Teaching To Kill a Mockingbird Harper Lee’s novel as a basis for project work

Abstract

One could ask oneself what is the importance of reading, and why should anyone read? I would like to turn the question around and say, why not? This is a pedagogical essay that will discuss the theory and practice of teaching literature in schools. The use of literature in schools is often limited to the reading itself, without connections to a broader perspective, or while-reading activities, followed by oral discussions, or book reviews. A different approach, putting the novel at the center of the teaching for a period of several weeks, is what I aim to present, suggesting coherent lessons with a theme to follow, instead of non-related chapters from a textbook. Harper Lee wrote the magnificent novel To Kill a Mockingbird in 1960. The novel gives the opportunity to teach about for example: language aspects, symbolism, culture, geography, history, family values, and moral questions. Why is To Kill a Mockingbird a suitable novel to use in the teaching, and how can it be used? are the questions to be answered in this essay. The project is aimed for Upper Secondary students, or adults. Chapter one is a theoretical chapter that deals with what other people have said about using literature in the classroom. What can one gain from reading, especially novels? It will also discuss the teacher’s role in choosing literature. As a part of chapter two the questions why To Kill a Mockingbird is a suitable novel to use in the classroom, and what to teach from the novel will be addressed. Moreover there are certain features that both teachers and pupils need to be aware of, as well as understand in order to get the most out of To Kill a Mockingbird. These will be explained in chapter two. The third chapter is a description of how To Kill a Mockingbird can be used in the teaching, providing exercises that reach over eight sessions. The national syllabus for English is the main foundation of the chosen tasks.