Lesson Plan

Teacher: S. LaVigne

Subject:Reading

Date: 10-3-16

Topic: Reading
Enrichment

Unit Focus: Themes from the novel, Watsons Go to Birmingham,

1. Racism, discrimination
2. Family, Heros
Understandings: Students will understand what racism and discrimination are, and
how African Americans were treated different from whites in the south.
Georgia Performance Standards:
ELAGSE8RL2: Determine a theme and/or central idea of a text and analyze its
development over the course of the text, including its relationship to the
characters, setting, and plot; provide an objective summary of the text
ELAGSE8RL3: Analyze how particular lines of dialogue or incidents in a story or
drama propel the action, reveal aspects of a character, or provoke a decision.
ELAGSE8SL1: Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-onone, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade
8 topics and texts, building on others ideas and expressing their own clearly.
AASL Standards for the 21st Century Learner
1.1.2 Use prior and background knowledge as context for new learning.
1.1.6 Read, view, and listen for information presented in any format (e.g., textual,
visual, media, digital) in order to make inferences and gather meaning.
2.3.1 Connect understanding to the real world.
3.1.3 Use writing and speaking skills to communicate new understandings
effectively.
3.1.5 Connect learning to community issues.
4.1.1 Read, view, and listen for pleasure and personal growth.

Essential Questions:
1. What is racism and what can we do to help eliminate it?
2. Who was Rosa Parks and how did she help to change the world?
3. Who was Maya Angelou and how did she use poetry to fight racism/discrimination?
Segment 1
Opening:
Ask students to look at the cover of the Watsons go to Birmingham and describe what

themes are revealed through the pictures and illustrations.

Work Session:
Have a group discussion about the way African Americans were treated in the South,
particularly in Birmingham, Alabama in the 1960s. Also discuss how extended family
members play a role in supporting and raising children in the family.
Closing:
Students will share one way in which they think we can treat others fairly and equally.
Extended Activity:
Explore the personal website http://www.nobodybutcurtis.com/index.html, of
Christopher Paul Curtis and watch the interview where he explains how he was
inspired to write the Watsons Go to Birmingham. Watch, The Children of Birmingham
on YouTube, an insightful video from a unique perspective.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hCxE6i_SzoQ
Segment 2
Opening
Ask these question: Where do you sit on the school bus? How would you feel if all the
girls had to stand up, while all the boys sat down. Introduce Rosa Parks.
Work Session
Read the short book, I am Rosa Parks by Brad Meltzer.
Discuss how courageous Rosa Parks was in the face of racism and how she stood up
against unjust laws. Discuss the Montgomery Bus Boycott that helped to spark the
Civil Rights Movement.
Closing: Students will write down one way that we can peacefully create change in oor
school, community or world.
Extended Activity
Visit the History channel at www.history.com and watch the Montgomery Bus Boycott
video. http://www.history.com/topics/black-history/montgomery-bus-boycott
Segment 3
Opening
READ: Still I Rise by Maya Angelou. Introduce who Maya Angelou was and her role in
American Society and the Civil Right Movement.
Work Session:
Discuss how the use of rhyme and repetition impact the mood and tone of the poem.
Closing: With a partner, create one extra stanza, to the poem, Still I Rise. Share.

Extended Activity
Go to YouTube and listen to Maya Angelou explain why she wrote this poem. Listen to
Maya Angelou recite Still I Rise on YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=JqOqo50LSZ0