The Watsons Go to Birmingham-1963

A WebQuest

Travel Guide | Newspaper Reporter | Lawyer | Scrapbook Artist | Rubric

Hi ya’ll,

I am Wilona Watson. You were first introduced to me in The Watsons Go To Birmingham-1963. As you remember from reading the book, when planning my family’s drive, I made a detailed notebook that contained information about our trip. Since we’ve returned to Flint, Michigan, I’ve decided to make another notebook.  I want this notebook to capture not only the adventures our family encountered on our drive south, but also the memorable events that happened in Birmingham. I want Byron, Kenny, and Joetta to know what happened during this trip.

Now, I’m contacting you because I’ve heard you are all experts at researching. Will you please help me make this family “notebook”?   I’ll need quite a bit of information, including…

I’m counting on you to help me create this so that my children can remember this family adventure and learn about this period in our country’s history. Finally, I do want you to be creative with this notebook, but I also want it to look professional.  Your notebook may take the form of a  (1) Scrapbook  (2) Newspaper/magazine  (3)  Power point  or (4)  Talk show.

Sincerely,

Wilona Watson a.k.a. Momma

---

Travel Guide                                       

An important aspect of any family trip notebook is detailed information about the trip itself. As the travel guide, you will gather and formulate information about how long the trip takes, the distance from Birmingham to Flint, and information about the trip in general. This will help us look back at exactly what we did and what we could do if we were to take the trip again. Include detailed information to answer the questions listed below as well as any additional information you can think of. Visual aids would also help my children get a clearer picture of what you are explaining.

• How long is the trip in miles?
• If the Brown Bomber can only travel at approximately 55mph, how long will the trip take (hours)?
• What is the best route they can take?
• What states will they travel through?
• What is the quickest route?
• What is the easiest route?
• What are some of the tourist places along the way?
• What are some of the sites the Watsons might have seen in Birmingham?
• If Mr. Watson only wants to drive for 5 hours a day, how many days will the trip take?

Try these sites:

• Birmingham
• Interstate Search Page
• Mapquest

---

Newspaper Reporter

I want Kenny, Byron and Joetta to read newspaper clippings from the bombing at the church in Birmingham when they get older. Can you help me create these? I need three articles written in the basic newspaper form. Include the following criteria and use eyewitness accounts from the WebPages.

• The answers to the basic journalism questions, who, what, where, why, when and how.
• An effective lead sentence and headline (photos if possible.)
• The name of a possible newspaper the Watsons might have read in 1963.
• Answers to the following: (1) What kinds of protests did African Americans make at the time?  (2) Who were some influential leaders of these protests?  Give some facts about these leaders—introduce them to my children.

Try these sites:

• "In the Memory of Four Little Girls"
• Eyewitness Account from "In the Memory of Four Little Girls" site
• The "Four Little Girls" Movie Web site  
• The Martin Luther King Home Page
• Birmingham Church Bombing (CNN Report)
• The FBI  & the Birmingham Church Bombings 
• Alabama Department of Archives and History

---

Lawyer

As a lawyer, you will help explain how the laws in Birmingham and other parts of the south contributed to segregation and how these laws were eventually changed in a two-page paper. Kenny, Byron and Joetta will want to know how the bombing helped to change the country's laws.

• What kind of segregation was there at the time-- (discuss schools, restaurants, bathrooms, etc.)?
• What laws helped to establish segregation? (Discuss 2 laws)
• What laws helped to end segregation? (Discuss 2 laws)
• Write about the stories behind these laws and how they came about.

Try these sites:

• Find Law
• Withy Law Firm
• LII Legal Information Institute
• Brown v. Board of Education
• Linda Brown and others

---

Scrapbook Artist                          

                                                      

Every good travel notebook needs photographs! As the scrapbook artist, I need at least fifteen images that depict our family’s trip to Birmingham. Use photographs from the following sites to illustrate the events that might have happened on our trip. Each of these photographs needs to have a 3-5 sentence caption accompanying it to help my children gain a greater understanding.

As the Scrapbook Artist, you will also be responsible for the Table of Contents for your group’s notebook. This should include the Item, Page Number, and Name of Student for everything in the notebook.

Try these sites:

• The "Four Little Girls" Movie site
• National Civil Rights Museum
• The Martin Luther King Home Page
• Eyewitness Account from "In the Memory of Four Little Girls" site
• The "Powerful Days in Black and White" Photo Exhibit

Conclusion: All of the work you have created will be placed together in your group product and turned in to your teacher.

I thank you for all the effort you have put into making this notebook possible. The trip to Birmingham was a huge event in the lives of my children, and it will be very nice for them to get a broader picture of the events and the world around them. I hope you have learned a bit, too!

WebQuest by Christine S. Dewey

Revised by S. Forehand, 2006

Rubric