In 1964
the Civil Rights Bill was signed, making it illegal to discriminate
against individuals based on their race. Prior to 1964, African-American
families traveling across the United States faced the same obstacles
as Kenny’s family faced. As you read through the novel, you
will design a story map to document both the journey and key events
of the Watsons' trip to Birmingham – the other Birmingham.
Task
1: Vocabulary Detectives
Words
have both denotations (literal meanings) and connotations (implied
meanings). Using the terminology introduced to you in The Eagles
Who Thought They Were Chickens, develop a three-column chart
to explore the vocabulary of segregation.
As you read The Watsons Go to Birmingham, fill
out your chart with “chicken,” “rooster,” and “eagle” words. Use the
Vocabulary Detectives Scoring Guide as a guideline.
Task
2: Story Map
Create
a legend or an illustrated boarder to mark the main events and obstacles
of Kenny’s trip. Your story map should be visually attractive, accurately
and neatly labeled, and reflect personal effort. Use the Story
Map Scoring Guide as a guideline.
Task
3: Venn Diagram
The 1963
bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama,
is still remembered today as a sad day in the Civil Rights Movement.
Author Christopher Paul Curtis has
dedicated The Watsons
Go to Birmingham to Addie Mae Collins, Denise McNair, Carole Robertson,
and Cynthia Wesley, the four girls killed in that senseless hate crime.
Unfortunately, hate crimes have not been eliminated from our
society. Your final task
is to investigate a recent hate crime and compare it to the bombing
of the 16th Street Baptist Church. Use the Venn Diagram
Scoring Guide as a guideline.
Online
Sources:
