Leading into a unit on To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, PreAP English 1 students completed a project three weeks in the making by creating an informative website discussing a topic designed to give them background on the 1930’s.

“In order for students to really get the full benefit of To Kill A Mockingbird they have to understand the culture and the world that the book was set in,” English teacher Carla Falick said. “[If they don’t] the book will just fall flat. It won’t be the learning experience that we want.”

Students were put in small groups and were told to work together to complete the project. The project started by students learning about how they would be making a website with the digital learning coach, Trista Hennebry.

“When we first learned we would be creating a website my first thought was that I’m not a very techy person,” freshmen Alexandra Styles said. “I really had no idea how I was going to [create a website].”

However, Hennebry was there to give the students guidance. 

“All students learn differently and all students have different skills,” Hennebry said. “So when you give them different options they are able to highlight what they’re good at.”

They were then given their topics, which ranged from class division in the 1930’s to the Great Depression. When the websites are complete, the students will look at their classmates websites to learn about different aspects of the 1930’s.

While the project was meant to help students understand the era in which “To Kill A Mockingbird” takes place, freshman Mary Jackson didn’t see the relevance of all the topics.

“I read To Kill A Mockingbird last year, and not a lot of the topics that were assigned are really relevant to the story,” freshmen Macy Jackson said. “Like my topic, [women in the workplace] doesn’t really add anything to the plot.”

But according to Falick, the assignment was about more than the book.

“There were a lot of groups that needed topics,” English teacher Carla Falick said. “So not all of the topics were directly related to the story, but the project was mainly to get background information and the time period so that students could understand what it was like living in the 30’s.”

While some students thought some of the topics were irrelevant, freshman Sophia Alkire still found the project helpful.

“I feel like it’s an easy way to find a lot of accurate information that we can all use,” Alkire said. “So instead of finding all this information by ourselves, our classmates do some of the research and then it’s there for us to use, so I like that.”

Students spent last Thursday and Friday looking at their classmates websites and began reading “To Kill A Mockingbird” this week.

“I think it’s really cool when [students] see their finished product,” Falick said. “They will be reading the book and making references and understanding things they wouldn’t have without this project.”