Teacher(s)

Mrs. Maya Doughan

Subject
discipline

Unit title

To Kill A Mockingbird

MYP year

group

and

Language and Literature

Grade 11

Unit duration (hrs)

30
hrs

Inquiry: Establishing the purpose of the unit

Key concept

Related concept(s)

Global context

Point of View
Connections

Theme

Fairness and Development

Setting

Taking an in depth look at what is considered

justice, deciphering personal morality versus
social norms.

Purpose
Statement of inquiry

Morality is never set in stone. As humans we base our morality on past experiences and make personal judgements on what is considered to be fair and
rightous. To make an educated descision on what is right and wrong, one must first make personal and social connections in order to understand ones
purpose in life.

Inquiry questions

Factual What are the predominant themes of the novel? What is the setting in the novel?
Conceptual How does point of view change shape your perspective of the story? What role does ones setting play in understanding social norms and
expectations?
Debatable Has human morality evolved since the story was written in 1960? Do legal rights and laws have more power over moral obligations and
fairness?

Middle Years Programme Unit planner

Objectives

Objective A: Alnalysing
Justify opinions and ideas using examples,
explanations and terminology

Summative assessment
Outline of summative assessment task(s) including
assessment criteria:
1.

Analysis Questions
(Criteria A & D)

Relationship between summative assessment task(s)

and statement of inquiry:
By reading and analysing the novel, students will
take a moral stance on social justice and define what
is right versus wrong.

Objective B: Organizing
Organize opinions and ideas in a sustained,
coherent and logical manner
Obejctive C: Producing text
Produce texts that demonstrate insight,
imagination and sensitivity while exploring
and reflecting critically on new perspectives
and ideas arising from personal
engagement with creative process

2.

Reader Response
(Criteria A, B, C & D)

3.

Mock Trial

The reader response will provide a chace for

students to connect with the novels on a personal
level. Student will develop a personal relationship
with each character and gain perspective on why
individuals make certain choices.

(Criteria A, & D)
4.

Literary Essay
(Criteria A, B, C & D)

The mock trial will provide the student an opportunity

to take stance on either side of the law and argue
their case. Students will develop coheisive
arguments taken from factual events in the plot and
present their case to an objective third party.

Objective D: Using language

Use appropriate an varied vocabulary,
sentence structure and forms of expression

Middle Years Programme Unit planner

By doing a literary essay, students will make

connections between character relatioships and
themes such as man versus society, man versus man
and man versus self.

Approaches to learning (ATL)

Critical thinking, reading and analysis

Coherent, well organized written texts
Organization and communication skills
Media literacy

Action: Teaching and learning through inquiry

Content

Learning process
Learning experiences and teaching strategies

- Provide students with an in depth biography on

Harper Lee. Students will watch a critically
acclaimed documentary Hey Boo: Harper
Lee & To Kill A Mockingbird where the
video analyses the life of Haper Lee and
describes the importance and social impact
of the novel.
- Provide background information on the setting
of the south and the civil rights movement.
- Read the novel as a class (audio book). This
will ensure a clear voice and tone while
rading the story. This modification will also
benefit auditory learners as well as the
international students.

Explanation, deconstructing the novel, peer editing the drafts of each assignment, teacher feedback,
classroom discussions, debates ont eh prominent issues in the novel.
- I will ask students to Thin-Pair-Share prior to each assignment in order to promote cooperative learning
- I will ask students to sit in groups of four or five throuought the unit. This encourages studetns to share
ideas and help one another
- I will ask students to work individually when writing their refelction questions
- I will ask stidents to work in groupd of four or five prior to answering reflection questions or assigments in
order to reflect on the issues and conflicts within the novel. This will lead them to developing a theme
and they will be required to use literary techniques and use appropriate textual references in order to
justify their answers.
- I will incorporate media within the unit in order to engage students visually and provide them contextual
and historic background on important issues, themes and historical events.

- Student will create a Map of Maycomb in order

to have a compelte understanding of the
importance of setting and the role it plays
within the story.
- Character and conflict maps that will aid

Middle Years Programme Unit planner

students develop characterization and

theme
- Study guide which will include: author
biography, list of literary devices, all post
chapter reflection questions, and
assigments
- Students will produce a literary essay
analysing character realtionships and
theme
- Students will watch and analyze PBS home
video on Scottsboro: an American
Tragedy. This historical event is credited in
sparking a civil rights movement. This event
mirrors the acusation in the novel and will
offer students a different perspective on
racial injustice.
- Students will compare the novel to the Oscar
winning movie staring Gregory Peck.

Formative assessment
- Students will receive a study guide that will include all resources, reflection questions and assigments.
- Students will be responsible for homework, quizzes and additional note taking
- Students will receive instructors feedback in order for them to develop their ATL skills:
Critical thinking, reading and analysis
Coherent, well organized written texts
Organization and communication skills
Media literacy

Differentiation
Student will have access to one-on-one meetings with the instructor.
Addional daily lunch tutorial will be avaialable for those students who are struggling.
Students have a study guide containing resources for their achievemnts
Students will have the privilege of listening to an audio recording. This will aid the aucustic learners by
providing them a strong clear voice where tone in properly inflicted.
Visual learners will also benefit form media literacy. Doccumentries will provide visual cues for historic events
putting the novel in perspective for the students.

Resources

Harper Lees novel To Kill A Mockingbird, student study guide, audio recording of the novel, three dvds: To Kill A Mockingbird universal studios production, PBS
Home Video documentary Scottsboro: An American Tragedy and Hey, Boo: Harper Lee & To Kill A Mockingbird, PowerPoint prentations, laptop, smartboad and
blackboard.

Middle Years Programme Unit planner

Reflection: Considering the planning, process and impact of the inquiry

Prior to teaching the unit

During teaching

After teaching the unit

- Re-read the novel

- Create student study guide containing all
resources: reflection questions, literary
essay questions and activities
- Create PowerPoint presentations
- Create a tentative schedule for all readings and
assigments
- Purchased and viewed documetries and DVDs
for presentations
- Developed guiding questions for groups
discussions and analysis

Middle Years Programme Unit planner