Past Institutes

Teaching To Kill a Mockingbird

On October 29, 2019, Humanities Texas held a one-day teacher workshop in Houston focusing on teaching Harper Lee's classic novel To Kill a Mockingbird as well as other writings from the civil rights movement.

Curriculum

Content was aligned with the TEKS. Faculty presentations addressed Harper Lee's inspirations for, and composition of, To Kill a Mockingbird; important contexts for understanding the novel; contemporaneous writings from the civil rights movement; and effective strategies for teaching the novel at the secondary level.

The workshop featured close interaction with scholars and master teachers and the development of effective pedagogical strategies and engaging assignments and activities. Teachers received books and other instructional materials.

Faculty

Workshop faculty included Thomas DiPiero (Southern Methodist University), Aram Goudsouzian (University of Memphis), Coleman Hutchison (The University of Texas at Austin), and Shirelene Bridgewater, former high school ELA teacher and recipient of a Humanities Texas Outstanding Teaching of the Humanities Award.

Location and schedule

The workshop took place on October 29, 2019, at Bayou Bend Collection & Gardens in Houston. Download the workshop schedule.

Sponsors

The workshop was made possible with major funding from the State of Texas with ongoing support from the National Endowment for the Humanities.