Name ________________________________________
The Watsons Go to Birmingham – 1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis
CLOZE ACTIVITY – Chapters 1-8
Fill in the blanks with information from the book. Be sure to reread each phrase to make
sure it makes sense. Have fun!
Chapter 1
Vocabulary
a person who commits crimes or does bad things _______________
moved unsteadily; falling down _______________
Names and Events
* narrator of the story= ____________
* description of winter in _______________, MI beginning on page 1
* 3 kids in family – _________________ (13 years old – 6th grade), _______________ (10 fourth grade), _______________ (kindergarten), _______________ (Dad), _______________
(Mom)
* “blizzard” trick
* so cold going to Aunt _____________’s house
* _______________ – ego – page 15, Byron _______________ mirror (should have been
scraping) and got stuck
* tried warm _______________, called doctor
* Mom pulled him off
Chapter name explanation - ______________________________________
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Chapter 2
Vocabulary
Affected deeply_______________
Not capable of; unable _______________
Talk rapidly _______________
Names and Events
*_______________ – bully, “King of K-4”
* Byron was considered “God”
* Kenny is smart, reads well (although has a “lazy eye”), asked to read ____________
____________ poems to other classes – page 22 (including Byron’s)
* Kenny found $1, Larry said he “lost” 50¢, let Kenny keep the “other” 50¢
* finds a “personal saver” - page 29, new kids on bus, __________ and _______________ Fry,
Kenny’s version of “Jesus as personal savior” from _______________ school
Chapter name explanation - ______________________________________
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Chapter 3
Vocabulary
needy _______________
emitting radiation ____________________
grateful or thankful ____________________
Names and Events
* Rufus sits beside Kenny in class
* talked about guns (squirrel hunting), shared lunch
* Kenny remembers playing dinosaurs with _____________
* _______________ (villains) verses dinosaurs (think about time period – lots of kids played
war)
- atomic bomb killed 30
- dino killed 20 with grenade
- buried “dead” because they were radioactive (Red Scare idea of the 1960’s)
* went to _______________ and Larry Dunn’s fort
* _______________ stole the buried dinosaurs later, Kenny never played with him again
* Larry made fun of Rufus (not many clothes), Kenny laughed at him too, hurt Rufus’ feelings
* tried to make up, Momma helped
Chapter name explanation - ______________________________________
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Chapter 4
Vocabulary
fall into a spell _______________
Names and Events
* Momma born in Alabama, lived in Flint for 15 years, hated the cold
* kids wore so much clothes in winter called “mummy imitations”
* Joey says they are the “laughing sock” (not stock)
* Kenny helps Joey with clothes at home and school, Byron helped Kenny when young
* _______________ people story
- garbage trucks pick up all the “_______________” people each
morning who did not wear enough clothes during the night when they
were outside
- large doors because the people can’t bend
- Kenny and Joey believe him, made them practice surprised looks if
Momma found out By told the story
* had “real” leather _______________-- if you lost one Momma would tie the new ones
together with a string that goes through the sleeves
* gave 1 to Rufus so they could throw snowballs, asked Mother for other pair
* “Maytag Washing Machine” – grind _______________ in someone’s face
* Larry stole gloves and painted them black with shoe polish so no one would know, polish
came off in the snow
* By and _______________ beat up Larry for stealing and made Kenny punch him
* pretended to make a movie “The Great Carp Escape”, Larry was the star=carp
* By threw Larry against the fence (net), other kids stood by laughing
Chapter name explanation - ______________________________________
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Chapter 5
Names and Events
* By got caught playing with matches, making a “movie”
* in bathroom, lit paper (shaped like a parachute) and threw it into the ________________,
repeated until Momma noticed
* Momma madder than usual, everyone scared, Joetta tries to ________________ By from
Mom
* Momma says she has to “burn him”– teach him a lesson he’d never forget, said she’d burn his
fingers, Joey kept blowing the flames out, 5 times total
Chapter name explanation - ______________________________________
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Chapter 6
Names and Events
* By and Kenny sent to the store for dinner items, told to “sign” for it instead of money
* By thinks that this means welfare, _______________explains that it’s credit
* peon = rich folks “pee on” poor folks
* By decides “bought” 2 bags of Swedish Crème _______________ since he can get credit
* threw cookies at a morning dove and killed it, felt bad so he buried it and made a popsicle
cross (bully but is sensitive)
Chapter name explanation - ______________________________________
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Chapter 7
Vocabulary
accept others as they are _______________
Names and Events
* Momma and Kenny in kitchen when By came in, looked surprised and left quickly (up to
something)
* _______________ his hair “reddish brown, straight, stiff, slick looking”, called him Bozo the
Clown
* Kenny started teasing him, pretended to play “Taps” and called him Prisoner 541 because Dad
will put him away
* Dad and By went into bathroom, _______________ his head while whistling “Straight Up
and Fly Right”, made By clean up
* Momma talked to _______________ in Birmingham
The Watsons Go to Birmingham—1963
CLOZE ACTIVITIES—Chapters 8-10
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Chapter 8
Vocabulary
to make better _______________
to cut away _______________
to grab or understand _______________
without order _______________
to fall in love _______________
Names and Events
* Dad bought stuff for the car – antenna, tires, spark plugs, oil, antifreeze, washed and waxed it,
added a car _______________
* remembers to get back at someone you would use their toothbrush to “clean” things –
quarters, Blackie the dog’s _______________
* Dad bought a “drive around record player” for the car (True Tone AB700 model __________
__________)
* played “Under the Boardwalk” (Coasters) – Momma’s favorite, “Yakety Yak” (Drifters) –
Kenny’s favorite, Nat King Cole, Dinah Washington songs
* told kids they were going to _______________ for vacation, By to live with Grandma for the
summer
* listed his adventure – pages 118-119
* Dad threatened before, but never did it because
- too far away
- Dad never carried out threats
- heard horror stories about “strict” Grandmother
Chapter name explanation - ______________________________________
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