This Lesson's Title:

Mob's Voice vs. Hero's Voice

a poem for two voices inspired by To Kill a Mockingbird

This lesson was proposed for WritingFix by NNWP Teacher Consultant Jamie Priddy at an AT&T-sponsored in-service class for teachers.

The intended "mentor text" to be used when teaching this on-line lesson is the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. Before writing, students should listen to and discuss the writing style of this book's author, especially from chapter 15 of the book.

Check out To Kill a Mockingbird at Amazon.com.

If you are a Washoe County teacher, click here to search for this book at the county library.

Three-Sentence Overview of this Lesson:

  The writer will analyze and discuss the different perspectives of Atticus Finch and the lynch mob about the trial of Tom Robinson in To Kill a Mockingbird. The writer will then create two characters with opposing viewpoints. The final product will be a Poem for Two Voices in which the student shows the opposing views of the two characters they have created. Teachers: click here to read the entire lesson plan.

6-Trait Overview for this Lesson:

The focus trait in this assignment is voice; the writer will use the perspective of two different characters to show their opposing viewpoints. The support trait in this assignment is word choice; the writer will need to choose words that set a tone for the perspective of each character in his or her poem.