8th Grade English Class Resources

 

For 2nd Trimester's To Kill a Mockingbird Unit...

PBS Website on The Scottsboro Boys Trial: Activities for Enrichment
Click on the links below to answer the corresponding questions:

1. Read a news story of the Scottsboro case that appeared in an African American newspaper in 1935.
Then, answer the following question: What topics does the story discuss?

2. Read a few of the New York Times stories about the case.
Then, answer the following question:  How does the story from the African American newspaper differ from the New York Times stories? Consider tone (writer's point of view), content (what it's about), etc..

3. Read the timeline of the Scottsboro cases. Then write one diary entry for the day in April 1931 on which the first group of Scottsboro defendants were sentenced to death from either Ruby Bates or Victoria Price, from one of the defendants, or from one of the jurors. In the diary entry, describe how you think that person might have felt after the trial. Your entry should be at least two full paragraphs.

4.When finished, you may do any of the following:
a. Check out other activities at http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/scottsboro/tguide/index.html

b. View the Scottsboro Boys webpage at http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/FTrials/scottsboro/scottsb.htm

c. Go to this online poll: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/scottsboro/sfeature/sf_poll.html