To Kill A Mockingbird pre-readingName

World LiteratureDate

Follow the links, read the information and answer the questions.

I. Jim Crow laws

from University of Dayton, School of Law website:

Examples of Jim Crow Laws

1. What was the purpose of “Jim Crow” laws?

2. What kind of partition did restaurants in Alabama need to have?

3. In Georgia, what was the law about amateur baseball?

4. What was the fine in Mississippi for promoting the idea of equality and intermarriage?

5. How do you think these laws would have affected your life if you had to follow them?

II. The Scottsboro Trial

from PBS website:

The Rise and Fall of Jim Crow: Stories [Events]

from From Trivia-Library.com:

The Scottsboro Boys 1

The Scottsboro Boys 2

1. What were the basic facts of the Scottsboro case?

2. What motivated the women to testify against the men?

3. Who tried to make sure justice was truly served in this case?

4. What does Clarence Norris say he has learned?

5. What is your opinion of this case?

III. Life in the South during the Great Depression

from Oracle: Think Quest website:

Interview: Growing up Black in the 1930s in McCulleys Quarters, Alabama

1. What was life like for a typical 6 year old girl, according to Mrs. Barge?

2. What does she say was her experience with white people when she was growing up?

from The Library of Congress “American Memory” website:

America from the Great Depression to WorldWar II: Black-and-White Photographs from 1935– 1945 (Greensboro, Alabama)

Click on “Gallery View” to see photographs.

1. Based on these photographs, what are your impressions of the town of Greensboro, Alabama?

2. Based on these photographs, how would you describe life for a black farming family in Greensboro, Alabama at this time?

3. Describe one thing that stands out for you in these photographs:

from The Library of Congress “American Memory” website:

America from the Great Depression to World War II: Black-and-White Photographs from 1935-1945 (Sharecroppers)

Click on “Gallery View” to see photographs.

4. Based on these photographs, how would you describe life for a white farming family in Greensboro, Alabama at this time?

Now search on this website for “Mr. Ramsey, lawyer”

5. What do you notice about the home of this lawyer, as compared to the homes in the other pictures?

from Library of Congress: Prints and Photographs Reading Room website

Photographs of Signs Enforcing Racial Discrimination

6. Look at some of the signs that enforced racial segregation. How do they make you feel?

7. How would these signs have affected your life?

IV. Harper Lee

from National Endowment for the Arts: The Big Read website

To Kill a Mockingbird: About theAuthor

1. What was Harper Lee like as a child?

2. What did her father do for a living?

3. What major prize did To Kill a Mockingbird win in 1961?

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