by
Harper Lee
Here's a good place to start to learn a little more about Harper Lee.
Assuage, apothecary, Battle of Hastings, strictures, dictum, chattel, taciturn, spittoon, dispatched, repertoire, vapid, veranda, malevolent, morbid, nocturnal, predilection, flivver, beadle, nebulous, canna.
Questions from chapters 1-3
1. Describe the criminal history of Boo Radley.
2. How did the Radleys make their living?
3. What did Boo Radley look like? Draw his picture.
4. What was his diet?
5. Describe the dare Dill made to Jem.
6. What was Scout's school crime?
7. Why did Miss Fisher object to Scout reading?
8. What was the Walter Cunningham incident?
9. Define 'pizened and cootie.'
10. Rewrite the paragaraph by Calpurnia correcting her angry kitchen grammar. Begin with this sentence: "There's some folks . . ." ( p. 24).
11. Describe the incident that made Miss Caroline cry.
12. What is crackling bread?
13. What teacher techniques could Miss Fisher have used to control Burris Ewell's dangerous episode?
14. Explain this sentence: "I'm afraid our activities wouled be received with considerable disapprobation by the more leanred authorities" (p. 31).
15. How did Scout promise to get even with Calpurnia?
16. Explain the mouse incident that frightened Miss Fisher.
17. What was Miss Fisher's treatment for cooties?
Chapter 4
18. What could the stash of gum in the tree foreshadow?
19. What did Jem and Scout find in the tree on the last day of school?
20. What was Jem thinking about about when he stared at the Radley house and the pennies?
21. What did dill's father do for a living?
22. What is a Hot Steam?
23. What was the cure if you got sucked into a Hot Steam?
24. Explain the tire incident and why was it important to the plot?
25. Why was there laughing in the Radley house?
Chapter 5
26.List four Maudie Atkinson Facts.
27. What were Maudie's views on religion?
28. What big plans did Jem and Dill cook up in this chapter to further harass Boo?
29. Rewrite the note in your own words.
30. Name a typical lie Dill would always tell.
31. Why did Dill have a bell?
32. Who was the intruder coming down the street?
33. What was the oldest lawyer trick in the book that Atticus used against Jem?
Chapters 10-11
51. How old was Atticus?
52. List his ailments and the things he couldn't do according to Jem.
53. Why is it a sin to kill a mockingbird?
54. What was wrong with Tim Johnson?
Click this link--click Adults--click Common Questions about Rabies. Write 6 quiz questions to use in class about rabies.
55. Why did Atticus give up shooting?
56. Create 3 polite things you could say to Mrs. Dubose when you walk past her porch.
57. What crime did Jem committ in Mrs. Dubose's yard?
58. Find the BEST simile on page 103.
59. Complete this aphorism: "The one thing that doesn't abide by majority rule is _____________."
60. Explain this saying.
61. What were the details of the Dubose punishment plan?
62. Sketch a detailed picture of Mrs. Dubose according to the portrait on the bottom of page 106. Identify each detail with a line pointing to that feature on the drawing.
63. As a parent, explain to your children what "nigger-lover" means and why you are one.
64. What symbolic meaning did the Snow-on-the-Mountain come to mean for Mrs. Dubose?
A Snow-on-the-Mountain Camellia like the one Mrs. Dubose grew in her front yard.
Vocabulary: Prowess--Rosetta Stone--Tafetta--Amber.
34. Who do you think repaired and folded Jem's pants?
35. What happened to the ball of grey twine in the knothole of the tree?
36. Who did the "soap people" resemble?
37. Name several other items placed in the knothole of the tree?
38. What was in the letter left in the tree?
39. Who had filled the knothole with cement and why?
40. Who informed the Finches that "it had not snowed in Maycomb County since 1885"?
41. Who was the snowman a caricature of?
42. Draw a picture of the snowman.
43. How cold was it that night?
44. Describe the great tragedy in this chapter.
Chapter 9
45. Why is this chapter a turning point in the novel?
46. Who is Tom Robinson and what facts can you give about him?
47. Who was Scout's favorite relative? Describe this person.
48. What did Jem and Scout get for Christmas?
49. How did Attiticus feel about the impending case and his chances of success in court?
50. How did Atticus get the case?
65. Prepare a Sunday bulletin for the First Purchase African Methodist Church. Make a cover and an inside order of service using the novel text as your guide. Add three facts about the history of the AME Church using the link above and place this in your bulletin.
66. Name three reasons why you would hate to have Aunt Alexandra come and visit you one summer.
Chapters 14-15. Who was hiding under Scout's bed?
67. How did Atticus define rape to Scout?
68. Why did Scout ask this question?
69. Where do Scout and dill think babies come from? (3 places).
70. Writing: Concoct three wild stories about where babies come from. (50 words each story).
71. There were two confrontations between local men and Atticus. Explain.
72. What was the extension cord and the bulb for?
73. What disarmed the crowd at the jail Sunday night?
Chapters 16-17
74. What did Atticus mean?--". . . Hmp, maybe we need a police force of children . . ." (p. 157).
75. "She was standing arms akimbo, . . ." What does this mean? (p. 159).
76. Practice standing just like she stood according to the paragraph on page 159.
77. Where was everyone going in this chapter?
78. The Maycomb County courthouse was early Victorian. List 3 or 4 features of Victorian arhitecture that you see on St. Paul's Cathedral in London.
79. Describe Judge Taylor.
80. What did Heck Tate say happened when he testified in court?
81. Which side of Mayella's face was banged up?
82. Why did Atticus want to know if Bob Ewell was literate?
83. What did it mean to Atticus when Mr. Ewell wrote his name with his left hand?
84. Sketch the Ewell's house and yard (p. 170).
Chapters 18-22
85. Describe the Ewell's home life from the courtroom revelations on page 183.
86. Quote the pertinent sentences when Tom Robinson stood up in court and displayed his left arm. What did this mean to the proceedings?
87. What had happened to Tom's arm?
88. Contrast Mayella's account of the rape with Tom's account. How did they differ?
89. In the summation by Atticus to the jury, what was the simple truth about Mayella's crime. Atticus summed it up in four words on page 203.
90. What was the jury verdict?
91. Explain the mind set of the jury. What were they thinking to reach such a verdict?
Chapters 23-28
92. Where did Tom Robinson go to serve his time?
93. Describe the Mrunas. List 5 facts about them.
94. What was the average wage for a black maid? (p. 233)
95. How did Tom Robinson die? Why did he die?
96. What does this mean? "He likened Tom's death to the senseless slaughter of songbirds by hunters and children. . ."
97. Write a Currents Events article to present to class. 100 words (p. 243).
98. Who attacked Jem and Scout in the dark?
Chapters 29-31
99. Who was the man who rescued Jem and Scout in the dark?
100. Draw Boo standing the in the corner of the Finch's house (p. 270).