To Kill A Moking Bird

To Kill a Mockingbird
Discussion Questions for Paideia/Socratic Seminar

1. Reminders
a. Listen to others, give everyone a chance to speak, and provide specific feedback to your peers (Speak 4 times= A, 3 times = B, 2 times = C, 1 time= D).
b. Use People’s Names
c. Respect the Conversation
d. You Don’t Need To Raise Your Hands
e. Refer to the Text
f. I’ll Keep Track of Comments / Rubric
g. Be prepared. This means reading the "text" closely, taking notes, and forming questions.
h. Be courteous. There will be no put-downs and no sarcasm.
i. Allow the speaker enough time to begin and finish his/her thoughts. (Do not be afraid of silence---this usually means thinking is occurring.)
j. Bring others into the discussion and ask others to elaborate on their responses.
2. Bring your copy of the paideia questions to class. These questions must be completed before class begins.
3. Set a Personal Goal for the Seminar (Talk three times, allow others to speak, give someone praise for an insightful comment, etc.)
4. Opening Questions
a. Who is your favorite character? Why?
5. Core Questions (Analyze the text)
a. Atticus tells the children several times that they need to walk in someone else's shoes before judging the person. Describe times when Atticus, Scout or Jem walk in someone else's shoes. How does this change how they view the situations? What role does this advice play in sympathy and compassion?
b. Should Boo Radley have been locked away in a mental institution when he was a teenager? Why or why not?
c. At one point Jem describes four kinds of "folks" in Maycomb County:"our kind of folks don't like the Cunninghams, the Cunninghams don't like the Ewells, and the Ewells hate and despise the colored folks." What does To Kill a Mockingbird teach us about how people cope with issues of race and class? Do you classify people in your world as different "folks?" Do you see those sort of distinctions today?
d. In the last few lines of To Kill a Mockingbird Scout says, "he was real nice..." and Attiucus replies, "most people are, Scout, when you finally see them." Do you agree that most people in the novel are nice once you see them? How is Atticus able to see the good side of people despite all he has experienced? Can you?
e. Rank in order of culpability (blameworthiness or responsibility) for the death of Tom Robinson the following characters: Bob Ewell, Mr. Gilman (prosecuting attorney), Mayella Ewell, individuals on the jury, and Tom Robinson.
f. What do you learn about the different attitudes toward Maycomb’s black population from the conversation at Aunt Alexandra’s ladies tea? How do these attitudes help explain Tom’s conviction?
g. When Tom is being cross-examined by Mr. Gilmer he says, “I felt right sorry for her.” Why was this a mistake? Why is it that “nobody liked Tom Robinson’s answer.”
h. One of the chief criticisms of TKAM is that the two central storylines -- Scout, Jem and Dill's fascination with Boo Radley and the trial of Tom Robinson -- are not sufficiently connected in the novel.
i. Why do you think Harper Lee divided the book into two parts? Do you think it worked effectively? Find evidence to support your assertion
i. Why does the author tell the story through the voice of Scout instead of Jem, Atticus, or Tom Robinson?
j. Why did Harper Lee title her book To Kill a Mockingbird?
k. This book is continually banned from the high school reading list because of racism, sex, and foul language. Do you believe this book should be banned? Even though this book was published in the 1960’s, how can this book relate to today’s society?

6. Closing Questions
a. Has your understanding of the novel matured or significantly changed through this discussion?
b. What else did you learn during the course of the discussion?
7. Debriefing
a. Did you meet your personal goal during the seminar? / What will you work on next time?
b. Was there anything about the seminar that bothered you?
c. What could we do to improve the seminar?
d. What will you remember about the seminar?