The Watsons Go to Birmingham—1963
Honors Final Project: Portfolio of Learning Due Wednesday, April 20
As your final evaluation, you will create a portfolio that uses both writing and images to reflect the themes and
concepts learned during the study of this unit. You will use information and writing already produced throughout
the lesson, and you will conduct new research and writing in order to create a variety of pieces, written from
various narrative approaches. The following directions outline the specific requirements for each page that must
be included in your WGB final portfolio project. Follow the guidelines listed below; incomplete assignments will
lead to lower grades.
General Information
1. The size of the book should be 8 ½ by 11 inches—the size of a sheet of typing paper—no smaller, no larger.
2. Mount every paper to give your portfolio character, organization, and color.
3. Every page must have a heading and be presented in the prescribed order(given below).
4. All writing portions must be typed (black,12 pt, TNR) and double spaced unless otherwise noted or unless
pieces will not fit on one page if double spaced.
5. When completed, the pages must be bound together (with string, ribbon, ties, etc.). Do not place items in a
purchased scrapbook.
Front Cover
Like Momma’s road trip journal, your front cover must include the title of the project, The Watsons Go to
Birmingham-1963, your heading, and decoration/illustration which reflects your understanding of the ideas,
themes, and concepts found in the novel.
Page 1—Plot Summary
Write a summary of the story for someone who has not read the book. This should be between eight and ten
sentences and follow the plot triangle format.
Page 2—The Watsons
1. This page will present your visual interpretation of the Watsons in 1963. You may draw them if you like or
find photos online or in print material. All five Watsons must be featured, and their pictures must be
accompanied by a typed label. Your character representations must be true to the novel.
2. You must also choose two other characters from the novel to include in your visual representation.
Page 3—My Favorite Watson
1. Write an Acrostic poem for one member of the Watson family. The Acrostic must include both the
character’s first and last names.
2. The Acrostic poem must have proper punctuation, spelling, and mechanics and must include more than one
word per line. The poem must read like a poem and make sense.
Page 4—Flint, Michigan
1. Create a word and picture collage of your interpretation of Flint. The novel must be used as a basis for
what words and pictures are included. Consider the weather, the people, the cars, and the era that are
referenced in the novel.
2. The collage must cover the entire page.
Page 5—We Are Family…
1. One important theme found in the novel is the importance of family in our lives. Write a paragraph
answering the questions: What does family mean to you? The paragraph must include all five parts of a
well-written paragraph.
2. Decorate the outside of the paragraph with pictures that represent your family.
Page 6—Man, You Won’t Believe It; A Letter from Byron to Buphead
1. Write a letter from Byron to Buphead about his upcoming trip to Birmingham and his stay with Grandma
Sands.
2. This letter should be from Byron’s point of view and should be written in his voice. You may write this
letter or use a font that looks like handwriting. A few purposeful grammatical errors will be allowed to
capture the voice of the character. This must be 8-10 sentences long.
Page 7—From Flint to Birmingham
1. Find or print a map that depicts the route the Watsons took from Flint to Birmingham. Be sure to highlight
the route in red.
2. Along the boarder of the map, include pictures of at least ten items that the Watsons packed for the long
trip or trash they may have had in the car.
Page 8— Travel Vignette
Think about a time your family has taken a road trip. Write a vignette about it the experience. Write your vignette
in the same style as Kenny’s vignettes—with a beginning, middle, and end, using hyperboles, and highlighting a
place, person, or idea.
Page 9—The Bombing
1. Research the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing online and/or in books and write an original 2-3
paragraph, 3rd person news story about the event. Be sure to make the article sound like a story you would
read in the paper. You need at least three sources.
2. Include pictures of the four girls killed in the bombing and a picture of the actual church; label the pictures.
Page 10—Birmingham, Alabama
Write a poem about Birmingham—1963. Your poem must be at least fourteen lines long with a defined theme and
rhyme scheme. You may use any font and ink color for this piece of writing and you may add art to illustrate your
poem.
Page 11—Choose One of the Following
A. Travel Advertisement
1. The drive from Flint to Birmingham is a long one—over 750 miles. If you were to take that drive, where is
one place of interest that you would like to stop? Pick a place along the Watsons’ route that you can find
information about and research.
2. Create a one-page travel brochure for your point of interest. Include a picture of the place, the name of the
place, the name of the city and state in which it can be found, two reasons why someone should visit this
place, how far it is from Dallas by car, the amount of time it would take you to get there if you drove 65
miles per hour, and the amount of gas in gallons you would need to get there from Dallas in your family’s
car.
Or
B. Memento
1. Chose an object that calls to mind one of the funny memorable moments in the story (like a comb, record,
etc.). Find a picture of what you think that object looks like and neatly glue or print that picture on the top
half of the page.
2. On the bottom half of the page, write a three paragraph essay. The first paragraph should be the
introduction, the second paragraph should be an explanation of the significance of the object and the event
associated with it with a specific example, the third paragraph should be the conclusion. Your essay should
answer the questions what happened, why is it important, and what does the event reveal about the
character(s)?
** Bonus: You can do both pages above for 10 bonus points. **
Page 12—Making a Change
In the Epilogue, the Christopher Paul Curtis writes that the true American heroes are “the boys and girls, the men
and women who have seen that things are wrong and have not been afraid to ask ‘Why can’t we change this?’”
Research someone you think is a true hero—the hero does not have to be American—someone who was not afraid
to make a change even though it was not the popular or safe thing to do. Then write three paragraphs about that
person. The first paragraph should be an introduction to your chosen hero, the second paragraph should be about
what your chosen hero has tried to change, and the third paragraph should explain why you think this person is a
hero according to Christopher Paul Curtis’ definition.
Page 13—Bibliography
All art, photography, and printed material used for this project must be documented on a type-written page at the
end of the book. Label this page “Bibliography.” Use Easybib.com in order to have all works cited documented
properly.
* The majority of the writing for this project has been started as drafts in class in the form of
journal entries and homework. We will have limited time in class to work on the project.
Friday, April 8—Mobile Lab for entire class period
Thursday, April 14—Collage Construction/Drafting/Revising
Friday, April 15—Writing Lab/Editing/Final Copies/Art
Monday, April 18—Mobile Lab if available/Finishing Touches/Portfolio Assembly
Plan accordingly, use class time efficiently,
and don’t wait until the last minute to begin working on this project!