The Watsons Go to Birmingham--1963
Based on a project created by Ms. Pangle, School of Education, Loyola Marymount University
To see the original, click here.



 book cover

   Flint, Michigan, 1965                              by Christopher Paul Curtis                                Birmingham, Alabama, 1963
       property of The Flint Journal                                                                                                           property of  The Birmingham Historical Society
Introduction
 		Task
 		Process
Evaluation
 		Resources
 		Conclusion


Introduction

Car trips.  You know how long and boring they can be.   There's nothing outside the window to stimulate your brain.  You are trapped inside, sitting in the middle seat between your annoying siblings. But this car trip is like nothing you've experienced before!   You are on the road as one of the Weird Watsons, listening to the Ultra-Glide record player, and taking Byron to your grandmother's house in Alabama. 

It's also 1963, a tumultuous time in American history when no one is quite sure what is proper in public anymore, when bullying means more than a kid stealing army figures from another kid.  Grown-ups, black and white, aren't sure how to treat each other, a problem the Watson family encounters in a life-changing summer in Birmingham.


Task

In this assignment, you will explore the historical basis of The Watsons Go to Birmingham--1963 in order to better understand the excitement and fear of that time.  

Pick a character from the novel that you find interesting: Byron, Kenny, or Joetta. You will create a scrapbook that contains several different pieces, each representing a different part of the journey taken.


Process
Step 1
 		Step 2
 		Step 3
 		Step 4



Step 1

Whoa! What happened in the '60s?  What was cool at the time?  Research the '60s to learn about the emergence of soul music, culture, fashion, the Civil Rights movement, and events that happened in America and around the world. Of course, your parents and grandparents could probably give you some ideas as well. (They usually like to talk about stuff like that.) Here is 1963 in statistics.  

Step 1 is in two parts.  For the first part, you must collect information to use in the scrapbook you will create.  Print out the data collection sheet, then complete your research.  Do not print out pages of information!  Let's save some trees by reading information and documenting it on the collection sheet.  When you are ready to add artifacts and mementos to your scrapbook, you may print out items after getting approval from Mrs. Kiernan.  In addition to the links given above, please click here for a time line that will help you see how the United States Constitution was looked at in a new way as a result of the Civil Rights movement.

For part two of step one you need to create the actual scrapbook to which you will add the other steps.  Keep in mind that this scrapbook is your chosen character's, so add artifacts and mementos (pictures, drawings, magazine cut-outs, song-lyrics, etc.)--anything that your character would care about or be interested in.  Other people who pick up your scrapbook and who have read Watsons should be able to say, "Look!  Here is Kenny's [or Byron's or Joetta's] book."  Be creative and be neat!

George Wallace
Lyndon B. Johnson
George Wallace, Governor of Alabama
 President Lyndon B. Johnson


Step 2
Now you're bursting with anticipation and ready to hit the road.  You know Momma's a bit distressed with the planning, so you've decided to assist her.  You will research the trip from Flint to Birmingham by calculating the distance.   You won't need to factor in which fabulous rest stops to visit in Ohio, or who's scheduled to eat peanut butter sandwiches and drink Kool Aid.


1. Get driving directions from Flint, MI, to Birmingham, AL. Print the map.
2. Answer the following questions:
    a. How many miles total is the trip?
    b. How long will it take the Brown Bomber to arrive in Birmingham, given that they travel 60 mph and take a 30 minute break every 4 hours?
    c. How many days will it take if Mr. Watson drives an average of 8 hours a day?
3. What states will they travel through? Name two interesting facts about each state and sketch each state flag in your scrapbook.
REMEMBER:  Keep everything in your scrapbook folder!

property of Charles Moore

Step 3

Grandma Sands is not quite what you expected...The Wool Pooh is on the loose...All of the fun and games of the car trip south unexpectedly come to a halt.  In Step 3, you will recreate the trip in a series of journal entries by your character.  Pretend that you are really on the road, or meeting Grandma Sands, or walking around Birmingham.  What is this place like?  What is the family like?  What are all the grownups talking about when they say "civil rights"?  What do you see?  How do you feel?  What questions do you have?  Write at least 5 journal entries, a page each, and glue them into your scrapbook. First, check out the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute.



property of The Washington Post

Step 4

Did you know that over fifty bombings occurred in Birmingham between 1947 and 1965, and for awhile the city was known as "Bombingham"?  In this final phase, you step outside of your character and pretend that you are a reporter assigned to write an article about the 16th Street Baptist Church, from where Kenny rescued Joetta.  Read this summary about the bombings and a 1963 article from The Washington Post.  This church is on the list of Historical Places of the Civil Rights Movement. (The other Birmingham site is West Park, where police attacked civil rights demonstrators in May of 1963.) To continue, read this ballad dedicated to the four girls who died.

Your newspaper article will follow a typical journalistic format and MUST answer the following questions:
WHO?      WHAT?      WHERE?       WHEN?      WHY?       HOW?
It should also be typed and inserted into your scrapbook, as if the character cut it our from The Birmingham Post-Herald after the bombing occurred. An appropriate length is 4-5 concise paragraphs.
March On Washington
segregated room sign
Ruby Bridges
 

Evaluation

A.  Overall appearance of your scrapbook (25 points)
Make your scrapbook authentic, neat, and complete!  Be creative!  Anything you learn about the 1960s from Step 1 will be included in this section.

B.   Planning for the trip (10 points)
Follow directions in Step 2 for full credit!

 C.  Journal entries (5 points each = 25 points)
You will be graded on how well you take the point of view of the character, and how you reference either the novel or the web sites provided to you.

D.  Newspaper article (40 points)
This is the worth the most points. An article that receives 40 points will contain accurate information resulting from careful research. Be sure to answer the 6 questions (who, what, why, when, where, and how).  Spelling and grammar errors will result in a lower grade.  Use the writing process, and proofread carefully using the CUPS procedure. 

Resources

You should have everything you need in each part of the Process.  Click here to see where the background image used for this webquest was originally located.


Conclusion

After completing this webquest, perhaps you are left with more questions than when you began.  Remember, there is often no clear-cut answer to the questions that Kenny asked himself when visiting Birmingham.  Growing up is having to deal with things that make one feel uncomfortable and involves asking difficult questions, such as "Why did that happen?" or "Why do people do this?"   Kenny  had to realize, with help from Byron, that no one can stay in the super-safe World Famous Watson Pet Hospital forever.  Christopher Paul Curtis reminds us at the end of the book that ordinary people often take a stand against injustice.  Are you one of those ordinary people?     

St. Joan of Arc School
Chagrin Falls, OH
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