Last updated: August 26, 2023
Lesson Plan
Chapter 2 Lesson Plan: The Watsons Go to Birmingham 1963
- Grade Level:
- Middle School: Sixth Grade through Eighth Grade
- Subject:
- Literacy and Language Arts,Social Studies
- Lesson Duration:
- 60 Minutes
Essential Question
How can art teach us about history?
Objective
In this activity, students will analyze Langston Hughes’ poem “One Way Ticket,” for clues as to why large numbers of African Americans left the South between 1910 and 1970. They will then turn to the novel to infer additional push and pull factors for the First and Second
Great Migrations.
Background
In Chapter 2, readers are briefly introduced to the Harlem Renaissance writer
Langston Hughes. Centering the achievements and struggles of Black diaspora, Hughes
wrote on a number of topics, including the Great Migration. In this activity, students
will analyze Langston Hughes’ poem “One Way Ticket,” for clues as to why large
numbers of African Americans left the South between 1910 and 1970. They will then
turn to the novel to infer additional push and pull factors for the First and Second
Great Migrations.
Preparation
Gather Materials:
- Copies of the poem "One Way Ticket" by Langston Hughes (Provided)
- CSPAN link to Langston Hughes: User Clip: Langston Hughes reading One Way Ticket | C-SPAN.org
- Whiteboard or chart paper
- On-line exhibit including pantings, animated maps, and other visualizations detailing the Great Migration: MoMA | Jacob Lawrence's Migration Series
- A storymap which weaves together the impact of the Great Migration on the rise of industry in Flint, Michigan, and how this industry and systemic racism has led to an ongoing water crisis in that city: Water, Memory, and Reparations in Flint, Michigan (arcgis.com)
Materials
Download One Way Ticket Scan 1 of 2
Download One Way Ticket Scan 2 of 2
Download Langston Hughes, One Way Ticket PDF
Download Classified Advertisements for Housing in the Flint Journal 1962
Courtesy of National Archives, this artwork by Hayden Palmer (1890-1973) depicts an artistic vision of what New York City was like during the Harlem Renaissance.
Download "Midsummer Night in Harlem" by Hayden Palmer
Procedure
- Warm Up: Kenny's teacher often asks him to read upside down so that he reads more slowly. Ask students to try reading upside down. Have them try reading upside down in second language (if they are learning one.) Briefly discuss the experience. Does it help them to slow down, as it does for Kenny?
- Introduce Langston Hughes as a celebrated African American writer who often wrote about politics, as well as economic and racial equality. While Kenny likely read a passage of non-fiction, today students will read one of Langston Hughes’ poems.
- Distribute copies of Langston Hughes’ "One Way Ticket,” and have them follow along as they listen to the author read the poem. Briefly define new terms.
- Divide the class into small groups ask them to annotate the poem, identifying reasons the narrator left home. Encourage students to consider the following questions: How does the speaker feel about the place they left? What is the speaker's destination and why are they going there?
- Have groups share their annotations with the class and record each as a “Push or Pull Factor” on the whiteboard or chart paper.
- Now remind students that Momma, Rufus, and Cody left the South for Flint, Michigan. Ask them, based on what they know so far about the characters, what are other Push/Pull Factors for the Great Migration? In what ways are Momma’s feelings similar to/different from those of the poem’s narrator?
- Reflection: Over the past 50 years, the Great Migration has reversed, with large numbers of people returning to the South in the “New Great Migration.” What Push and Pull Factors do you think contribute to this change? Answering in the Push/Pull format, what would it take for you to move your life to some place new?
- For the reflection, simply ask, “What would it take for you to move your life to some place new?”
- Have students consult University of Washington’s “Great Migrations Project” (https://depts.washington.edu/moving1/map_black_migration.shtml), to locate information on African Americans migrating to and from their state during the Great Migrations.
- Ask students to pretend they departed the South for better opportunities in the North during the Great Migration. Ask them to write a postcard home to their fictional family. What would they say? Ask students to write down their home address. Affix stamps and mail back to students at a later date.
- Visit the website: MoMA | Jacob Lawrence's Migration Series
Vocabulary
Harlem Renaissance: An African American cultural movement that flourished in the 1920s, with Harlem in New York City as its symbolic capital. A time of great creativity in music, theater, and visual art, it is perhaps most associated with literature. The movement allowed African Americans to show to the world their unique gifts and intellectual prowess. Launched during the Great Migration, when thousands of African Americans moved northward in the hopes of better opportunities, the movement laid the groundwork for Black literature and consciousness worldwide.
Push/Pull Factor: Historians often explain migration as some combination of "push-pull" factors. Oppressive conditions at home like poverty, government persecution, military conscription, high taxes, systemic racism or lack of opportunity might be sufficient to persuade people to seek better conditions elsewhere. These might be considered "Push Factors." Likewise, economic opportunity, religious and political freedom, family ties or a desire for adventure could induce some to pack their bags for a new location. These might be considered "Pull Factors."
Great Migration: At the turn of the 20th Century, southern African Americans began moving North in larger numbers seeking a better living (pull) and leaving southern segregation (push). The rapid growth of northern cities like Chicago, Philadelphia, New York, Boston and Flint opened up new job possibilities and better schools. While they were often segregated, legally or informally, into African-American neighborhoods and denied the opportunity to live elsewhere, those neighborhoods often developed vibrant Black culture. The Harlem Renaissance was in large part due to the Great Migration.
Dixie: The term “Dixie” is a reference to the Mason-Dixon line, which separated free states and slave states in America. Therefore, Dixie is a reference to the culture of the South. The song “Dixie” was used among Confederate soldiers as a sort of anthem during the Civil War. However, “Dixie” was initially created in the North as a minstrel show — in which White men dress in blackface, before it became popular among white Southerners. The term “Dixie” is considered offensive because of its association with the Confederacy and slavery in the United States. In fact, The Dixie Chicks, a pop-country music band, recently changed their names to The Chicks to erase racist connotations.
Jim Crow: Laws and customs that discriminated against Blacks and other minorities in housing, jobs, transportation, education, and more. These laws existed from 1865-1968. The name "Jim Crow" comes from White entertainers who made fun of Black people. This led to untrue and very harmful stereotypes. You can read a list of Jim Crow laws here: Jim Crow Laws - Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historical Park (U.S. National Park Service) (nps.gov)