Teaching The Watsons Go to Birmingham - 1963

Instructions for You

Objective: Although Byron Watson isn't the narrator of the story, there's no doubt that he is central to the plot of The Watsons Go to Birmingham, 1963. In fact, his bad-boy behavior is the reason the Watsons go to Birmingham in the first place for a little rehab a la grandma. In this activity, students will focus on our resident bad boy, tracing his actions throughout the story. They'll collect info about the different things Byron says and does and track how he changes from beginning to end. Then, based on their hard evidence, we'll have a little chat about Byron, focusing on how, why, and even if he has truly changed by the end of the book. Allow one period for this activity, plus a few more if you plan on doing the extension essay.

Materials Needed: Channeling the South and keepin' it simple here. All you'll need are The Watsons Go to Birmingham, 1963 books for everyone, paper, and writing utensils. Easy peasy.

Step 1: Poor Byron Watson doesn't exactly begin with a clean slate. From the get-go, Byron is described as a "delinquent," so let's begin by discussing what the word "delinquent" actually means. Feel free to bring out the old Webster and look it up if need be. Once you've established a definition, have your students chat with a partner about whether they think Byron fits the definition.

You'll soon find that there's a teeny-tiny problem with this prompt: students' answers will vary depending on their passing judgment on Byron—because we can all agree that this bad boy has changed quite a bit by the end of the novel. This leads us to step 2.

Step 2: Pair up students and have them skim the book, looking for any interaction that involves Byron: whether it's really bad, sort of suspect, just plain weird, or even…heroic. To help students keep their notes straight, ask them to create a table with the following columns:

• Byron's action
• Chapter/page number
• Why you think he did this
• What happens to him as a result (if anything)

Step 3: When students have finished filling out their charts, ask them to read through their data and draw conclusions about Byron based on the progression of his actions throughout the story. Then, regroup, and as a class, discuss the following questions:

• How does Byron change by the end of the story? How does he behave in the beginning of the story, versus the end?
• What do you think finally makes Byron change?
• Do you think this "change" will last? Why or why not? According to your opinion of Byron, if there were a sequel to this book (perhaps "The Watsons Go to California, 1964"?), what would Byron's character be like?
• Is Byron a believable, realistic character? Why or why not?
• Why do you think the author chose not to tell the story from Byron's point of view? How might the book have been different if he did write it that way?

Step 4: If you hadn't noticed, any of the above questions would make for a su-perb essay prompt. If you have time, we'd definitely recommend turning this convo into a formal essay in which your students make an argument about Byron and prove it using the evidence they collected. Review the steps of making an argument if needed with our Shmooptastic video.

Instructions for Your Students

Although Byron Watson isn't the narrator of the story, there's no doubt that he is central to the plot of The Watsons Go to Birmingham, 1963. In fact, his bad-boy behavior is the reason the Watsons go to Birmingham in the first place for a little rehab a la grandma. In this activity, you will focus on our resident bad boy, tracing his actions throughout the story. You'll collect info about the different things Byron says and does and track how he changes from beginning to end. Then, based on your hard evidence, we'll have a little chat about Byron, focusing on how, why, and even if he has truly changed by the end of the book.

Step 1: Poor Byron Watson doesn't exactly begin with a clean slate. From the get-go, Byron is described as a "delinquent," so let's begin by discussing what the word "delinquent" actually means. Feel free to bring out the old Webster and look it up if need be. Once your class has established a definition, chat with a partner about whether or not you think Byron fits the definition.

You'll soon find that there's a teeny-tiny problem with this prompt: your answers will vary depending on you're passing judgment on Byron—because we can all agree that this bad boy has changed quite a bit by the end of the novel. This leads us to step 2.

Step 2: Let's dig even deeper here. With a partner, skim the book, looking for any interaction that involves Byron: whether it's really bad, sort of suspect, just plain weird, or even…heroic. To help you keep your notes straight, create a table with the following columns:

• Byron's action
• Chapter/page number
• Why you think he did this
• What happens to him as a result (if anything)

Step 3: When you've finished filling out your charts, read through your data and draw conclusions about Byron based on the progression of his actions throughout the story. Then, regroup, and as a class, discuss the following questions:

• How does Byron change by the end of the story? How does he behave in the beginning of the story, versus the end?
• What do you think finally makes Byron change?
• Do you think this "change" will last? Why or why not? According to your opinion of Byron, if there were a sequel to this book (perhaps "The Watsons Go to California, 1964"?), what would Byron's character be like?
• Is Byron a believable, realistic character? Why or why not?
• Why do you think the author chose not to tell the story from Byron's point of view? How might the book have been different if he did write it that way?

Step 4: If you hadn't noticed, any of the above questions would make for a su-perb essay prompt. We hope you paid attention in class today, because the convo you just had could help you big time if your teacher has you write a formal essay in which you make an argument about our main man Byron and prove it using the evidence you just collected. We'll also help you too by reviewing the steps of making an argument with our Shmooptastic video. Write on.