The
Watsons go to Birmingham -- 1963
The
Watsons go to Birmingham -- 1963
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The Watsons Go To Birmingham--1963 is an interesting historical fiction novel about a family that lives in Michigan during the time of the Civil Rights Movement. The main character, Kenny, lives with his parents, older brother, and younger sister in a neighborhood (and state for that matter) that hasn't felt the repercussions of being a black family in the 60's.
Kenny's brother, Byron, has been getting into lots of trouble, and so his parents decide to leave Byron with their grandmother in Birmingham, Alabama, thus spurring the family trip. Once in Birmingham, the Watsons encounter events that made history and taught them about what it was like to be black and living in a southern state.
The Watson’s Go To Birmingham--1963 was Curtis’ first novel for young readers. The book won both a Newbery Honor Award and a Coretta Scott King Honor Award. Also, Curtis’ debut novel has been awarded a myriad of other honors, including being named a Best Book of 1995 by such publications as The Horn Book, The Bulletin, The New York Times Book Review, and Publishers Weekly. His second book, Bud, Not Buddy, received the 2000 Newbery Medal. Both of these novels unite aspects of Curtis’ family heritage with pertinent and recent American history. This combination enables the author to craft stories that are entertaining and subtly humorous with characters that seem real and that you can relate to.
Curtis was able to horn in on his talents as a writer with much help from his family, especially his wife, Kaysandra. She supported his aspirations to be a writer and guided him away from the Fisher Body Plant and more toward his goals. Curtis’ ancestry also points down the road of entertainment and success. His grandfathers were Earl "Lefty" Lewis, a Negro Baseball League pitcher, and Herman E. Curtis, Sr., 1930s bandleader of "Herman Curtis and the Dusky Devastators of the Depression,"
Point of View
1. This story is told
in the first person point of view. Review point of view with the
class. Remind students that a story may be told from the first-person
or the third-person point of view. If a narrator takes part in the
action of the story and refers to himself or herself as “I,” the story
is told from the first person point of view. If the narrator is outside
the story and does not refer to himself or herself at all, the story is
told from the third-person point of view. Have students determine
whether The Watsons go to Birmingham—1963 is told from the first-person
or the third-person point of view and explain why. Then have students
find one other book that is told in the first person and one that is told
in the third person. Students are to explain why and use examples
from the text.
Map Skills
2. Talk about the Watsons
traveling from Flint to Birmingham. See if students can
remember where each place
was located. Use a U.S. map that shows interstate highways.
Go over possible routes that the Watsons could have taken. With the
class, calculate the distance in miles of one of the routes. Make
sure students understand how to use the map key to calculate the distance.
Have students have a place on the map that they would like to travel to
in the U.S. They are to write out a specific route that can be taken
from their city to the location chosen. Students will then calculate
the distance between the two locations using the map key.
Literary Elements
3. This story can also
be used to work on some literary elements. Review story
elements with the class
such as plot, conflict, and resolution. Point out
that during the story, characters try to solve a problem, causing a series
of series of related events to occur. The reader tries to anticipate
how the problem will be solved. Finally, at the most exciting point,
the climax, the central problem is usually resolved. Have students
identify the central problem of the story. Help them distinguish
between conflicts that are minor in the story and the main factors that
relate to the central problem. Students can then identify the climax
of the story and talk about how the central problem is solved.
Writing Prompts
4. This is
also a very good book that a variety of writing prompts can be designed
from. One possible prompt would relate to Chapter 11 when the Watsons
get ready to meet Grandma Sands. Kenny had certain expectations about
what Grandma Sands would be like. He imagined a huge, mean looking
woman. When he finally meets her, she turns out to be a small woman
who welcomes the family with open arms. Ask students if they have
ever met someone who was nothing like what they expected. Have them
describe the situation telling what they expected and what they found.
Christopher Paul Curtis Books:
Bud, Not Buddy (Newberry Medal Book) 1999
Coming
of Age:
M.C. Higgins, The Great by Virginia Hamilton, 1989
The Blue Lawn by William Taylor, 1999
PINS by Jim Provenzano, 1999
Delin’s Way by Olga Berrocal Essex, 1998
Prejudice:
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, 1993
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor, 1997
Let the Circle be Unbroken by Mildred D. Taylor, 1991
Mississippi Bridge by Mildred D. Taylor, 1992
The Road to Memphis by Maurice D. Taylor, 1992
The Cay by Theodore Taylor, 1991
The Inn at Lake Devine by Elinor Lipman, 1999
Slam! by Walter Dean Myers, 1998
Saving Shiloh by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor, 1999
Iggie’s House by Judy Blume, 1976
1960s:
America Divided: The Civil War of the 1960’s by Maurice Isserman and Michael Kazin, 1999
The Unraveling of America: A History of Liberalism in the 1960s by Allen J. Matusow, 1985
The 1960s by Gini Holland, 1999
Pretend you and your family are planning a trip from Michigan to Birmingham, Alabama, just like Mrs. Watson did in the book. You will need to think of many things before you leave to make sure that you have enough time and money to make it to your destination. Your family has $1000 to make it from Michigan to Alabama. You have only 3 days to make it there. You will have to:
1. Obtain a map to plan your route.Here's where to look for your information:
2. Decide how many miles you will travel per day.
3. Find sleeping accomodations with prices.
4. Find out how many miles per gallon your car will get.
5. Decide when and where (what city) you will get gas.
6. Find out how much money you will spend on gas.
7. Decide how much money you will spend on food.
8. Plan 3 activities that you will attend when you get there.
Using the information that you have found, compose a travel brocure for Birmingham, Alabama.
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