To Kill a Mockingbird - Lee's Descriptive Language!

This engaging and informative lesson enables students to make precise and detailed interpretations of Harper Lee’s language choices throughout To Kill a Mockingbird. In particular, students identify and analyse the effect of Lee’s language in her descriptions of settings in the novel, using precisely selected extracts, before applying these concepts to their own descriptive writing attempts.

The lesson follows a step-by-step learning journey, in which children learn through:

Defining and exemplifying the descriptive writing techniques, through a fun and interactive bingo game;
Identifying the language techniques that Lee uses in her descriptions of settings in the novel;’
Analysing the effectiveness of Lee’s descriptive writing;
Creating their own descriptions of settings, using Lee’s model examples, a structure strip, and the techniques that they have gathered over the course of the lesson;
Peer assessing each other’s learning attempts;

Included is:
Whole lesson PowerPoint - colourful and comprehensive;
Bingo Cards
Teacher’s Bingo Questions/Guidance;
Selected extracts (from chapters 1, 12 and 15);
Descriptive Writing Structure Strip;
Descritpive Writing Helpsheet;
Comprehensive Lesson Plan.

There are also opportunities for group learning, speaking and listening, peer assessment, and whole class discussion. I originally used these resources with year 10 and 11 classes, however colleagues have used them for between year 8 and year 13 with some adaptations.

All images are licensed for commercial use, and image rights are listed on the last page of the presentation.