Curriculum / ELA / 6th Grade / Unit 1: Finding Your Way: The Watsons Go to Birmingham—1963 / Lesson 1

Finding Your Way: The Watsons Go to Birmingham—1963

Lesson 1

ELA

Unit 1

6th Grade

Lesson 1 of 21

Lesson Overview

Objective

Describe how the author reveals the narrator's perspective and introduces the setting.

Readings and Materials

Book: The Watsons Go to Birmingham—1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis pp. 1–7 — end at "cold can kill you!"

Lesson Notes

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Resource: Anticipation Guide (G6, U1)

Lesson Notes

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Lesson Map

Lesson

Describe how the author reveals the narrator's perspective and introduces the setting.

Materials

TWGTB pp. 1–7 — end at "cold can kill you!"

Standards

RL.6.3RL.6.6

Lesson

Explain how the author develops the plot and the narrator's unique perspective.

Materials

TWGTB pp. 7–19 — Start at "I didn't hear any sound"

Standards

RL.6.5RL.6.6

Lesson

Explain how the author develops the narrator's perspective of himself and other characters.

Materials

TWGTB pp. 20–31 — Chapter 2

Standards

RL.6.3RL.6.6

progress
monitoring

Lesson

Explain how the protagonist responds to significant events and analyze how particular scenes contribute to the development of the plot.

Materials

TWGTB pp. 32–46 — Chapter 3

Standards

RL.6.3RL.6.5

3 days

Write a paragraph that makes and supports a clear claim.

Day 1 - Planning

Generate ideas and write a clear claim that fully answers the prompt.

Materials

Single Paragraph Outline
Claim Practice Page (G6, U1, L5)

Standards

L.6.3.aW.6.1W.6.1.a

Day 2 - Planning

Create a single paragraph outline.

Materials

Details Brainstorming Page (G6, U1, L12)
Single Paragraph Outline

Standards

W.6.1W.6.1.b

Day 3 - Drafting

Draft a complete paragraph that includes a claim, supporting details, an explanation, and a concluding sentence.

Materials

Single Paragraph Outline

Standards

W.6.1.aW.6.1.b

Lesson

Explain how the events of this chapter both reveal and change the characters' perspectives.

Materials

TWGTB pp. 47–63 — Chapter 4

Standards

RL.6.3RL.6.6

Lesson

Explain how the author both characterizes and develops the perspectives of Kenny and his family members.

Materials

TWGTB pp. 64–85 — Chapters 5–6

Standards

RL.6.3RL.6.6

Lesson

Craft an objective summary of a section of text.

Materials

TWGTB pp. 86–99 — Chapter 7

Standards

RL.6.2RL.6.3

Lesson

Analyze how the author's language choices convey Kenny's development and drive the plot forward.

Materials

TWGTB pp. 100–120 — Chapter 8

Standards

RL.6.3RL.6.4

Lesson

Summarize sections of the text and describe how the story's plot unfolds.

Materials

TWGTB pp. 121–137 — Chapter 9

Standards

RI.6.2RL.6.3

Lesson

Analyze how the use of figurative language develops mood and meaning in the poem "Mother to Son."

Materials

“Mother to Son”

Standards

RL.6.2RL.6.4

Lesson

Writing

2 days

Overview

Write a paragraph that makes and supports a clear claim.

Day 1 - Planning / Drafting

Draft a paragraph that includes strong explanations of how the evidence supports the claim.

Materials

Details Brainstorming Page (G6, U1, L12)
Single Paragraph Outline

Standards

W.6.1W.6.1.aW.6.1.b

Day 2 - Revising / Editing / Language

Revise and edit a paragraph by intentionally replacing repeated nouns with pronouns and correcting errors in pronoun case.

Materials

Pronouns Reference Sheet (G6–8)

Standards

L.6.1.aW.6.5

Lesson

Analyze how the author develops and contrasts characters' perspectives in The Watsons Go to Birmingham—1963.

Materials

TWGTB pp. 138–161 — Chapters 10–11

Standards

RL.6.3RL.6.6

progress
monitoring

Lesson

Explain how characters respond and change as the plot of The Watsons Go to Birmingham—1963 progresses.

Materials

TWGTB pp. 162–179 — Chapters 12–13

Standards

RL.6.3

Lesson

Analyze how the author develops mood and meaning in The Watsons Go to Birmingham—1963.

Materials

TWGTB pp. 180–190 — Chapter 14

Standards

RL.6.2RL.6.4

Lesson

Analyze how the author conveys a coming-of-age theme by revealing a change in the protagonist's perspective.

Materials

TWGTB pp. 191–206 — Chapter 15

Standards

RL.6.2RL.6.3RL.6.6

progress
monitoring

Lesson

Integrate information from multiple sources to explain the impact of segregation on Black Americans.

Materials

“Radio and Television Report to the American People on Civil Rights” — paras. 1–15
“President John F. Kennedy's Civil Rights Address” — (00:00–06:57)
At Segregated Drinking Fountain, Mobile, Alabama
Department Store, Mobile, Alabama
Outside Looking In, Mobile, Alabama
Segregated Birmingham Streetcar

Standards

RI.6.2RI.6.7

Lesson

Analyze the development of the mother's perspective in "The Ballad of Birmingham."

Materials

“Ballad of Birmingham”
TWGTB pp. 180–190 — Chapter 14

Standards

RL.6.6RL.6.9

Lesson

Socratic Seminar

Take a clear position on a question and share evidence to support that point of view in a Socratic Seminar.

Materials

TWGTB

Standards

SL.6.1SL.6.1.aSL.6.1.bSL.6.4

Lesson

Writing

5 days

Overview

Write a personal narrative that conveys the significance of an important experience in the writer's life through description and reflection.

Day 1 - Planning

Select an important experience to write about and plan the setting, characters, and plot for a personal narrative.

Materials

Narrative Graphic Organizer (G6–8)
Mentor Text Narrative Arc (G6, U1, L20)
Plot Structure Reference Sheet (G6–8)

Standards

W.6.3W.6.3.a

Day 2 - Drafting

Draft a beginning that introduces the reader to a clear setting, narrator, and conflict.

Materials

Narrative Graphic Organizer (G6–8)
Mentor Text Narrative Arc (G6, U1, L20)

Standards

W.6.3.aW.6.3.bW.6.3.d

Day 3 - Drafting / Language

Draft a clear and cohesive personal narrative by using pronouns in the correct case to refer to characters and ideas.

Materials

Narrative Graphic Organizer (G6–8)
Mentor Text Narrative Arc (G6, U1, L20)
Pronouns Reference Sheet (G6–8)

Standards

L.6.1.aW.6.3.b

Day 4 - Revising

Revise the climax by adding descriptive details that build tension and reveal the narrator's thoughts, feelings, and actions.

Materials

Narrative Graphic Organizer (G6–8)

Standards

W.6.3.bW.6.3.d

Day 5 - Revising

Revise the ending by adding the narrator's reflection on the importance or impact of the experience.

Standards

W.6.3.dW.6.3.e

Lesson

Assessment

2 days

Gauge student understanding of unit content and skills with one of Fishtank's unit assessments.

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