To Kill a Mockingbird Activity - Analyzing the Theme of Empathy in the Novel
To Kill A Mockingbird Activity Analyzing Empathy In The Novel - You can encourage students to build empathy and analyze the theme of empathy in To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee with this creative class activity.
This To Kill A Mockingbird activity assignment is designed to be used after students have finished reading chapter 23. The first part of the activity has students work in groups to look at three scenarios (read by the teacher) from different perspectives. They will complete a brainstorming assignment sheet as a group after each of the three scenarios. This will help students build their empathy by looking at scenarios from a particular person's perspective.
After the activity, students complete an independent assignment where they analyze a variety of quotations from the novel that discuss how the quotes develop the theme of empathy in the novel.
Included In This To Kill A Mockingbird Activity:
➡️ Teacher Instructions: A detailed set of teacher instructions will allow you to easily see the context for, and set up this activity for your students.
➡️ Real-life Narrative Scenario Cards: These 3 detailed scenario cards will no doubt allow your students to make text-to-self or text-to-world connections and engender empathy. You can read these aloud to students or have them read these and then react by putting themselves in the shoes of the people in the scenarios.
➡️ Group Brainstorming Sheet: Then, for each scenario, students will work in groups and use these sheets to brainstorm their thoughts on how it would feel to be the teacher (scenario 1) the parent (scenario 2), and the police officer (scenario 3).
➡️ Independent Assignment Sheets: Lastly, each student will use a copy of these sheets to analyze 5 quotes from To Kill A Mockingbird relating to the theme of empathy. Students are asked to provide the context for the quote, and then consider how it develops the theme of empathy in the novel.
➡️ A Poster For Classroom Display: The poster showcases the famous quote from the novel relating to empathy: "You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view until you climb inside his skin and walk around in it." Students can think about this quote that nicely summarizes the way empathy is viewed by Atticus in the novel as they work on their assignment.
How To Use This To Kill A Mockingbird Activity:
1. Prior to class time, place the classroom display poster on your door or in a visible location so that students may see it as they enter the room.
2. Ask students if they know what empathy is. After a definition has been established, you and some of the students can share examples of empathy that you've seen in action. Remind students that to feel empathy, we often need to look at things from someone else's perspective.
3. Post the 3 scenarios, one at a time, and read through each aloud, or distribute them and have students read them silently.
4. Put students in small groups of 3-4 (depending on your class size of course) and ask them for each scenario to use the assignment sheets provided and in the perspectives of the teacher, the parent, and the police officer discuss how they felt in each situation. Students should discuss what each person might have been feeling, and predict why they think they reacted that way. What do they think might have been going on in their lives that would cause the reactions they had?
5. You can have groups share some of their thoughts from this activity aloud.
6. Have students return to their seating areas and provide them with the quote activity. Students are to write the context for each quote, consider which characters are feeling (or not feeling) empathetic, and how that relates to the novel both thematically and in connection with character development.
What Teachers Are Saying About This To Kill A Mockingbird Activity:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ This is such a great activity and spawned a lot of creativity in my classes. It helped the students get into the right mindset for the book.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ A great way to think creatively about To Kill A Mockingbird and get them to relate it to their own lives.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ An exceptional resource to discuss and stimulate the concept of empathy!
>>>This resource is included in my unit plan for the novel!
➡️ To Kill a Mockingbird Complete Unit Plan
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