To Kill a Mockingbird Tea

Every year sophomore English students participate in Mrs. Dahl's tea party.  This activity also highlights one of the most important themes in To Kill a Mockingbird. “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view--until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it.”   For this activity, students must “climb into the skin” of a character in the book and assume his/her identity as students visit with other characters in the book about the novel’s events.  Students dress up in costume similar to what their character would dress in that time---Alabama, 1930s, and research a Southern dish to share with the class.  This project is always a hit, and it’s exciting to see the characters interact; some students nail the personas and understand the characters even more intimately.  Students also write a character analysis showing what makes their characters tick.