:
Written during the Civil Rights period, Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird has become a classic book about the fictional town of Maycomb, Alabama.
Every school year students read and study the novel, but what does it mean
“to kill a mockingbird”? Next week you will begin to read the novel. In preparation for the book, you are going to research the real life injustice that inspired Harper Lee and influenced much of her book. As you research and read the book, begin to think about what it means “To Kill a Mockingbird.”
1) Go to the WebQuest link.
2) Using the links on the WebQuest, research the specific aspect of the case assigned to your role and complete the study guide with your group.
3) Write a diary entry.
:
1) Accuser
—As the accuser, you are to research information on the
TWO accusers in the Scottsboro Boys trial, answer your assigned study guide questions, and be able to tell your group about the accusers.
2) Defendant
—As the defendant, you are to research information on the NINE defendants in the Scottsboro Boys trial, answer your assigned study guide questions, and be able to tell your group about the defendants.
3) Judge
—As the judge, you are to research the different trials and appeals of the Scottsboro Boys, answer your assigned study guide questions, and be able to tell your group about the trials.
4) Detective/Reporter
—As the detective/reporter, you are research the facts of the case and people’s reactions, answer your assigned study guide questions, and be able to tell your group about what happened on the train and the aftermath of the case.
*If your group five members, the two people will be the Defendants*

Use the following questions to guide your individual research, but answer
ALL the questions as a group. This is due by the end of class TODAY!!
Accusers:
1) What are the names of the two accusers?
2) How old were they?
3) What were their professions?
4) Why were they on the train March 25, 1931? Where were they coming from?
5) What was their accusation?
6) Describe Victoria Price and Ruby Bates.
7) What happened to each person after the trials?

Defendants:
1) What are the names of the defendants?
2) How old were they?
3) Why, in general, the boys on the train?
4) What was their punishment?
5) What happened to each on of them after the trials ended?

Judges:
1) Who was the first judge of the trials?
2) How long did the trials and appeals last (overall)?
3) Briefly summarize the trials as a whole.
4) Who were the witnesses for the prosecution? The defense?
5) Who was the boys’ attorney?
6) Who was the second judge?

Detectives/Reporters:
1) Construct a timeline of the events of the Scottsboro case:

March 25, 1931:

April 6, 1931:

April 7, 1931:

June 22, 1931:

January 5, 1932:

March 1932:

November 1932:

January 1933:

March 27 1933:

April 9, 1933:

May 7, 1933:


June 22, 1933:

November-December 1933:

April 1 1935:

January 23-24, 1936:

July 1937:

July 24, 1937:

July 5, 1938:

September 1943:

January 1944:

September 1944:

October 1976:


January 23, 1989:

April 19, 2013:
2) What happened on March 25, 1931? Detail the events on the train. Who was in which cars, detail the fight, and the alleged rape.
3) Who came to help the boys?
4) What was the world’s reaction to the Scottsboro Boys case?

Your next task requires new groups. You will now be grouped by your roles from Task
#1. For example, if you were an Accuser, then you will be in a group with the other
Accusers. As a group, you will type a diary entry based on your role. All diary entries must be typed, minimum one page double spaced, 12-point Times New Roman font.
Select one group member to type the entry, but all members must contribute to the entry.
I will pass back your graded study guides and you may use those to help you write your entries. Diary entries are due by the end of class.
Remember, you are writing diary entries, so get inside the head of your role.
Accusers: You are either Victoria Price or Ruby Bates (you decide which one). Write, from your perspective, what really happened on the train March 25, 1931? Detail your day in it's entirety, including your perceptions, your motives, what you were doing, what you feel, and what you think about the outcome of your decisions.
Defendants: You are one of the defendants (you decide which one). Write, from your perspective, what really happened on the train March 25, 1931? Detail the day in it's entirety from your point of view, including your perceptions, how you feel, what you did, and what you think about the impending trial.
Judges: You are a Supreme Court justice reviewing the Scottsboro case. Your job is to determine if the boys' trials were unconstitutional and if they deserve a retrial. You and your fellow justices have overturned the local courts' decisions regard the boys because the trials violated the boys’ rights. In your diary entry, defend your decision by detailing how and why the trials were unfair, how justice should be done, if justice will every be done for the boys, and why/why not?
Detectives/Reporters: You are a reporter for the New York Times. You have been sent to Alabama to report on the Scottsboro trial. Coming down to the deep South from New
York City is a major culture shock, and it is only amplified by the trial of the decade. In your diary, write about what you are seeing and your impressions. Discuss the racial tensions and fears in the South, the effects of the trial on the locals, and your impression as a Northerner on the Southern courtroom.