Overview:

In order to highlight some of the issues dealt with in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, you are required to research one of the given topics.  We will work on researching these topics in the media center.  In your research, you will find facts about your topic.  Each of those facts will be documented, and you will be required to cite bibliographic information for the facts as well.

Specific Requirements:

· You need to use at least four sources of information.  Only two can be internet sources. Your other sources can be books, articles from the vertical file, or encyclopedias. 

· Each source needs a bibliography card. Your bibliography cards will be turned in.

· You need to find at least 30 facts about your topic.  Each fact needs a note card. Those note cards will be turned in.

Citing Sources:

For each source you use, you will write a bibliography card. After you compile your information, you will use the bibliography cards to write a works cited page.  For each fact that you gather, you will write a note card.   The information on these cards will assist you with documenting your research.

Final Products:

· You will write a news article about your topic using the information you gathered. You will have two days in the computer lab to design your newsletter page, including clip art and text boxes, using Microsoft Publisher.

· You will present a summary of your information to the class (approximately 3-5 minutes). Your presentation should include a visual aid to help your audience remember your topic. The visual aid can be an informational poster, but it does not have to be. Use your imagination—costumes, photo collages, skits, etc. Make memorable presentations.

· You will also turn in your bibliography and note cards from your research.

Grading: At least four sources = 2 points (two not internet)

Note cards = 15 points (need to be properly formatted)

Source cards = 8 points (need to be properly formatted)

News article = 45 points (includes parenthetical citations)

Presentation = 10 points

Visual Aid = 15 points

Total = 95 points

Topics:

The Scottsboro Trial

This is one of the most famous-or infamous-court cases in American history.

Harper Lee

Nelle Harper Lee, the author of To Kill a Mockingbird, had many childhood experiences which are similar to those of her narrator, Scout Finch.

The Great Depression

The 1930s are defined by the Great Depression.  This era was characterized by the decline in economy and industrialization around the globe.

John Dewey

John Dewey was an American philosopher and educator who held that education should be as much concerned with physical and moral welfare as with intellectual development.

Plessy v. Ferguson

This court case established the “separate but equal” standard.

Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka

This court case ordered the desegregation of American schools.

Works Progress Administration (WPA)

The WPA commonly refers to the many agencies established by the Federal Government in the 1930s during Franklin D. Roosevelt’s administration to provide employment for the jobless.

Lynchings in the South

Apart from slavery, lynching is perhaps the most horrific chapter in the history of African Americans. Although lynching, defined as execution without the due process of law, has been used against members of many different ethnicities, the vast majority of victims have been African American men, mostly in the Southern states, during a 50-year period following Reconstruction. 

Jim Crow Laws

From the 1880s into the 1960s, a majority of American states enforced segregation through "Jim Crow" laws.

The Ku Klux Klan

This group was founded to maintain white supremacy through intimidation and violence.

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)

This group, formed to fight for civil rights through legal action and education, was influential after it was formed in 1909.

Niagara Movement

This forerunner of the NAACP fought for school integration, voting rights, and assisted African American political candidates.

The Civil Rights Act of 1964

This legislation granted increasing civil rights, especially to minorities.

Montgomery Bus Boycott

This protest, which was started by Rosa Parks, caught the attention of the nation.

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Dr. King was instrumental in the Civil Rights Movement.

Racial Inequality in America’s Justice System from 1900 to 2000

The ratios of people arrested, convicted, and executed by race often surprise people. The inequality is still apparent in our prison system today.

Underground Railroad

This system helped many runaway slaves escape Southern plantations for the freedom of the North.