To Kill a Mockingbird
Research Paper
DUE: March 17th- A Day/ March 18th B
Objective: To research an aspect of the 1930s in order gain an understanding of the
setting in terms of time and place of the novel, To Kill A Mockingbird.
Requirements:
In this major assignment you will practice the skill of preparing a 5-minute presentation
related to your research. You will research a social or historic issue from the 1930s at
home and perhaps at school. Once you have completed your research and formulated an
opinion, you will organize your ideas and practice your public speaking skills by
preparing a class presentation on your research. Remember, learning to research and
present well is hard work! To do this assignment, you will need to complete the
following steps:
Part I Research
1. Research your topic. A minimum of 3 sources and 9 note cards are
required per person. You must have the following types of sources in your
group: at least one book, one online database, and one Web site. **No
Wikipedia or Google**
Part II Prepare a 5 Minute Presentation
1. Organize your notes and identify the critical pieces that must be in your
presentation.
2. Brainstorm a creative way to present your information. Examples:
PowerPoint, Skit, Book, Poster, Movie, etc. It is important to also
consider necessary props.
3. Practice your presentation (time yourself!).
4. Deliver your 5 minute presentation.
What will be graded?
9 note cards – 20 points
Research Paper – 50
Works Cited – 10 points
Presentation (including visual) – 20 points
Possible topics:
All topics relate to the United States in the 1930s. Suggested topics are listed, but
more should be sought out.
Women of the 1930s


Fashion, careers,
family roles, taboos
for women, the
work place, wages
Gertrude Stein,
Mrs. Wallis
Simpson, Margaret
Mitchell, Jane
Addams, Pearl S
.Buck, Amelia
Earhart
Education in the 1930s



Educational
Reforms: John
Dewey "Experience and
Education"
Level of education State Laws
Literacy
Economic Concerns of the
1930s




President Hoover
President Roosevelt’s
"New Deal," social
security
Wall Street
Statistics: population,
wages and salaries, costs
of home, food, cars, rent
Status of African -Americans
in the 1930s





Jim Crow laws, voting
rights, civil rights,
education, occupations in
North and South
Discrimination, treatment
by white people.
Education for African
American
Great Depression, New
Deal effects on African
Americans.
W.B. Dubois, George
Washington Carver,
Booker T. Washington.
Marian Anderson,
Langston Hughes, Zora
Neale Hurston, Richard
Science/Technology/
Innovation during
1930s
 Television, radio,
World’s Fair
(1933)
 U.S. Nobel Prize
winners
 Glenn Curtiss,
Sigmund Freud,
T.A. Edison,
Thomas Hunt
Morgan
 Golden Gate
Bridge, Boulder
Dam
Popular Entertainment
of the
1930s





Movies,
Hollywood Stars
Dance
Radio Programs
Popular music:
"The Cotton
Club"
Shirley Temple,
Charlie Chaplin,
Benny Goodman,
Glenn Miller,
Judy Garland
Wright, Bessie Smith,
Lena Horn
The Headlines of the
1930s:
Political Concerns of the 1930s What and Who Made the International Relations
News
 Sports, disasters,
 Relationships with other
"big" events, 21st
world leaders
amendment, crime
 League of Nations
 Howard Hughes,
 Hitler, Churchill, Stalin,
Charles Lindbergh,
MacArthur
Knute Rockne, Joe
Louis, John
Dillinger, George
Eastman
The "Big6™" is copyright © (1987) Michael B. Eisenberg and Robert E. Berkowitz. For more
information, visit: www.big6.com
Criteria:
Proper Heading
Page numbers
4 – 6 pages
Double spaced
Times New Roman
Includes direct quotes and parenthetical citations
APA format
Works Cited page
Intro, body, conclusion