National Endowment of the Arts - The Big Read

To Kill A Mockingbird
Teacher's Guide - Introduction


This Big Read Teacher’s Guide contains ten lessons to lead you through Harper Lee’s classic novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. Each lesson has four sections: a thematic focus, discussion activities, writing exercises, and homework assignments. In addition, we have provided suggested essay topics and capstone projects, as well as handouts with more background information about the novel, the historical period, and the author. All lessons dovetail with the state language arts standards required in the fiction genre.

Finally, The Big Read Reader’s Guide deepens your exploration with interviews, booklists, time lines, and historical information. We hope this guide and syllabus allow you to have fun with your students while introducing them to the work of a great American author.

From the NEA, we wish you an exciting and productive school year.

Teaching Resources
Headshot of Harper Lee

Harper Lee (Bettmann/Corbis)

Black man and white man drinking from separate water fountains in the Jim Crow South

A segregated drinking fountain in the Jim Crow South (Bettmann/Corbis)

Mary Badham and Gregory Peck reviewing the To Kill a Mockingbird script

Mary Badham and Gregory Peck review the script on the set of the film To Kill a Mockingbird, 1962. (Universal Studios/Getty Images)



The Big Read


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