The Watsons Go to Birmingham - 1963
As the end of the year draws near, I have started reflecting on all of those things that I haven't yet taught the children. It is something I believe all teachers do as we start panicking about the hectic end-of-year calendar full of fun and exciting activities that cut into our busy lessons as we try to squeeze in the last bit of curriculum we still have left to cover. I realized that especially with my year 6 English class, I really hadn't taken much time to teach them about where I come from. Sure, I told them about Thanksgiving, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Groundhog's Day, and a few other tidbits here and there, but I really haven't taught them a whole lot. There is time now to squeeze in one more unit before the end of term, and although Lynne, the fabulously always on-top-of-things English coordinator, had several units planned, she said I was welcome to do whatever. So, I am taking that idea and running with it!
I got in touch with several of my teacher friends from home and asked their advice on books I could read with 10-11 year olds that would be entertaining to read, but also an insight into American or more specifically southern culture. With their support, I chose The Watson's Go to Birmingham - 1963. It is a book I have never read but always been familiar with. I've done some research on the book and read through parts of it and I believe it will be perfect. It is based on a family that lives in Michigan, but the mother is from Alabama. They travel back to Alabama and get caught up in the Civil Rights Movement. I believe it will be a wonderful way for me to teach some important American history while they also learn some about my home city.
I started today's lesson by telling the children that I had chosen a book that would teach them a bit about my home and I was really pleased with how thrilled they all were about that. I gave them a brief history lesson first. After looking at the book title, they said, "But Birmingham is in England." I was able to teach them a bit about how my home city of BirmingHAM was named after the BirmingHUM in England as they were both industrial cities with many similarities. Next, I went back in time a bit just to help the children understand about the race relations in Alabama in the 1960s. I told them about slavery, the Civil War, Jim Crow Laws and segregation that gripped the south for the first half of the 20th century. I also took the opportunity to explain to the children why "Yankee" was sort of an offense term to we Southerners even though I've heard many Brits use it as a nickname for Americans. One child said, "So does that mean you had slaves?" I told her that of course I wasn't around during slavery, nor would I support it. To which another pupil replied, "Well, surely Ms. ____ [one of the more senior members of staff] was."
After finally getting a grip on the fact that slavery in the south was over 150 years ago, and it was in fact the segregation and discrimination that was still a factor 50 years ago, we worked our way into the story. One pupil asked me before I started, "Will you read in your American accent?"
As I read, the children picked up on words or phrases that are different to things they would say and when the mother of the story got angry and spoke "proper southern," I'm not sure the kids truly understood all that I said! I am so looking forward to reading this story with the kids though and I'm so thrilled that they are so excited to learn more about my home!
I got in touch with several of my teacher friends from home and asked their advice on books I could read with 10-11 year olds that would be entertaining to read, but also an insight into American or more specifically southern culture. With their support, I chose The Watson's Go to Birmingham - 1963. It is a book I have never read but always been familiar with. I've done some research on the book and read through parts of it and I believe it will be perfect. It is based on a family that lives in Michigan, but the mother is from Alabama. They travel back to Alabama and get caught up in the Civil Rights Movement. I believe it will be a wonderful way for me to teach some important American history while they also learn some about my home city.I started today's lesson by telling the children that I had chosen a book that would teach them a bit about my home and I was really pleased with how thrilled they all were about that. I gave them a brief history lesson first. After looking at the book title, they said, "But Birmingham is in England." I was able to teach them a bit about how my home city of BirmingHAM was named after the BirmingHUM in England as they were both industrial cities with many similarities. Next, I went back in time a bit just to help the children understand about the race relations in Alabama in the 1960s. I told them about slavery, the Civil War, Jim Crow Laws and segregation that gripped the south for the first half of the 20th century. I also took the opportunity to explain to the children why "Yankee" was sort of an offense term to we Southerners even though I've heard many Brits use it as a nickname for Americans. One child said, "So does that mean you had slaves?" I told her that of course I wasn't around during slavery, nor would I support it. To which another pupil replied, "Well, surely Ms. ____ [one of the more senior members of staff] was."
After finally getting a grip on the fact that slavery in the south was over 150 years ago, and it was in fact the segregation and discrimination that was still a factor 50 years ago, we worked our way into the story. One pupil asked me before I started, "Will you read in your American accent?"
As I read, the children picked up on words or phrases that are different to things they would say and when the mother of the story got angry and spoke "proper southern," I'm not sure the kids truly understood all that I said! I am so looking forward to reading this story with the kids though and I'm so thrilled that they are so excited to learn more about my home!
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