chapters) of TKaM [2-3 paragraphs]

Answering your question with evidence [1-2 paragraphs]

Is the book still relevant today? (Should we still teach this book?) [1 paragraph]

Total 7-11 paragraphs

Name: ___________________________________________To Kill a MockingbirdSchool-to-Prison Pipeline: Chapters 26

Claim Agree Disagree Explanation

Men are more likely to be accused of having drugs on them or committing a crime at EHS than women

Smoking up is not a big deal because there are no long term effects and everyone does it

It’s not a big deal to buy or sell a little pot here and there

Anticipatory Statements

After listening to your peers discuss their responses to these statements, what is one thing someone said that surprised or interested you? Why?

Response to Newspaper Article

Follow along as we read. You’ll summarize and analyze at the end of the readings.

The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander and Michelle McCool.

"The New Jim Crow" highlights the racial dimensions of the War on Drugs. It argues that federal drug policy unfairly targets communities of color, keeping millions of young, black men in a cycle of poverty and behind bars.

The book begins by disproving claims that racism is dead. Those who believe that full equality been achieved would do well to notice many African Americans' reality today. An extraordinary amount of blacks are still barred from voting because in nearly every state, as convicted felons cannot vote. Hundreds of thousands of African Americans have served time in prison as a result of drug convictions and are branded felons for life. Voting is also barred for those currently incarcerated. Alexander uncovers the system of mass incarceration: a system comprised of laws, rules, policies, and customs that control criminals both in and out of prison. The greatest instigator of mass incarceration is the War on Drugs.

Rather than combat drug activity, the War on Drugs has served as a deliberate strategy to control people of color and remove them from the political process, which is racist in both application and design. Alexander suggests that the War on Drugs and mass incarceration constitute a "rebirth of caste" in America. Beginning with slavery and continuing with Jim Crow segregation, mass incarceration prevents places entire groups of people into discriminatory positions in society, permanently.

The War on Drugs began in earnest in the mid-1980s, equipping local law enforcement agencies with the means to increase crackdowns on communities in search of drugs. Alexander notices, however, that many of the policies implemented by the War on Drugs usurps the U.S. Constitution and are specifically targeted at communities of color. The "stop-and-frisk" rule, for example, grants police officers the ability to search individuals based on "suspicion", not probable cause, of drug activity. This opens the floodgates for discriminatory practices. Police can find an individual "suspicious" based on dress, walk, driving ability, and as Alexander points out, skin color. This supports statistic that nearly 90 percent of drug felons are black, when whites are more likely to engage in drug activity. Polices that punish crack cocaine more harshly than powdered cocaine (blacks being associated with crack) serve as a reminder of the discriminatory approaches to drug crime. Alexander provides numerous statistics that suggest that poor black men are on the whole, stopped more often by police, arrested more often, and imprisoned more often than white offenders.

The lives of convicted felons after they are released from prison are forever changed. As a result of their criminality, they are legally discriminated against in their ability to obtain housing, employment, education, and public benefits like Medicaid and food stamps. Convicted felons are prevented from voting until they pay exorbitant fines and penalties, many of which they can never fully pay. Ex-offenders are shamed in their communities, and often live in isolation and despair. Many return to crime and are re-incarcerated.

Here, Alexander draws parallels between mass incarceration today and past systems of racialized social control like Jim Crow. Both systems legally discriminated against citizens and were formed by the racist views of those in power. The book ends with a simple question: how best should the public respond to a social crisis of this magnitude? Alexander is skeptical of legal-driven, trickle down theories of social change. Such approaches reform aspects of the system, but don't address the root of the problem. She suggests that in addition to bringing an end to the War on Drugs and the system that has developed around it (which will be no simple feat), the public consensus that "being a criminal equals being black" must to be challenged and changed. In addition, "colorblindness" and its indifference to the specific problems faced by racial groups needs to be exposed. Talking about race must once again become honest and transparent. Ending mass incarceration will require a grassroots movement of people, white and black, criminal and non-criminal, demanding peace and prosperity for all.

Fact Sheet: How Bad Is the School-to-Prison Pipeline?

By Carla Amurao

“In these days, it is doubtful that any child may reasonably be expected to succeed in life if he is denied the opportunities of an education.  Such an opportunity, where the state has undertaken to provide it, is a right that must be made available on equal terms.” -  Chief Justice Earl Warren, Brown v. Board of Education (1954)

The school-to-prison pipeline: an epidemic that is plaguing schools across the nation. Far too often, students are suspended, expelled or even arrested for minor offenses that leave visits to the principal’s office a thing of the past. Statistics reflect that these policies disproportionately target students of color and those with a history of abuse, neglect, poverty or learning disabilities.

Students who are forced out of school for disruptive behavior are usually sent back to the origin of their angst and unhappiness—their home environments or their neighborhoods, which are filled

with negative influence. Those who are forced out for smaller offenses become hardened, confused, embittered. Those who are unnecessarily forced out of school become stigmatized and fall behind in their studies; many eventually decide to drop out of school altogether, and many others commit crimes in their communities.

It is difficult to pinpoint the exact reason for the school-to-prison pipeline. Many attribute it to the zero tolerance policies that took form after the 1999 Columbine High School massacre. Others blame educators, accusing them of pushing out students who score lower on standardized tests in order to improve the school’s overall test scores. And some blame overzealous policing efforts. The reasons are many, but the solutions are not as plentiful.

So how bad is the school-to-prison pipeline? See the stats for yourself, leave suggestions, find programs in your local community, take a stance.

Facts and Statistics:

-  A 2007 study by the Advancement Project and the Power U Center for Social Change says that for every 100 students who were suspended, 15 were Black, 7.9 were American Indian, 6.8 were Latino and 4.8 were white.

-  The same study reports that the U.S. spends almost $70 billion annually on incarceration, probation and parole. This number lends itself to a 127% funding increase for incarceration between 1987-2007. Compare that to a 21% increase in funding for higher education in the same 20-year span.

-  Based on statistics from the Civil Rights Data Collection (see sources below), in 2009, the Los Angeles Unified School District reported the following numbers for out-of-school suspensions: 62% Hispanic students, 33% Black students, 3% white and 2% Asian. LAUSD also reported that of their expulsions, 67% of Hispanic students and 5% of Black students were not offered educational services. Lastly, 77% Hispanics and 8% of Asian, Black and white students were expelled under zero tolerance policies.

-  The CRDC also shows that in 2009, the West Valley School District in Spokane, WA expelled 20% Black students and 60% white students and offered no educational services. Of those who were expelled, 10% Black students and 60% white students were done so under zero tolerance policies. Those who were referred to law enforcement included 10% Black students and 80% white students. However, Spokane school districts reported a higher number of enrolled white students. West Valley School district consisted of 86% white students and 4% Black students.

-  In St. Louis, MO schools, the Normandy School District’s 98% Black student population drew in the following: 100% of all students who received more than one out-of-school suspension, 100% of those who were expelled without educational services and 100% of those who were referred to law enforcement. In Missouri’s Ritenour School District, 67% of Black students vs. 33% white students were referred to law enforcement.

-  New Orleans, LA has numbers equally as staggering. The Orleans Parish School Board’s expulsions under zero tolerance policies were 100% Black, with 67% of their school-related arrests being Black students. The RSD-Algiers Charter School Association had 75% of their expelled students without educational services black. Furthermore, 100% of their expulsions under zero tolerance policies and 100% of their school-related arrests were all Black students.

Below are expanded statistics pulled from the Civil Rights Data Collection, with latest results from 2009.

Remember: While it’s easy to think the school-to-prison pipeline only impacts particular students and their respective families, we must remember that our whole society will feel the consequences. Today’s youth are tomorrow’s leaders. And we must remember that we cannot teach a student who is not in school.

--from the Boston Herald (March 30 2014)

After pursuing a “restorative justice” approach, Boston Public Schools experienced a sharp drop in drug- and violence-related suspensions. In 2010, 743 students were suspended or expelled for serious offenses. In 2011, the number fell 80 percent, to 137, and in 2012, 120 students were suspended or expelled. Schools are exploring alternatives such as written apologies, conferences between offenders and victims, and anger-management courses.

Post-Reading Reflection

Summarize your thinking in 3-4 sentences.

What is one quote, statistic, or fact that interested or surprised you.

Name: ___________________________________________To Kill a MockingbirdCollaborative Playwriting: Chapter 28

Entrance QuestionDo you think Tom Robinson will be found innocent or guilty of raping Mayella Ewell? What does it mean for race relations in the town if he is found innocent? What does it mean if she is found guilty?

WHAT IS THE MEAT OF CLASS?

Reading Questions – Chapter 211. What does Jem expect the verdict to be? Does Atticus think the same?

2. What is unusual about how long it takes the jury to reach a verdict?

3. Is the verdict predictable or not?

4. As Scout waits for the verdict, she thinks of earlier events. What are these and how do they remind us of the novel's central themes? Connect Chapter 21 to one of the themes we’ve been thinking about: prejudice, courage, moral education, equality v. inequality

Name: ___________________________________________To Kill a MockingbirdLiving in a Racist Society: Chapter 22

Entrance QuestionThink of one moment from either your life or recent events where someone who was doing the right thing was punished or thwarted. What happened? What was the larger impact on that person? On the community?

Literary Scavenger Hunt

Claim Agree/Disagree + Because… + Textual EvidenceMadson

’s Signoff

Most white people in Maycomb supported Atticus’ work.

Maycomb’s African American community understood that Tom Robinson’s punishment was inevitable.

Atticus will not be angry at Bob Ewell’s response to the trial’s outcome.

Reading Questions - Chapter 221. Although Atticus did not want his children in court, he defends Jem's right to know what has

happened. Explain, in your own words, Atticus's reasons for this. (Look at the speech beginning,“This is their home, sister”).

2. Miss Maudie tells Jem that “things are never as bad as they seem”. What reasons does she give for this view?

3. Why does Dill say that he will be a clown when he grows up? Do you think he would keep thisambition for long?

4. This story is set in the 1930s but was published in 1960. Have attitudes to racism remained thesame or have there been any changes (for the better or worse) sincethen, in your view?

5. Why does Bob Ewell feel so angry with Atticus? Do you think his threat is a real one, and howmight he try to “get” Atticus?

Homework:Submit one debatable question about To Kill a Mockingbird to Madson by 10 pm this evening:cmadson@bostonpublicschool.org

Name: ___________________________________________To Kill a MockingbirdCreating Connections: Chapters 23 and 24

Entrance QuestionAfter reading the past few chapters, what are you thinking about your final paper? What theme will you focus on (moral education, prejudice, equality v. inequality, or courage)? Is there a specific character or moment you have in mind?

Be prepared to share your thinking with the class.

Developing a QuestionToday we will work in small reading groups to ask and answer questions of each other.

a. On your handout, write a question you have about a character or theme in the book right now. Ideally this question is related to your final paper.

b. One person will ask his/her question. [1 minute] You will listen quietly (no talking!) as the other people in your group answer your question. [5 minutes]

c. You will respond. [1-2 minutes]

d. The next person will ask their question and repeat the process.

Reading Questions - Chapter 231. What do you think of Atticus's reaction to Bob Ewell's challenge? Should he have ignored Bob,

retaliated or done something else?

2. What is “circumstantial evidence”? What has it got to do with Tom's conviction?

3. What does Atticus tell Scout about why the jury took so long to convict Tom?

4. Why does Aunt Alexandra accept that the Cunninghams may be good but are not “our kind offolks”? Do you think that people should mix only with others of the same social class? Are class divisions good or bad for societies?

5. At the end of this chapter, Jem forms a new theory about why Boo Radley has never left hishouse in years. What is this? How likely is it to be true, in your opinion?

Reading Questions - Chapter 241. Do you think the missionary ladies are sincere in worrying about the “Mrunas” (a tribe in Africa)?

Give reasons for your answer.

2. Compare the reactions of Miss Maudie and the other ladies when Scout says she is wearing her “britches” under her dress.

3. What is your opinion of the Maycomb ladies, as depicted in this chapter?

4. Explain briefly how Tom was killed. What is Atticus's explanation for Tom's attempted escape. Do you think agree with Atticus?

5. How, in this chapter, do we see Aunt Alexandra in a new light? How does Miss Maudie support her?

Group Members: Date:

Question:

__________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Notes from group discussion:

Question:

__________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Notes from group discussion:

Question:

__________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Notes from group discussion:

Question:

__________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Notes from group discussion: