Unit Objectives

• Students will read Harper Lee's classic novel: To Kill A Mockingbird.

• Comprehension will be assessed using DYRT (did you read this) quizzes or other tools for feedback.

• To increase web page skills, students will show their understanding of the novel by publishing a web project: a multigenre hypertext essay. (This assignment is a bridge to the big multigenre research project done in 4th quarter).

• Students will also complete a mini Internet search for sites related to the novel; this list of related sites will be annotated in order for students to learn how to do an annotated sources list.

• A novel packet will help students develop thoughts about characters, keep the events of the plot straight, and to think about ideas in the novel in preparation for discussion.

Web Project

The web project consists of two main components:

• an annotated list of web sites (related to the novel)

• a multigenre hypertext essay:

  • main essay

  • three connected/related genre pieces that support, expand, help develop ideas in main essay

There are specific instructions for setting up your folders and pages for this project. The design must be clear and uncluttered. Keep good web design principles in mind. Think of readability. No unrelated graphics. No black or dark backgrounds. No graphic backgrounds on text pages. Use web safe fonts.

Annotated list of sites:

A list of related sites is a great addition to any web site. Such a list helps your reader connect to more information on a topic he or she is interested in. An annotation (note about the site) helps him or her decide if a particular site is worth investigating.

• Make three links to web sites related to the novel; each link needs a 30-50 word annotation. Here are the directions for how to do these annotations. We will do the first one together.

The Essay:

Choose from one of the following topics and develop your essay (about 350-400 words).

• courage

• some people serve as moral compasses for the rest of us

• growing up/loss of innocence

• loneliness

• racial prejudice

• the symbolism of the mockingbird (who fits the symbol)

• topic of your own choosing

The essay needs to be organized logically. You need an introductory paragraph as well as a concluding paragraph. The body of the essay may be two to four paragraphs, depending upon how much you have to say.

Review "Writing Essays." Go the the graphic organizers page for tools to use in organizing your ideas.

Making it a multigenre hypertext essay:

The main text of your essay will be supported by three additional pieces of writing from a variety of genres (you choose). Each supporting genre will add to, explain, or support in some other way a significant idea/theme in your main essay. The support genre piece goes on its own page (tkam_3, or 4, or 5). You link to each page in the text of the essay.

For example, say your essay is about the role of women in the novel. You have written that Scout is not a typical girl even though her aunt wishes she would be. You could make "typical girl" into a hyperlink that goes to a speech from Scout as a grown woman who talks about important things for women to do. Or it could go to a poem in which she complains that everyone seems to be trying to make her into something she's not.

The main text of the essay is supported in two ways then:

1. You give evidence from the text. Use page numbers in parentheses as needed.

2. You write three support genres and link to them.

Unfortunately, there are no student models for this project. Yours will be the first. Keep in mind that students next year will be looking at what you've done. Please ask for help when you need it.

Getting started:

• Create a folder for these pages. Call the folder tkam. In it, put these five pages: main.htm; tkam_2.htm, tkam_3.htm, tkam_4.htm, and tkam_5.htm.

• Set up the pages for the project this way. We will do this together in class. A simple way to make the pages is to copy the template from the sample page and paste it on your page. Then make your links live and make other format changes.

• Make a link to your main page on your webfolio under assignments/projects. Call it To Kill a Mockingbird project (or multigenre hypertext essay).

• Check the calendar for the due date.

• A link to the rubric for this project is at the top of this page.

Genre suggestions

For each supporting genre page, put an appropriate title or headline at the top of the page. Also, for each of the three genre pages, you will need a short introductory paragraph that explains what your reader is seeing.

1. A character study of one of the main characters.

2. A letter from one character to another.

3. A newspaper article.

4. A poem for two voices using two of the characters in the novel, or one character and something else. Go to your ThinkBook for a reminder of how to do this.

5. Another kind of poem.

6. An obituary or a eulogy.

7. A comic strip (8 panes) that illustrates a major event from the novel. Use a comic strip from a Sunday newspaper as an example of how to set up the title, the drawings and the character's voices. You will need to scan this in.

8. A monologue from one of the main characters that reveals his or her feelings about an event from the novel.

9. A speech.

10. A fable (a short story that teaches a lesson).

11. A recipe.

12. A fictionalized journal entry (from the perspective of one of the characters).

13. A mandala (man-dolĺ-uh). This is an activity for those who want a creative and intellectual challenge. It is a more time-consuming activity. (If you choose the mandala, you need only one other genre. You must publish your actual mandala and your questions and answers).

14. Something else? You suggest an idea to your teacher.

Genre Help

Character Study
Choose one of the main characters and using words, paint a word portrait of him or her. Write about any of the following: interests, relationships with other characters, personality, problems that face him or her, and or anything else that you think will help your reader understand that character better. To help you get the information you need, first fill out a chart like the one that follows. This chart would not be published on your web page. A character study is written in third person; you are the author who knows everything about the character. Think about sentence fluency as you write. Read your character study aloud to make sure it reads smoothly and that it sounds good.

Letter
Choose one character from column A below and write a letter from him or her to the character you choose from column B below. The letter should be written as a personal letter and should include all the important details you think that person would include in a letter. To help you decide what to write about, ask yourself what person A has to say and why. Also, why did you choose person B to get the letter. In other words, the relationship you create between these two characters will help you know just what to write in the letter. What does the one have to say to the other?

Obituary/Eulogy
An obituary is a newspaper account of a person's death and life. It generally includes the main events of his or her life, the person's family, and any special accomplishments from his or her life. If the person's death was "famous," there might be details of the circumstances. The audience for the obituary is the general public. Click here for the Sheboygan Press's current obituaries to use for examples. A eulogy is similar to an obituary, but it is a speech instead of an article. A eulogy is given by someone who knew the person well or by someone in his or her family. The eulogy is generally more personal and the audience is all the people in attendance at the funeral or memorial service. In writing either, the main purpose is to honor the life of someone who has died.

Monologue
A monologue is a part in a play or dramatic narrative where one character is talking alone. What he or she says represents his inner thoughts and feelings. He or she may not have an audience other than the reader or the theatre audience. In other words, the other characters in the play or narrative do not usually hear the words of the speaker. When you write this monologue, choice of character is very important. Decide what he or she is thinking inside. What is he/she feeling? What would he/she tell the world if it would listen? Also, set the scene. Before the monologue, in a short paragraph, tell who the speaker is, where he/she is (set the scene visually), and tell what has happened in the life of this character so far (very briefly: like "this is after such and such" or "before the blank happens." This link to monologue may help, but if you just write from the character's heart, you will probably know what you want to say.

News Article
A good news article answers the basic questions: who, what, when, where, why and how. It also uses direct quotes from people who were there and witnessed an event or who know something about the event. A good reporter will report both or all sides of the story. Use a real news story as your model for writing this story. Create a headline for the story also. Click here for an example of a news story. For this assignment, focus on one event from the novel, such as the trial or Bob Ewell's harrassment of the children. To get more examples, read the stories on the front pages of newspapers to get the sound and structure of a common news story. (News is on the front page. Other types of articles are found elsewhere in the newspaper). Click here for a list of newspapers online.

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