"INSTRUCTIONS FOR LIFE" BOOKLET

"Wisdom is supreme; therefore make a full effort to get wisdom.
Esteem her and she will exalt you; embrace her and she will honor you."
Proverbs 4:7-8

INTRODUCTION

Having finished the novel, let's focus on the lessons that Atticus attempts to teach his children.  His lessons of morality, integrity, honesty, courage, and acceptance are at least as important today as they were when the novel was first published.  Mark Twain once said: "Wisdom is the reward you get for a lifetime of listening when you would rather have talked."  Instead of talking, let's pause to reflect on the wisdom we read in "To Kill a Mockingbird" and have heard in our own lives.

THE TASK

Your assignment is to create your own booklet of advice called "Instructions for Life."  Draw upon the wisdom of Atticus in his lessons and examples to his children and neighbors.  In addition, draw upon the wisdom of your parents and other family members in the lessons they are trying to teach you, as well as your own wisdom.  Your booklet should answer the following questions: What advice does Atticus give that impresses you the most?  What advice have you yourself found most useful in your life?  Be prepared to elaborate in your booklet; it must all be clear to your reader.

RESOURCES

Review at Lessons of Atticus (Inspiration 6.0 files smaller and larger).

Any advice you might have heard from the following: parents, teachers, coaches, friends, movies, or your own experience.

H. Jackson Brown's Life Little Instruction Books and page at Amazon.

See photos of Depression-era life from the following photographers:  Ben Shahn, John Vachon, Arthur Rothstein, Alabama (Visalia, CA), Walker Evans, Gordon Parks, and Dorothea Lange.

Also from the Library of Congress is this online exhibition of photographs of signs enforcing racial discrimination.

Check out William Blake at Yahoo! and Britannica, and then go check out all the famous artists at the Artchive.

Get "To Kill a Mockingbird" pictures from here.

THE PROCESS

The following instructions will make completion of your task easy!

1. Start a MS Word 2000 file with "Print Layout" to "Landscape" (landscape info.) and with 2 columns (column info.).  
2. Your first page should have title page and back page of book (Example 1, example 2, example 3, example 4, and example 5).
3. Choose 7 quotes from Atticus you find valuable; and then also write down 7 pieces of advice from your own life that you have found profound and useful.  Two quotes per page.  (First and second pages together)
4. Each page should have two quotes, with graphics, and a "background and context" explanation of 7-10 sentences each.  Your graphic for each quote may be a digital image or a drawing done by hand.  (quote pages info.)  Try to choose a personal quote that has relevance and important in your own life!
5. Arrange so booklet is aesthetically appealing.  Please do not use "Time New Roman" font!
6. Save your work often and back up your MS Word file in another location.  Protect yourself from catastrophic losses, such as a corrupted file or lost zip disk!  If you have your work backed up, you will only lose a portion of your entire project should something go terribly wrong with your computer!  BE ADVISED!
7. Print a practice page to see how your booklet looks on paper.  Avoid large patches of empty space!  And do not you large font sizes that give your booklet the appearance of something for children written with extra large letters.  Use font sizes "10" or "8" for anything other than headers or quotes.
8. Print out booklet and fill out self-evaluation before you hand in project to Mr. Geib.
9. Be prepared to present to class.
10. Present to class.
11. Post booklet to your High School Portfolio.

EVALUATION

This assignment will be evaluated according to the following criteria:

• Do you a title page and back page with description of book with short author bio?
• Do you have 7 Atticus and 7 personal quotes with background, and graphics?
• Is the "background and context" section for each quotes 7-10 strong sentences?  Is the writing fluent and correct?  Does the writing explain thoroughly the quote?
• Is book aesthetically attractive?  Professional looking?

Click here to see the rubric for this project.  Good luck!

CONCLUSION

When you complete this project, you will hopefully both have reflected on the wisdom of Atticus and connected it to the wisdom you have seen and heard in your own life.  We all meet individuals and experiences that instruct us almost daily, and it is worth the time to pause, reflect on the lessons learned, and thereby gain from them.

"Seek the wisdom of the ages, but look at the world 
through the eyes of a child."
Ron Wild