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Note: This lesson plan is part of the Book Club Online Archive. You can access and download the lessons and view the archived discussion from December 1997. We will be using this lesson plan again as the basis for future online discussions; please see the main page for more information.
This Interactive Lesson Plan is intended to link Book Club classrooms around the country in a discussion of The Watsons Go to Birmingham--1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis. It will work best if everyone starts on the same date (Tuesday, December 2, 1997) and reads the book at the same pace, but you are invited to participate even if your class deviates from this plan. The Interactive Lesson Plan assumes a basic knowledge of the Book Club program, as outlined in the teacher's handbook and videotape. You should be able to follow the lesson plan without referring to these materials, but they provide the background information and support (including blackline masters) that will help you get the most from Book Club. Introducing Students to the Interactive Lesson Plan In the days leading up to the Interactive Lesson Plan, you should build students' excitement for the activity and prepare them to take part in it. Tell them that they're going to read a great book and talk about it with their classmates in Book Club. Each day they'll also have the chance to communicate with students in other classrooms who are reading The Watsons Go to Birmingham--1963. By using the internet, they can share the best ideas that come out of their reading logs and book club discussions with their peers in other regions. Introduce students to the Student Comment Form and the Student Comments pages, and make sure they understand how the online discussion will work. You'll want to give some advance thought to how you will integrate this online communication into your daily routine. For example, you might set aside a block of time each day when students can take turns at the computer, or you might arrange a rotating schedule so that each child gets to write in every other day. Entering the Interactive Lesson Plan Use these links to see an outline for the Watsons Go to Birmingham--1963 lesson plan, to go to individual lessons, to read the comments from teachers and students that we've received so far, or to submit your own comments via e-mail:
The Watsons Go to Birmingham--1963 begins in Flint, Michigan, where ten-year-old Kenny lives with his family. Some children in the neighborhood call them the Weird Watsons, although Kenny's older brother Byron is so tough and mean that he doesn't suffer the teasing that Kenny often does. Kenny is an excellent reader and does well in school, but his "lazy eye" makes him a target for cruel remarks. One day Kenny thinks that his prayers have been answered in the form of a new kid in school, a boy named Rufus from Arkansas who speaks with a heavy Southern accent and is too open and friendly to be considered cool. Kenny hopes that Rufus will become a new target for the children's teasing--which he does--but Kenny also finds himself becoming friends with Rufus. He nearly loses this friendship when he laughs at a cruel joke another child plays on Rufus, but Rufus forgives Kenny when Momma arranges for an apology. In the meantime, thirteen-year-old Byron, an "official" teenage juvenile delinquent, is skipping school and getting into trouble. One day Momma catches him playing with fire, something that she has warned him many times not to do. She threatens to burn his finger to show him the serious danger of fire, but her youngest child Joetta frantically protects Byron from this punishment. Later Byron comes home with a hairstyle known as a conk, which gives him "Mexican-style hair," another thing his parents have warned him not to do. Joetta weeps at the thought of what Dad will do to Byron, but instead of getting angry, Dad simply shaves Byron's head. Momma and Dad feel that they are losing control of Byron, and they decide to take him to stay with his grandmother in Birmingham, Alabama, for the summer. Byron is horrified at the thought of living with this notoriously strict woman, but he is loaded into the car with the rest of the family. Momma has made an hour-by-hour plan for the trip, Dad has installed an Ultra-Glide machine to play records in the car, and the Watsons are off to Birmingham. At Grandma Sands's house, Kenny is surprised to see a tiny woman emerge from the front door. She cries and hugs everyone and is generally much nicer than Kenny expected. She expects to be addressed as "ma'am," however--and Byron immediately adopts good manners. Kenny is even more surprised to see this! After a few days he gets the urge to start misbehaving himself, since his "delinquent" brother has been tamed. Against the warnings of his grandmother, he goes swimming at a place called Collier's Landing and is nearly drowned in a whirlpool. Byron saves him in the nick of time, but Kenny is convinced that his brother had to battle a creature called the Wool Pooh in order to do so. A few days later, Kenny is still feeling exhausted from his near-death experience. He waves to Joetta as she leaves for Sunday school and then settles under a tree in Grandma's backyard. He is awakened by a loud boom and goes out in the street to see people running toward the church where Joey is. When Kenny arrives at the scene, he sees a giant hole in the side of the church, people crying hysterically in the yard, and a man pulling a little girl in a blood-stained dress out of the building. Kenny wanders into the building himself and sees a patent-leather shoe like the one Joey was wearing sticking out of the rubble. He takes hold of it and imagines that the Wool Pooh is fighting him for possession. Kenny pulls the shoe off and goes home, convinced that his sister has been taken by the Wool Pooh. Even when she comes into the house and speaks to him, he thinks that she is merely a ghost. Finally he concludes that the Wool Pooh somehow missed Joey. The Watsons return to Flint immediately, but the traumatic episode is not over for them. Momma and Dad talk about it when they think they are alone, but Kenny is usually hiding under the couch listening to what they say. Finally Byron discovers his hiding place and tries to involve him in normal activities again. One day he leads Kenny to the bathroom to show off a newly sprouted whisker. When Kenny sees his own ravaged face in the mirror, he begins sobbing. All of his suppressed feelings gush forth at once. Byron comforts him and explains why he doesn't have to feel guilty about what happened. After thinking about what his brother has said, Kenny takes Byron's advice and gets ready to start his life again. The Watsons Go to Birmingham--1963 touches on a number of themes that you may wish to explore with your students. One is the disastrous and hurtful effects of racism, prejudice, and discrimination. In the book, the most obvious effect is the bomb that goes off in the church. More subtle effects include the cruel treatment that Rufus receives from other schoolchildren in Flint, and the fear that the Watson family feels as they drive further south, knowing that they cannot simply stop at a motel and expect to be welcome. Another theme is how a supportive family can help a person through difficult times. Kenny and Byron have their share of fights, but when Kenny needs help most, Byron is there to save him from drowning and to help him overcome the trauma of the bombing. Momma and Dad make their children feel loved and cared for, even though their relationship with Byron is difficult at times. This book also provides a context for discussing the nature of friendship. Kenny at first sees Rufus as a "personal saver" who will deflect the jeers of his classmates away from himself. He grows to like him as the boys spend more time together, but only when he hurts Rufus's feelings and Rufus refuses to play with him does he realize how much he values Rufus's friendship. Kenny learns that a friend is more than a convenient playmate who doesn't steal your dinosaurs--it is someone whom you trust and value as a person. Finally, the book deals with grieving and how different people deal with trauma and loss. While eavesdropping on his parents' conversations after the bombing, Kenny notes that sometimes they talk about the event angrily, and sometimes they just cry. Kenny is unable to talk about what happened for a long time and simply hides from his family. When at last he allows his pain, confusion, and guilt to emerge, his brother helps him move past the trauma and return to a normal life. Books that deal with any of the themes mentioned above would be appropriate for a special classroom library while students are reading The Watsons Go to Birmingham--1963. Also appropriate would be nonfiction titles on the topic of the civil rights movement. The following are just a few suggestions.
Naidoo, Beverley, Journey to Jo'burg (Racism, Discrimination, Family)
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