To Kill a Mockingbird - Atticus Finch!

This engaging and informative lesson enables students to make clear, detailed and well-informed interpretations of Atticus Finch’s character in To Kill a Mockingbird. In particular, students develop their background understanding of his role in the novel, make precise inferences about his character using evidence from the text, and relate their findings to the social and historical context of the American South in the 1930s.

The lesson follows a step-by-step learning journey, in which children learn through:

Taking part in a fun quiz in order to gain/recap knowledge about Atticus Finch’s background information (e.g. family history, occupation, etc.);
Reading selected extracts from the text and answering comprehension questions about Atticus’ character;
Identifying and analysing Atticus’ character traits in relation to social/historical context;
Understanding Lee’s intentions/messages in presenting Atticus in the way that she did;
Peer assessing each other’s learning attempts;

Included is:
Whole lesson PowerPoint - colourful and comprehensive;
Interesting Atticus Finch development worksheet;
Selected extracts (from chapters 3, 11 and 20);
Essay template
Comprehensive lesson plan.

There are also opportunities for group learning, speaking and listening, peer assessment, and whole class discussion. I originally used these resources with year 10 and 11 classes, however colleagues have used them for between year 8 and year 13 with some adaptations.

All images are licensed for commercial use, and image rights are listed on the last page of the presentation.