Program Descriptions
Teacher Workshop Teleconference/Orientation April 10 (One Hour)
This
workshop was for teachers planning to participate in the live teleconferences. It
featured Harper Lee scholar, Claudia Durst Johnson; Supervisor of Multicultural
Education, Larry Bell; Mockingbird Website coordinator, Sandra Munnell; and lead
teachers who served on the writing team for the Teacher Study Guide. By viewing
this program teachers were familiarized with the Teacher Study Guide, the
Mockingbird Website, and how to prepare students for interactivity with the live
broadcasts, including how to submit questions to panelists and guests.
Program 1 The Novel: Then and Now April 24 (One Hour)
Host Charlayne-Hunter Gault, shared her own
experiences, and connected students of this generation to the social and
historical context for the novel; the period of the Civil Rights Movement when
the novel was written and published by Harper Lee. After viewing news footage
from the late '50s and early '60s, Ms. Hunter-Gault then joined noted Harper
Lee scholar, Claudia Durst Johnson, Dr. Joanne Gabbin, and other panelists to
lead students in a discussion of the novel's impact "then and now."
Program 2 The Film: Then and Now April 25 (Two Hours)
Host Charlayne Hunter-Gault introduced NCTE English
and film teacher Bill Costanzo, and special guests, including representatives of
AFI and members of the cast of TKM: Mary Badham (Scout), Brock Peters (Tom
Robinson), Phillip Alford (Jem), and, Gregory Peck (Atticus) who generously appeared via video roll-in.
Costanzo moved the cast through their stories and recollections of the making of
TKM. Special phone-in guests included Horton Foote, the screenwriter, who shared the difficulties and joys he had in transitioning the novel to film; and Alan Pakula, the producer.
Students sent questions to the guests via email, phone and fax.
If you desire information on receiving the taped broadcasts, call the following number - (703)791-7378 - or - write to
Prince William Network
Prince William County School
Box 389
Manassas, VA 21110.
The live teleconferences were transmitted via C-Band satellite. Receive sites had access to
a C-Band satellite dish.