The Watsons Go To Birmingham

Ch. 1-8 Reading Guide

Chapter 1

Focus: characterization, hyperbole, setting, point of view, dialect, allusion

All questions should be answered in complete sentences unless it is fill in the blank or multiple choice.

1. From what point of view is this story told?

How do you know?

2. What role does setting play in this chapter?

A. no role; it is not important

B. the setting is in the north and it is cold so that presents a conflict for the

Family, especially Momma

C. the setting is Birmingham, Alabama, and that is important because during

the 1960’s there was segregation that affected the Watson family

3. Contrast Momma and Dad’s views of the south. Give several examples.

Momma Dad

4. Why do you think they are so different?

5. Read the myth of Echo and Narcissus on the next page. How is Byron like Narcissus?

This is an example of a(n)___________________.

6. Look on pgs 15-16 at Daddy’s reaction to Byron’s being stuck on the car. What best describes

Daddy’s attitude toward the situation?

A. He is just as scared as Momma.

B. He makes jokes and finds humor in the situation.

c. He gets very angry with Byron.

7. What is the relationship between Byron and Kenny like? Write a thesis (your observation) about

their relationship. Prove your thesis by citing at least two pieces of evidence from the text.

Thesis Proof with pg. #

1.

Byron is ______________

to Kenny.

2.

Nouns name a person place thing or idea.

Common nouns name ANY person place thing or ide a- boy, city, school

Proper nouns name a specific person place thing or idea – Tom, New York, Harvard

8. Find and list 10 common nouns from Ch. 1 – put the page number after the noun

a. b. c. d. e.

f. g. h. i. j.

9. Find and list 10 proper nouns from Ch. 1 – put the page number after the noun

a. b. c. d. e.

f. g. h. i. j.

Narcissus and Echo

Narcissus was a very handsome mortal lad. All the maidens longed to be his, but he would

have none of them. He wanted someone as beautiful as he was handsome. Heartbroken maidens

were nothing to him. Even the saddest case of the fairest nymph, Echo, did not move him.

Hera happened to come inquiring where Zeus was, as she suspected him of seeing one of the

nymphs. Echo's gay chattering kept Hera diverted from her investigation as all nymphs left. Hera

turned against Echo in rage. She condemned her never to use her tongue again except to repeat

what was said to her. "You will never initiate a conversation; you will always have the last

word."

As Echo followed Narcissus one day in the woods, he became lost. He looked around and

cried out, "Does anyone know the way out of the woods?"

Echo softly cried, "The woods!"

"Yes, I'm lost and need to know the way out of the woods."

"The woods!"

"Don't you understand? Help me find the way out of the woods."

"The woods!"

Echo ran to him and threw herself at his feet! Narcissus, confused, picked her up and

said, "Oh, you are just like all the other nymphs who try to kiss me and tell me 'I love you.'"

"Love you!" she echoed.

Her pushed her away, turned and went on his way. Echo prayed for help silently.

Nemesis, the goddess of righteous anger, heard Echo's prayer, for prayers to not have to be

spoken to be heard and replied, "May he who loves not others love himself."

As Narcissus bent over a pool for a drink,

he saw there his own reflection and for a moment

thought it was a beautiful nymph, as beautiful as he

was handsome, and fell in love with it.

He stayed by the pool vowing he

would stay there until the nymph came out.

Echo was nearby and heard Narcissus'

plea, "Won't you ever come out?”

"Come out!"

As Narcissus came close to dying, he faintly cried, "Farewell!"

"Farewell!"

Narcissus became a very handsome flower whose head bends toward the

water rather than the sun. The flower, narcissus, is a daffodil, one whose flowers

have a short corona and are usually borne separately. The word "narcissism"

means egoism, love of oneself.

Things to note in Chapter 1.

Pg. 5 – Nanook of the North was a documentary

movie made in 1922 about Eskimos.

Pg. 5 – Momma is from Birmingham, Alabama, where the

average temperature is 63 degrees, and the average snowfall

is 2 inches.

Pg. 5 – “Coloreds Only” bathroom refers to the segregation of the South in the

1960’s where blacks had to use separate restrooms, water fountains, etc.

Pg. 6 – the Brown Bomber was a 1948 Plymouth.

Chapter 2

Focus: characterization, metaphor, dialect, flashback

1. What two things are “wrong” with Kenny?

A.

B.

2. What does Mr. Almus mean when he says, “I’ve often told you that as

Negroes the world is many times a hostile place for us”?

A. The 1960’s are difficult times for African Americans due to segregation and

prejudice.

B. There is a lot of crime in the neighborhood where Kenny lives.

C. Children often face bullying and mistreatment at school.

3. What does he [Mr. Alums] see as a solution to question #2?

4. On pg. 24 the word “emulate” means

A. copy, imitate

B. silence, make quiet

C. be nice and kind

5. Byron shows a “softer” side in this chapter. Give two examples to prove this.

A.

B.

6. Why is Kenny excited to see a new boy get on the bus?

A. He hopes that the new boy will be his friend because he

doesn’t have any.

B. He wants the new boy to protect him from Byron.

C. He knows that the other kids will pick on this new boy and leave him

alone.

Verb tense – tense tells when things happen in writing.

Present tense tells that things are happing right now, in the present.

Past tense tells that thing have already happened sometime in the past.

7. Find and list 10 past tense verbs from Ch. 2… and then tell what the present

tense of that verb is.

Example

past tense present tense past tense present tense

was (20) is seemed (20) seem

a. ____________ _____________ b. ____________ _____________

c. ____________ _____________ d. ____________ _____________

e. ____________ _____________ f. ____________ _____________

g. ____________ _____________ h. ____________ _____________

i. ____________ _____________ j. ____________ _____________

Things to note in Chapter 2…

Pg. 25 – Lazy eye, or amblyopia, is the loss or lack of development of central

vision in one eye that is unrelated to any eye health problem and is not correctable

with lenses. It can result from a failure to use both eyes together. Lazy eye is often

associated with crossed-eyes.

Ch. 3

Focus: direct and indirect characterization, conflict, dialect

1. An inference is the best guess you can make based on the information presented.

Study the first paragraph on pg. 34 where Rufus eats part of Kenny’s lunch.

Using clues from the text, what can you infer about Rufus?

2. Listed are two words or phrases to describe Rufus. Cite evidence from the text to support it.

Describe Rufus Support with proof and pg #

A. country A.

B. kind B.

3. Briefly describe the conflict between LJ and Kenny.

4. Why do you think that Kenny puts up a “friend” like LJ?

5. What two things were “wrong” with Rufus?

A.

B.

6. Read the following passage from the chapter: The story is told in first person from the

point of view of Kenny, a young boy. How does first person narrator impact

the passage: (hint: what does Momma get that Kenny doesn’t)

“Ever since Momma had met Rufus and I told her about sharing my sandwiches with

him she had been giving me four sandwiches and three apples for lunch.” (44)

A. Momma understands that Rufus is not forgetting his lunch but is too poor to have a lunch.

B. Kenny is too young and innocent to understand the poverty and hardships faced by many

African American families in this time.

C. All of the above

7. What damages Kenny and Rufus’s friendship?

A. Kenny stops sharing his lunches with Rufus.

B. Kenny laughs when the kids on the bus tease Rufus and Rufus feels betrayed because he

counted on Kenny to be his friend

C. Kenny realizes the Rufus is stealing his toy dinosaurs and demands

that Rufus give them back

Vivid verbs

If you write the sentence "I broke the mirror," you've written a descriptive verb. If you substitute

"shattered," "cracked," "fractured," or "split" as your verb, you've created a more vivid image

in the reader's mind. A vivid verb is one that creates a more complete, distinctive mental

picture for the reader.

Christopher Paul Curtis uses vivid verbs in our book. For example on page 2, Curtis wrote that

Dad “groaned” and on pg. 3 that the family “huddled” close to get warm. On pg. 11, Byron

“blasted” Kenny in the face with spit and ice.

8. Find and list 5 vivid verbs from Ch. 3. Put the page number after the verb.

a. b. c.

d. e.

Ch. 4 focus: onomatopoeia, dialect, characterization

1. Cite three examples of Byron’s dialect from Ch.4. What does this tell the reader about By?

example (w/ pg. #) Shows what about Byron?

2. Why are Kenny’s gloves special?

A. What do most of the other kids do for gloves?

B. What can you infer about most of the other kids at Kenny’s school?

3. What happens to Kenny’s gloves?

4. Is Byron beating up Larry to help Kenny? Yes or No

What does this tell you about Byron?

5. How does Kenny react to Bryon’s actions? (question 4)

What does this tell you about Kenny?

6. Give two words or phrases to describe Larry then support them with citations from the text.

Word to describe Larry Support with example and pg #

A. poor A.

B. tough B.

What does it mean to "show, not tell"? Using adjectives in your writing helps paint a picture of

the scene in readers' minds, and is more interesting than simply telling what is going on.

Adjectives – are words that describe a noun or pronoun. Adjectives tell which one, what kind,

or how many.

Look at this sentence from pg. 47… Now look at this version…

The difference is the use of adjectives! Not just a day… but a cold winter day!

Find and write 9 awesome adjectives from Ch. 4. Underline the adjective; include the word the

adjective is describing, and the page number.

Example: warmest kids (47) little zombie (48) special perfume (48)

a. b. c.

d. e. f.

g. h. i.

Momma wouldn’t let us go out on a day

unless we were wearing a T-shirts, sweaters,

jackets and coats, plus pants that hung on

your shoulders by suspenders, plus socks and

boots that closed with buckles.

Momma wouldn’t let us go out on a cold

winter day unless we were wearing a couple

of T-shirts, a couple of jackets and a

couple of coats, plus gigantic snow pants that

hung on your shoulders by suspenders, plus

socks and big, black, shiny, rubber boots that

closed with five metal buckles.

Things to note in Ch. 4…

Pg. 60 – Sugar Ray Robinson

Considered one of the greatest boxers of all time,

Sugar Ray Robinson was born in Michigan in 1921.

He turned pro in 1940 and won his first 40 fights.

Over his 25-year career, Robinson won the world

welterweight and middleweight crowns and was dubbed

"pound for pound, the best." By 1958, he had become

the first boxer to win a divisional world championship

five times. He finished his career in 1965 with 175

victories. Robinson died in Culver City, California, in 1989.

Pg. 59 -- The Miracle Worker

Based on William Gibson's Broadway play, this film tells the true story of Helen Keller, an

Alabama girl born blind and deaf. Enter Anne Sullivan, a partially-blind woman assigned the

task of teaching Helen sign language. Anne begins the arduous process of teaching the girl the

basics of language.

Ch. 5

focus: characterization, ellipsis. onomatopoeia, suspense, tone,

extended metaphor

1. What is Byron doing in the bathroom at the beginning of the chapter?

2. 2. Why is this especially wrong for Byron to do?

3. What was to be Byron’s punishment by Momma?

4. Who stops Momma? Why?

5. Throughout this chapter what is Momma compared to?

Why?

This is called an_______________________ ______________________. (figurative language)

6. Cite two examples of onomatopoeia from this chapter.

A. B.

7. How does the author add suspense to this chapter?

8. What is the overall tone/mood of this chapter?

9. What do you think of Mamma’s way of punishing Byron? Is this punishment fitting for the crime,

or is it too harsh? Explain and be persuasive! (try to use vivid verbs and awesome adjectives

as you write!)

____________________________________________________

___________________________________________________

___________________________________________________

Things to note in Ch. 5

Pg. 66 – “Elliot Ness, the cop on that Untouchables TV show”

The Untouchables is an American crime drama that ran from

1959 to 1963 on the ABC Television Network,. Based on the

memoir of the same name by Eliot Ness and Oscar Fraley, it

fictionalized Ness' experiences as a Prohibition agent, fighting

crime in Chicago in the 1930s with the help of a special team

of agents handpicked for their courage, moral character and

incorruptibility, nicknamed the Untouchables.

Ch. 6

focus: oxymoron, foreshadowing, irony, charactization

1. What is the oxymoron on pg. 75? ___________________________________

What is its effect?

2. Why does Momma tell Kenny and Bryon to “sign” for the food at the market?

3. Read the dictionary entry below for the word welfare. Circle the definition that represents the

meaning of welfare in the sentence below:

“If I found out we were on welfare, I was going to really have to get ready to be teased.” (76)

A. Health, happiness, and good fortune; well-being.

B. Prosperity.

C. Financial or other aid provided, especially by the government, to people

in need

4. Use context clues to figure out the meaning of the underlined word in the following sentence: Circle

the letter of the best definition

“You really gonna make me go embarrass myself by signing a welfare list for some groceries

like a blanged peon?” (76)

A. any person of low social status, esp. one who does work regarded as menial or

unskilled

B. a messenger, attendant, or orderly.

C. a foot soldier or police officer.

5. Contrast Byron’s and Momma’s attitudes of welfare food.

Byron Momma

6. How does Byron get the cookies?

7. What was Byron’s reaction to killing the bird? Why?

8. Byron is “Mr. Tough Guy,” yet he cries over killing a bird and even digs it a grave and buries it. This

is an example of _______________________.

9. Chapter 6 does nothing to further the plot of the story. In fact, it could be taken out of the novel, and

the book would still flow and make sense. So, what do you think is the author’s purpose for in

including this chapter in the book?

10. Byron is like Shrek. Shrek says that Ogres are

like onions; they have layers.

Byron also has layers.

Label the “layers” of Byron with the words below.

Bully Sensitive

Mean Cruel

Caring Kind

Tough Scared

Byron

Subject and Predicate (verb)

To be a sentence, a group of words must have a subject (a noun or pronoun that tells who or

what the sentence is about) and a predicate/verb (tells what the subject is doing or is like).

Example: We went into the kitchen. (76) subject = we verb = went

11. In the following sentences, underline the subject once and the verb twice.

a. I held my breath. (76)

b. Then he dropped the bomb on me.

c. Byron disappeared around the comic book rack.

d. He took the groceries and rang them up on the cash register.

e. Mr. Mitchell twisted his face up. (78)

f. He put the groceries in a brown paper bag and handed them to me. (78)

g. A bell went off in my head. (81)

h. This was a perfect day! (82)

i. The bird’s head drooped backward and was rolling from side to side. (83)

1.

4.

2.

3.

5.

6.

7.

8.

Things to note in Ch. 6

Pg. 76 -- welfare

Welfare is a government program which provides financial aid to individuals or groups who

cannot support themselves. Welfare programs are funded by taxpayers and allow people to cope

with financial stress during rough periods of their lives. In most cases, people who use welfare

will receive a biweekly or monthly payment

Pg. 81-- Swedish crèmes -

Swedish cream cookies are basically smooth, creamy frosting

sandwiched between two tender pie crust circles.

On pg. 82 – mourning dove

This familiar medium-size dove, with its slim body and

tapered tail, is the most common and widespread dove

imost of North America.

Ch. 7 Focus: extended metaphor, allusion, characterization

1. What has Byron done to his hair? Why?

2. Tell two reasons Momma got upset about what Byron did.

A.

B.

Bozo the Clown

The Conk originated in the 1920s and was stylized by entertainer Cab Calloway. The style was an attempt by Black males to straighten their hair to make it look like that of White men, and was accomplished by enduring a truly painstaking process of "relaxing" the hair with a solution dominated by lye (this process was portrayed in the movie Malcolm X.) In order to keep the humidity from causing the hair to return to its natural curly state, men would wear fabric on their heads called do-rags.

By the mid-1960s, the conk died out, as most entertainers (and therefore the general public in kind)began to move towards a more "natural" look which emphasized pride in Black heritage, a look that would eventually evolve into the Afro.

Look at the first paragraph on pg. 92.

3. Who is the top-dog wolf?

4. Who are the “jive little Chihuahua wolves”?

5. What behaviors does Byron perceive as “weaknesses” ?

6. What does this tell you about Byron?

The first paragraph pg. 92 is an example of an extended ___________________

7. What does Dad do to Byron?

This is a picture of the actor Yul Brenner from the movie

The King and I in which he played the King of Siam.

8. Cite the allusion on pg. 65. What does this allusion show?

allusion Shows what?

Compound adjectives

A compound adjective is an adjective that contains two or more words.

In general we put a hyphen between two or more words before a noun when we want them to act

as a single idea –adjective- that describes something.

I live in an English-speaking country.

English-speaking is an adjective (used to describe the country). We use a hyphen to connect the

word English with speaking to show that it is one adjective (or one idea).

This adjective with two words joined by the hyphen is called a compound adjective. Not every

word with a hyphen is a compound adjective! The hyphenated word must be describing a

noun or pronoun to be an adjective!

Some more examples of compound adjectives are:

Our office is in a twenty-story building. (describes the building)

I have just finished reading a 300-page book. (describes the book)

He is a well-known writer. (describes the writer)

9. Find compound adjectives in Ch. 7. Write the compound adjective on the line and the word

it describes.

On pg. 88 __________________________________ describes _____________________

On pg. 90 __________________________________ describes _____________________

On pg. 94 __________________________________ describes _____________________

On pg. 98 __________________________________ describes _____________________

On pg. 98 __________________________________ describes _____________________

10. At age 13 Byron thinks he is old enough to choose how he wants to wear his hair. Do you agree

or disagree? Explain. (try to use a compound adjective in your response!)

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________________

Chapter 8 Focus: alliteration, irony

1. What was the “final touch” for the brown bomber? (Joey got it out of the sack.)

This is an example of: ___________________________

2. What do you think is the author’s purpose for including the “shaving” scene with Dad and

Kenny?

3. Cite an example of alliteration from pg. 111.

4. Explain & elaborate what Momma & Dad have decided to do with Bryon.

5. Briefly list the three reasons why Kenny thought his parents would NOT send Byron to Alabama.

A.

B.

C.

6. List 5 nouns from this chapter and the page number.

a. b. c. d. e.

7. List 5 vivid verbs from this chapter and the page number.

a. b. c. d. e.

8. List 5 amazing adjectives from this chapter and the page number

a. b. c. d. e.

9. Write one compound adjective and the page number.

a.

Ch. 8

In the cause bubbles below, give reasons why Byron is being sent to Alabama.

Effect

Byron is being sent to Grandma

Sands for the summer.

Cause

Cause

Cause

Cause

Cause

Cause

Things to note in Ch. 8

Pg. 109 – drive around record player

A new technology came on the market in the mid-1950s and early

1960s that freed drivers from commercials and unreliable broadcast

signals, allowing them to be the masters of their motoring

soundtrack with their favorite pressed vinyl spinning on a

record player mounted under the dash.

Pg. 117 – Nat King Cole and Dinah Washington

Pg. 119 – “…that stuff on TV isn’t happening around her [Grandma Sands]”

The civil rights movement was a mass popular movement to secure for African Americans equal

access to and opportunities for the basic privileges and rights of U.S. citizenship. Although the

roots of the movement go back to the 19th century, it peaked in the 1950s and 1960s. African

American men and women, along with whites, organized and led the movement at national and

local levels. They pursued their goals through legal means, negotiations, petitions, and

nonviolent protest demonstrations.

The civil rights movement centered on the American South. That was where the African

American population was concentrated and where racial inequality in education, economic

opportunity, and the political and legal processes was most blatant. Beginning in the late 19th

century, state and local governments passed segregation laws, known as Jim Crow laws; they

also imposed restrictions on voting qualifications that left the black population economically and

politically powerless. The movement therefore addressed primarily three areas of discrimination:

education, social segregation, and voting rights.

Their protests were often met with violent resistance.

Popular singers

of the 1960’s