Resources

Take some time to peruse through these websites to "get into" the historical context of To Kill A Mockingbird. Try to find connections to contemporary life, as well as interesting differences. As you look through the sites, try to find things that would interest a Lethbridge reader in 2007. As you explore, look for similarities to the first chapters of the novel.

The following links will provide you with the necessary information to fill your letter with content to make your letter authentic and "come alive". Remember: you have to complete this letter during this period; therefore, scanning websites for pertinent information is important. Reading each site from top to bottom will not help you. As suggested before, as you find relevant information, add it to your four planning categories. Also, remember that you can take information, but make sure you put it in your own words. As well, if you would like additional information, feel free to "Google" it, or refer back the the initial chapters of the novel.

My apologies if any of the following links do not work. Just like the weather, web resources can come and go like rain clouds. If a site doesn't work, shrug, shake your head and move on. :)

Be sure to quickly visit Monroeville, Alabama, Harper Lee's hometown. Many suggest that Maycomb is heavily based on Monroeville. This website offers a great photo of the courtroom that is home to the trial in the novel, and has a few interesting facts as well.
http://www.tokillamockingbird.com/

American Cultural History from 1930-1939
http://kclibrary.nhmccd.edu/decade30.html

“Jim Crow” laws refer to the collection of the laws in the United States that forced the segregation of races.
http://www.nps.gov/archive/malu/documents/jim_crow_laws.htm
-this site has many actual examples of Jim Crow laws

Photographs of Signs Enforcing Racial Discrimination
http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/list/085_disc.html

Photographs of Several Alabama Towns
Greensboro: mailto:SUBJ%2B@band(United%2BStates--Alabama--Greensboro%2B))%2B@FIELD(COLLID%2Bfsa))
Selma: mailto:SUBJ%2B@band(United%2BStates--Alabama--Dallas%2BCounty--Selma%2B))%2B@FIELD(COLLID%2Bfsa))

Photographs of "Dust Bowls" during the Great Depression
http://memory.loc.gov/learn/features/timeline/depwwii/dustbowl/dbphotos.html

A List of Prices for General Items during the Great Depression
http://www.michigan.gov/hal/0,1607,7-160-15481_19268_20778-52530--,00.html

Some Background Information on the Novel
http://www.ih.k12.oh.us/hs/eng/hurd/prereadi.htm

Interview: Growing Up Black in the South in the 1930s
http://library.thinkquest.org/12111/mculley.html

Interview: Growing Up White in the 1930s
http://library.thinkquest.org/12111/girl.html