Introduction
Today we will be doing a WebQuest. This WebQuest is about the true historical events that take place in The Watsons Go To Birmingham, by Christopher Paul Curtis. In 1963 our country was going through the civil rights movement and tensions were high. At times, unfortunate acts of violence took place. We will be exploring several sources that further explain the explosion that took place to fully understand what the characters survived and endured in the novel. Do you know what historical event took place in the novel?
Task
We will be exploring several websites about the 16th Street Baptist Church Bombing. You will be looking to answer several questions while you are searching the sites. Everything you need for the search process will be here in the WebQuest, so there is no need for Google searches or guessing. You will take notes and answer the questions on a Google Doc and submit it to me by tomorrow morning. You will have the entire class period and can finish for homework if you need more time. We will spend the rest of the week composing short essays from our findings and extending our thinking of the novel, The Watsons Go to Birmingham.
Research Questions
1) What was the date of the bombing?
2) What was Birmingham, Alabama like in 1963?
3) What were the events that took place on the day of the bombing?
4) How many were injured? What was the age of the girls who were killed? How do you think this information impacted the Watson family on the day of the bombing, before they found Jo?
5) What were the lasting impacts of the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing?
6) Why was the 16th Street Baptist Church targeted?
7) What is one other fact you learned that you thought was important?
8) How did learning more about the bombing extend your thinking about the novel? Did it change how you feel about the novel or the characters in our story?
Process
These are links you should visit and read in order to answer the questions.
- https://www.history.com/topics/1960s/birmingham-church-bombing
- https://www.nps.gov/articles/16thstreetbaptist.htm
- https://www.ferris.edu/HTMLS/news/jimcrow/witnesses/sixteenthstreetbaptist.htm (watch video).
You should also watch this video to better understand the bombing and the aftermath. (Questions do not need to be answered from the video).
Evaluation
|
Evaluation |
Possible Points |
Points Earned |
|
Student has answered all of the questions listed in the task section. |
5 |
|
|
Student has clearly gathered their information from the links listed in the process section. |
4 |
|
|
Student created a Google Doc where they have answered their questions. |
2 |
|
|
Student has answered the questions correctly, to the best of their ability. |
5 |
|
|
Student shows critical thinking and expanding their knowledge of the novel by making connections to the text. |
3 |
|
|
Student turned their assignment on by the due date. |
1 |
Conclusion
Students will have the entire class period and can finish at home if they require more time to work on the assignment. I will then grade the assignment, checking to make sure the students have correct information. If students are missing information or have incorrect information, I will give them time in class to correct their work. Then, students will start the next section of the project. This will be a separate essay we will conduct about the bombing and tying in information about the novel, The Watsons Go to Birmingham as well.
Teacher Page
This WebQuest was created by Madeline Dunn. Credits have been listed for teachers to use the same information for their own projects. We should remember that this is a tough subject and violence is involved. It might be a good idea to prepare students and possibly their parents for the significance of the topic.
You can find more ideas for teaching students about the bombing from this website :