To Kill a Mockingbird Chapter 26: Welcome Back, Boo Radley
This To Kill a Mockingbird Chapter 26 lesson revisits Boo Radley and Scout’s changing perceptions of the community after the trial. Students discuss perspective, prejudice, and the difference between learning about injustice and acting consistently with that understanding.
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Learning Goals
- I will be able to analyze the role of Boo Radley in the novel and identify connections between his subplot and the Tom Robinson trial.
- I will be able to examine the townspeople’s conflicting attitudes towards justice, Atticus, and his family, and articulate the societal implications.
- I will be able to present this information to the class.
Materials
TKAM Digital Copy
TKAM Audio Chapter 26 (30:25)
Process
- Read To Kill a Mockingbird Chapter 26.
- Assign a question from the following list to partners or groups of 3.
- After students have a chance to answer the questions, have them present their answers to the class. This can be done informally or with very short slideshows.
Chapter 26 Questions
- Harper Lee reintroduces Boo Radley into the novel in this chapter. What role has he played in the story so far? Is there any connection between the Boo Radley subplot and the story of the Tom Robinson trial so far in the book?
- How are Scout’s fantasies about meeting Boo Radley different now than they were earlier in the novel? How have her feelings about the Radley house changed? How do you explain these changes? What evidence can you find in this chapter to explain them?
- How do you explain why the townspeople continue to support Atticus and his children while at the same time seeming to approve of the guilty verdict? What does it suggest about the way the people in Maycomb think about justice?
- How does Miss Gates explain why Hitler is able to treat Jews so poorly in Germany? What irony is exposed in her explanation? What is she forgetting or ignoring? Why do you think Harper Lee chose to include this current events lesson in the novel? What point was she making?
- How does Scout define democracy? Do you think her definition is satisfactory? Would you add or change anything?
- Why is Scout confused when Miss Gates explains, “Over here we don’t believe in persecuting anybody. Persecution comes from people who are prejudiced”? What is ironic about Miss Gates’s explanation?
- Why does Jem respond so angrily when Scout brings up the courthouse? How does Atticus explain his behavior?
- How is Jem’s forgetting similar to Miss Gates’s forgetting? How is it different? What role does forgetting play in allowing us to live our daily lives and be “ourselves”? When is forgetting dangerous?
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Curriculum Connections
Ontario Grade 9 English (ENL1W): This lesson supports Strand C and Strand D through characterization, point of view, irony, collaborative discussion, and presentation.
Common Core: RL.9-10.1, RL.9-10.3, RL.9-10.6, SL.9-10.1, and SL.9-10.4.
Differentiation and Extensions
Differentiation: Assign one question to each pair or group, provide an evidence organizer, and allow students to share through a brief oral explanation or a short slideshow.
Extension: Ask students to compare Scout’s view of Boo Radley in Chapter 26 with her earlier ideas about him and explain what the change reveals about her growth.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the main focus of Chapter 26?
The lesson revisits Boo Radley while examining Scout and Jem’s growing maturity, the community’s ideas about justice, and the irony in discussions of prejudice and democracy.
Why use group presentations for this chapter?
The questions cover several complex ideas. Dividing them among groups lets students develop one interpretation carefully and then build a shared understanding as a class.
How can I scaffold the irony questions?
Use a two-column organizer showing what a character says or claims to believe and what the chapter’s evidence reveals about that belief.