Bud, Not Buddy

By Christopher Paul Curtis

The 2000 Newbery Award Winning Book

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Getting the Scoop on the 1930's

A webquest created by Dawn Sutter and Alice Winslow

Introduction	Task	Process
Resources	Evaluation	Conclusion

Introduction

Bud, Not Buddy showed us something about what life was like in the 1930's.  So many things were so different then!  We're going to learn a little more about what it was like to live in America when this story took place.

Task

    You are on the staff of a newspaper in the 1930's.  You and your three fellow reporters will get the scoop on current events, as well as entertainment, business and technology news from that time. 

You will:                                    

• Research a specific topic from the 1930's.
• Write a newspaper article about your topic.
• Find a photo to accompany your article, and write a caption for it.
• Work with your fellow reporters to lay out your newspaper, name it, and print it.

Process

    Get together with three other students. This will be your newspaper staff.

1. Decide which reporter will cover which story. All four stories must be covered! The four topics are:

• Current Events – The Great Depression  

Bud finds that life is hard during the Great Depression.   Describe what the Great Depression was and how it affected people in the United States.  Also, include information about "Hoovervilles," the "towns" that Bud saw during the story.  Include an appropriate photo of the Great Depression.

• Business News – Labor Strikes  

Bud hears about the possibility of labor strikes during the story.  Give some general information about labor strikes in the 1930’s as well as specific information about strikes in Flint, Michigan.  Include an appropriate photo of a labor strike.

• Entertainment – Jazz/Swing Music    

Bud learns a lot about jazz music when he stays with Calloway’s band.  Write an article about jazz music (often called Swing) in the 1930’s.  Choose a famous musician from this period and include some information about his or her music and life.  Find a picture of this musician to include with the article.

• Technology – in the 1930’s  

People in the 1930's used different technology than we do today.  For instance, In Bud, Not Buddy, Lefty lewis sends telegrams to let Herman Calloway know that bud is safe.  Report on some of the new technology in the 1930’s.  Include information about a specific invention during this time period and include a photo.

2. The Resources section lists several websites for your topic. Look at the websites and take notes. Be sure to answer the questions for your topic! Also, look for a photo that will fit in with your story and save it to a disk
3. Using Microsoft Word, write a newspaper story of about 150 words on your topic.  Don’t forget to include an exciting headline and your byline (name)! Also, write a caption for the photograph you chose.
4. Get together with your fellow reporters.  Decide together how to lay out the title, articles, headlines, photos, and captions.  Work together to make the newspaper look appealing and exciting. The Resources section includes a link to a samplenewspaper layout in the 1930’s.

Resources

            Current Events/Great Depression:

http://www.letsfindout.com/

                        Note: Search for great depression

Photos:

http://www.corbis.com/experience/FDR/fsa/map.html

          Business News/Labor Strikes:

http://sos.state.mi.us/history/museum/explore/museums/hismus/1900-75/depressn/laborun.htmL

http://www.detnews.com/history/flint/flint.htm

Note: You can find photos at these sites!

          Technology News/Telecommunications:

http://www.research.att.com/history/train.html

         Entertainment News/Jazz Music:

http://www.allaboutjazz.com/timeline.htm

   Photos:

http://www.redhotjazz.com

          Newspaper Layout:

http://www.jhuapl.edu/education/elementary/newspapercourse/forteachers/documents/layout.pdf

Evaluation

Assignment	Criteria	Points
Research	Visited all websites listed under your topic.	__/5
Article	Covers all parts of your topic. Appropriate length. Good spelling and grammar. Has an appropriate headline and byline.	__/20
Photo	Goes well with article. Has an appropriate caption.	__/5
Layout	Attractive and Appropriate.	__/10
Cooperation	Worked well with other team members. Did your share of the work.	__/10
Total		__/50

Conclusion

By reading Bud, Not Buddy and writing about different events and trends from the 1930’s, much can be learned about a fascinating time period from America’s past. To learn more about the 1930’s, or about the book, Bud, Not Buddy, look at some of the following websites:

http://www.powells.com/authors/curtis.html -- Interview with Christopher Paul Curtis.

http://www.historychannel.com/-- Click on famous speeches to hear a clip of fdr's inaugeral address about the great depression.    

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/rails/sfeature/obstacles.html -- Tells of the African american experience in riding the rails and a dialogue about the african american experience during the great depression.

http://fortunecity.com/tinpan/parton/2/depress.html#top -- Popular songs of the depression

Last Updated march 2005 by Trisha Armstrong