Students investigate how math can reveal the realities of daily life in 1963 while deepening their understanding of The Watsons Go to Birmingham—1963 and the historical context around it. They use short research cycles, primary sources, images, census or newspaper data, and ratio/percent reasoning to develop evidence-based claims about how different groups experienced that time period. Across weekly check-ins, critique circles, and a public expo for families and community members, students learn to connect humanities analysis and mathematical thinking in order to explain the past clearly and responsibly.

Students will research a focused question connected to The Watsons Go to Birmingham—1963 and daily life in 1963, using primary and secondary sources, visuals, and data to develop an evidence-based claim. They will use ratio, rate, percent, tables, graphs, and summary statistics to compare experiences of different groups and explain what the numbers show in context. Students will integrate math and humanities evidence in a small-group slide deck and expo station, speak clearly with community members, and improve their work through weekly partner reflection check-ins and two critique-and-revision rounds.

Students will create observation notes and question lists from the Then and Now Snapshot Studio, followed by small-group research folders with selected primary sources, data tables, and ratio/percent calculations connected to daily life in 1963. Across the project, they will build annotated graphs, short evidence-based claims, and draft slides that combine historical research, visuals, and math comparisons, with revisions shaped by two critique circles and weekly partner check-ins. The final product is a small-group expo station for the 1963 Time Capsule Expo that includes a visual slide deck, annotated graphs, source-based annotations, and a clear claim explaining how math helps reveal differences in daily life for different groups in 1963. For assessment, each group will also deliver a brief community presentation that shares its findings, math reasoning, and conclusion with families and community members.

Open with a Then and Now Snapshot Studio using paired photos, maps, ads, prices, and transportation images from 1963 and today, including scenes connected to The Watsons Go to Birmingham—1963. In small groups, students sort their observations into math and humanities categories, then discuss what the evidence suggests about how daily life differed for children and families across groups in 1963. Invite a public library archivist to share a few newspaper clippings, census tables, or primary sources and model how historians and mathematicians notice patterns in evidence. Close with a quickwrite and partner check-in in which students name one thing they noticed, one question they have, and one way math might help explain life in 1963.

Host a 1963 Time Capsule Expo in the library or cafeteria, where each small group runs a gallery station for families, classmates, and community members. At each station, students present a short slide deck, annotated graphs, primary source evidence, and an evidence-based claim explaining how math helps reveal daily life for different groups in 1963. Invite a public library archivist and other community guests to ask questions and give feedback, and build in a final reflection moment where partners name one success, one challenge, and one next step as presenters.