The Watsons Go to Birmingham – 1963
Building Knowledge about the Civil Rights Movement
6-8 Grade Band Text Set
Line of Inquiry: In this text set, students in grades 6-8 will build knowledge about the history of the Civil
Rights Movement and the discrimination that people of color experienced, through both literary and
informational texts.
This set offers a great opportunity to examine points-of-view, conflict, and how the setting influences
theme. A close reading of supporting texts to build background knowledge is recommended, especially
with the works of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Other texts provide different perspectives of individuals
experiencing the struggle for equal rights. For example, the texts based on Marian Anderson help build
knowledge about the social constraints that black performers faced.
Some suggestions are offered below about how you might use these texts in an instructional unit.
However, we recommend careful consideration of the sequencing and pairing of these texts based on
your knowledge of your students so that they are exposed to the way that different text types
contribute to knowledge-building. The accompanying texts in this set aid in the student’s development
of their knowledge base in regard to the Civil Rights Movement and the impact that discrimination and
prejudice have on the lives of the characters.
Anchor Text
1000L The Watsons Go to Birmingham—1963
By: Christopher Paul Curtis
Text Type: Historical Fiction
“Enter the world of ten-year-old Kenny and his family, the Weird Watsons of Flint,
Michigan. When Momma and Dad decide it's time for a visit to Grandma, Dad comes
home with the amazing Ultra-Glide, and the Watsons head South to Birmingham,
Alabama...toward one of the darkest moments in America's history.
A hilarious, touching, and tragic novel about civil rights and the impact of violence on one
African American family.” (Scholastic)
Available from Amazon in paperback for $6.25.
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Historical Speeches
Recommended for close reading and analysis with instructional supports
1000L Letter from a Birmingham Jail
By: Martin Luther King
Text Type: Nonfiction
Reverend Martin Luther King Writes from Birmingham City Jail – Part I, 88th Cong., 1st sess.,
Congressional Record (11 July 1963): A4366-4368.
“Written in April 1963, Martin Luther King, Jr.'s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” delivered an
important statement on civil rights and civil disobedience. The 1963 racial crisis in Birmingham,
Alabama, was a critical turning point in the struggle for African American civil rights. Although
King's letter was not published until after the Birmingham crisis was resolved, it is widely
regarded as the most important written document of the modern civil rights movement and a
classic text on civil disobedience.” (http://www.mlkonline.net/jail.html#sthash.oaOUSKIt.dpuf )
1000L I Have a Dream Speech
By: Martin Luther King
Text Type: Nonfiction
King, Martin Luther Jr. “I Have a Dream.” Lincoln Memorial, Washington, D.C. 28 August 1963.
"I Have a Dream" is a 17-minute public speech by Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered on August 28,
1963, in which he called for racial equality and an end to discrimination. The speech, from the
steps of the Lincoln Memorial during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, was a
defining moment of the American Civil Rights Movement. Delivered to over 200,000 civil rights
supporters, the speech was ranked the top American speech of the 20th century by a 1999 poll
of scholars of public address. According to U.S. Representative John Lewis, who also spoke that
day as the President of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, "Dr. King had the
power, the ability, and the capacity to transform those steps on the Lincoln Memorial into a
monumental area that will forever be recognized. By speaking the way he did, he educated, he
inspired, he informed not just the people there, but people throughout America and unborn
generations." (http://www.mlkonline.net/dream.html#sthash.ywvz1sWa.dpuf)
Building Background Knowledge through Informational Texts
As several of these are full-length texts, challenging portions should be used for close reads, while other
sections can be assigned for independent or small group reading throughout the unit of study.
980L
Birmingham 1963: How a Photograph Rallied Civil Rights Support
By: Shelley Tougas
Text Type: Nonfiction
Tougas, Shelley. Birmingham 1963: How a Photograph Rallied Civil Rights Support. Mankato,
MN: Compass Point Books, 2011. Print.
“In May 1963 news photographer Charles Moore was on hand to document the Children’s
Crusade, a civil rights protest. But the photographs he took that day did more than document an
event; they helped change history. His photograph of a trio of African-American teenagers being
slammed against a building by a blast of water from a fire hose was especially powerful. The
image of this brutal treatment turned Americans into witnesses at a time when hate and
prejudice were on trial. It helped rally the civil rights movement and energized the public, making
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civil rights a national problem needing a national solution. And it paved the way for Congress to
finally pass laws to give citizens equal rights regardless of the color of their skin.” (Goodreads)
Available from Amazon in paperback for $5.66.
1180L The Voice That Challenged a Nation: Marian Anderson and the Struggle for Equal Rights
By: Russell Freedman
Text Type: Biography
Freedman, Russell. The Voice That Challenged a Nation: Marian Anderson and the Struggle for
Equal Rights. New York: Houghton Mifflin, 2004. Print.
“This insightful account of the great African American vocalist considers her life and musical
career in the context of the history of civil rights in this country. Drawing on Anderson's own
writings and other contemporary accounts, Russell Freedman shows readers a singer pursuing
her art despite the social constraints that limited the careers of black performers in the 1920s
and 1930s.” (Scholastic)
Available from Amazon in paperback for $6.95.
1020L We’ve Got a Job: The 1963 Birmingham Children’s March
By: Cynthia Levinson
Text Type: Nonfiction
Levinson, Cynthia. We’ve Got a Job: The 1963 Birmingham Children’s March. Peachtree
Publishers, 2012. Print.
“In 1963, the Civil Rights movement was falling apart. After a series of setbacks across the south,
the movement was losing direction and momentum. No southern city was more divided than
Birmingham, Alabama, home of the infamous Bull Connor.
Dr. Martin Luther King conceived an ingenious plan: fill the Birmingham jails by arranging a series
of public protests at which participants would be arrested as a result of their nonviolent action,
paralyzing the city and drawing national and world attention to the horrors and injustices of
segregation. But the stakes were too high for much adult participant in the movement: job loss,
jailing, and quite possibly even death. Instead, against Dr. King's better judgment, young people
led the protests.” (Scholastic)
Available from Amazon in hardcover for $14.36.
Picture Books
These picture books can be used for additional activities after the more complex texts above have been
thoroughly unpacked. Both of these books have powerful illustrations and rich language that will
supplement the more complex texts.
410L
Martin’s Big Words: The Life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
By: Doreen Rappaport
Text Type: Biography
Rappaport, Doreen and Bryan Collier. Martin’s Big Words: The Life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
New York: Hyperion Books, 2007. Print.
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“An extraordinary picture-book biography, Martin's Big Words consists of Rappaport's own
words interwoven with quotes from Dr. King...all powerfully brought to life by Collier's striking,
glorious art.” (Goodreads)
Available from Amazon in paperback for $5.12.
780L
When Marian Sang: The True Recital of Marian Anderson
By: Pam Munoz Ryan
Text Type: Biography
Copyright: Munoz-Ryan, Pam. When Marian Sang. Scholastic Press, 2002. Print
“Marian Anderson is best known for her historic concert at the Lincoln Memorial in 1939, which
drew an integrated crowd of 75,000 people in pre-Civil Rights America. While this momentous
event showcased the uniqueness of her voice, the strength of her character, & the struggles of
the times in which she lived, it is only part of her story. Like the operatic arias Marian would
come to sing, Ryan's text is as moving as a libretto, & Selznick's pictures as exquisitely detailed &
elaborately designed as a stage set. What emerges most profoundly from their shared vision is a
role model of courage.”
Available from Amazon in hardcover for $14.66.
In Our World Today…
Looking back at these issues in additional contexts.
1070L 16th Street Baptist Church Bombing: Forty Years Later, Birmingham Still Struggles with Violent
Past
By: National Public Radio (NPR)
Text Type: Nonfiction
“16th Street Baptist Church Bombing: Forty Years Later, Birmingham Still Struggles with Violent
Past.” National Public Radio (NPR). Web. 15 Sept. 2003.
<http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1431932 >.
This article looks back on the bombing of the 40th anniversary of the 16th Street Baptist Church in
Birmingham, Alabama and its significance in history and present day.
1040L Press Group Honors First Black Reporter at White House
By: McClatchy-Tribune, adapted by Newsela staff1
Text Type: Nonficton
“Press Group Honors First Black Reporter at White House.” Newsela. N.p. 16 April 2014.
<https://www.newsela.com/articles/blackreporter-whitehouse/id/3454/>.
“Harry S. McAlpin made history in February of 1944: Despite strong resistance, he became the
first black reporter to cover a presidential news conference at the White House.” McAlpin was
1
All articles on www.newsela.com are available in 5 different Lexile levels. This allows the topic to be addressed by
different grade levels. For example, a 3rd grade class studying ocean pollution could use the same article as a
middle school class. This does not mean that middle school students should be reading the article at a lower Lexile.
The goal is for all students to be reading texts appropriate for their grade band.
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not welcomed by fellow reporters who were members of the White House Correspondents’
Association (WHCA). Now, 70 years later, McAlpin (who died in 1985) was honored for his work.
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