The Secret Life of Bees Background Building Activity

The Secret Life of Bees
Background Building Activity
Directions: You will be researching various aspects of the historical context of The Secret
Life of Bees. Please type the answers to the following questions. Be sure to answer in
complete sentences.
The Civil Rights Movement
Visit the following link from the Library of Congress. Select one picture from the Civil Rights
Movement and answer the following questions.
http://www.loc.gov/pictures/search/q=civil%20rights%20movement Look at at least 5
pictures and choose 2, paste the picture and answer the following :
1. (a, b,) Write the title of the photograph and the name of the creator or photographer.
2. What is the setting of the photograph
Indoors or out
Lighting
Urban or rural
Time of day or night
3. (a, b,) Describe what you see in the photographs. Include specific details.
Subject (what is in the photograph People)
How many (people)
Age(s)
Appearance
Distinguishing features
What catches your eye first
4. (a, b,) What structures are in the photograph
Homes or businesses
In what condition
What is the spacing
What surrounds the structures
5. (a, b,) What is the mood and tone of the photograph
Heavy or light
Positive or negative
Dark or light
6. (a, b,) Write a paragraph describing the mood of the photograph. How do these
make you feel What specific elements make you feel this way
7. (a, b,) Write two questions that you might ask the photographer or the subjects of
the pictures if you had the opportunity to learn more about the photograph and/or
its subject(s).
Setting
8. Click on the following link. Describe what you learn about Tiburon, South Carolina.
http://www.sciway.net/city/tiburon-sc.html
Under Google Images, find a picture of a small town in South Carolina (perhaps one that
might have looked like Sylvan from the novel. Describe the following:
9. Write the title of the photograph and the name of the creator or photographer.
10. What is the setting of the photograph
Indoors or out
Lighting
Urban or rural
Time of day or night
11. Describe what you see in the photographs. Include specific details.

Subject (what is in the photograph People)
How many (people)
Age(s)
Appearance
Distinguishing features
What catches your eye first
12. What structures are in the photograph
Homes or businesses
In what condition
What is the spacing
What surrounds the structures
13. What is the mood and tone of the photograph
Heavy or light
Positive or negative
Dark or light
14. Write a paragraph describing the mood of the photograph. How do these make you
feel What specific elements make you feel this way
15. Write two questions that you might ask the photographer or the subjects of the
pictures if you had the opportunity to learn more about the photograph and/or its
subject(s).
Explore the following site and answer the following questions:
http://www.thepeoplehistory.com/1964.html
16. Under the “Cost of Living section”, identify the following:
The average income per year in 1964:
The cost of a ticket to the movies in 1964:
17. Under the “What Happened in 1964” section, select three events that you find
particularly interesting and write these down.
*
*
*
18. Identify two interesting details from the “Popular Culture” section.
*
*
19. Identify a popular film from 1964:
20. Identify a Popular Musician from 1964:
21. Identify one technological advancement from 1964:
22. Who was a major political figure from South Africa in 1964
23. Describe a product one might have seen advertised in 1964.
Select a newspaper article from the following link. Then answer the following questions.
http://www.keepinghistoryalive.com/newspaper.html
24. What is the title of the article When and where was the article published
25. SOAPSTONE
Speaker:
Occasion:
Audience:
Purpose (to inform, to persuade, to entertain, to praise):
Subject:
Tone: