Procedure Day One:
Introduce The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and
To Kill a Mockingbird to the students by giving
them a synopsis of what happens in the novels, and an
explanation of the significance of both novels.
Explain that we can learn about past times from the
descriptions in novels.
This activity can be done in a way that works best for the students. Distribute the Attitudes towards Education sheet to the students and read it with them. As a whole or small group activity use this sheet to generate a discussion about the different attitudes towards reading. Refer back to the chart that lists the student’s ideas.
Ask the students what they think kids in the past thought about school. Distribute the School sheet and read it with the students. Using a T chart to record similarities and differences jot down how these quotations compare to the students’ own experiences in school today.
Day Two:
Divide the students into groups of three or four. Distribute a different document to each group and ask the groups to complete the School Then & Now sheet. Once the students have had an opportunity to discuss what they see and complete the sheet, have each group present their findings to the whole group.
Day Three:
Ask the students to name some of the things they learned
about schools of the past. Discuss the different ways
that they learned this information, through selections
from novels and by examining pictures. Ask how students
can tell people in the future about schools as they
are now. Suggest that an interesting way to do this
is to write a fictional account using school as the
setting. Have the students write fictional stories that
are set in their school.
Closure:
Have the students share their writing with each other to see which aspect of the school experience each focused on. Create a profile or present day history of your school by using the details that the students incorporated into their stories.
Extension:
Use selections from The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and To Kill a Mockingbird to explore attitudes about other aspects of society, such as racial tension during the Antebellum Period and the Jim Crow era. |
