Teaching To Kill a Mockingbird Book
Book

Teaching Mockingbird

Use this resource to transform how you teach Harper Lee’s novel by integrating historical context, documents, and sources that reflect the African American voices absent from Mockingbird's narration.
Last Updated:

At a Glance

Book

Language

English — US

Subject

  • English & Language Arts
  • History
  • Racism
Full cover of Teaching Mockingbird.
Get This Resource

Teaching Mockingbird

ISBN: 978-1-940457-07-9
Date of Publication: December 2014

Purchase

Format: Print Book
Cost: $19.95

This book is available for purchase from most places you buy books, including major retailers and independent bookstores.

Purchase on Bookshop Purchase on Amazon

Download a PDF of this resource for free

Download this resource for free. By signing up for a Facing History account, you can access this and other resources. You'll also be able to save items for later and build collections for your class. It's fast, easy, and free!
Sign Up Already have an account? Log In

To Kill a Mockingbird is one of the most commonly taught books in American schools. Beloved by many readers and educators as a story of moral courage, it has also been criticized for its limited portrayal of Black characters, dated treatment of racism, and promotion of a “white savior” narrative. This complex novel can be the entry point for meaningful learning, but it demands a careful and intentional approach in the classroom. 

At a time when many in the United States and around the world are reckoning with systemic racism, responsibly teaching Mockingbird involves setting Harper Lee’s fictional story in its historical context, centering Black voices that are missing from the text, and examining the story and its messages with a critical lens. We describe the key principles behind our approach here

For educators who choose to teach To Kill a Mockingbird—or whose districts mandate it—we offer this collection of resources and professional learning opportunities.

This guide includes student handouts, close reading exercises, and connection questions that will push students to build a complex understanding of the historical realities, social dynamics, and big moral questions at the heart of To Kill a Mockingbird. Following Facing History’s scope and sequence, students will consider the identities of the characters, and the social dynamics of the community of Maycomb, supplementing their understanding with deep historical exploration. They will consider challenging questions about the individual choices that determine the outcome of Tom Robinson’s trial and the importance of civic participation in building a more just society.

You might also be interested in…

Most teachers are willing to tackle the difficult topics, but we need the tools.
— Gabriela Calderon-Espinal, Bay Shore, NY