Customer Reviews

A Guide for Using To Kill a Mockingbird in the Classroom (Literature Unit (Teacher Created Materials))

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I thought that this guide was definitely worth the money that was paid for it. The teacher created materials guide for To Kill a Mockingbird includes a table of contents which divides the novel into 6 different sections (for example, Section 1 includes Chapters 1 through 5 in the book). There are pre-reading activities to generate interest in the book (themes such as justice and prejudice, as well as a brief biography of Harper Lee) as well as a few ideas for teachers after the novel is finished (there is a list of research topics for this time period that is helpful for teachers who want to generate some related topics).

Vocabulary lists for each of the novel sections and a few vocabulary activity ideas are also included (examples: part of speech chart for vocabulary words, word puzzles, etc). I found this section extremely beneficial because it saves so much time to already have a list of difficult words generated for the students.

Each section has study questions for each of the 6 sections (it is actually listed as the Quiz section). Although some of the questions are a bit general (example, List three important events from this section), overall the questions fit quite well within the scope of the novel and can be used as a tool for checking comprehension.

There are several other neat ideas that can be used directly or adapted by the teacher into another activity. For instance, there is a section on Urban Myths and Myths, which ties into the character of Boo Radley. There are questions for conducting an interview of "The Great Depression" that could be used as a take-home assignment for a student. There are ideas for Southern Cooking (if that's your thing) and a section on understanding similes and metaphors (which are quite frequent in the book). Also, there is a characterization chart for four of the main characters (Scout, Jem, Atticus, Dill) as well as a section that discusses the ideas of theme and examples of racial hatred and discrimination.

Overall, although only 48 pages in length, I felt this was an excellent buy. It is very organized and quite helpful for a teacher needing extra resource material for a novel.

We purchased this guide and the Cliff Notes to aid us in our monthly book club meeting for March. (See our review of To Kill a Mockingbird -- both the film and the novel.) As a teacher, I greatly appreciated the section devoted to vocabulary building -- so much easier than compiling the list of words myself. And we all found the sections on the author, the Great Depression, urban myths, and figures of speech great jumping-off points for discussion and further research. It may seem that you get more for your money from the Cliff Notes, but my experience was that we turned to this slim volume more frequently and that it generated better reader response.

Over the years I have used teacher created resources for teaching different books. I have to admit this one is not one of the better ones on the market. What was this author thinking? I have taught `Mockingbird" to numerous students over the last 20 years and even used it as one of the books for my masters in reading. In all the years I have never found the connection of "Bloody Mary" as well as other terms on pg. 26 in the book. Also pg.13 is still having me shake my head. There are much better books out there for teaching this WONDERFUL book.

This book is my everyday tool in class and at home. I used it to help my nephew in book report and for me to teach it to my students. Great help.

There are several reading strategies and activities to motivate your readers in this guide book. I think it is very useful for those who may be teaching this novel for the first time and a new tool to get a new perspective on the novel for seasoned educators. I found that it had some great ideas, Anticipation Guides, project ideas, and research topics.

I used this with two of my home-schooled children. Both of these children enjoyed the movie and wanted to do a bit more research into the book. It provided background and added to the experience of the book and movie.
I would recommend this to anyone looking to dig a bit deeper into this important work.

This year, I taught To Kill a Mockingbird to my freshman students for the first time. I purchased this literature unit to help me plan. While it has several activities that touch on basic literary terms, I used most of the activities as "fillers" for time. I think it will be more helpful with lower level students and not honors classes. Still worth purchasing; I'm always happy to have too many resources.

Excellent product, easy to use, ready for immediate classroom use! Well organized by chapter and provides short quizzes for groups of chapters in the novel to ensure kids are reading. Excellent connections, journal activities that go well beyond the literal comprehension of the novel. A must have!

I loved this book and couldn't put in down. It really gives you an insight into rascism in different parts of the world. I hope there are more books like this around. Don't be put of at the boring beginning, it soon becomes much better.