Bud, Not Buddy

By Christopher Paul Curtis 

Buddy Caldwell is a motherless 10-year old boy who is determined to find his father.  He has been in and out of foster homes since his mother died when he was young.  At his last foster home, the Amos’s, the family locks him into a shed, forcing Bud to run from the abusive situation. He escapes from the Amos’s home and begins a journey from Flint, Michigan to Grand Rapids, Michigan where he believes he will find his father.  On this journey, Bud carries with him an old suitcase full of all of his worldly possessions; something he is very protective of.  The contents of his suitcase contain the only personal belongings that his mother left behind; some old flyers announcing Herman E. Calloway and the Dusky Devastators’ jazz concerts and a bag of old rocks with strange inscriptions on them detailing dates and cities.

The year is 1936 during the Great Depression, and Bud sets out to find his long-lost father. Bud thinks that his father is none other than the great jazz musician—Herman E. Calloway.  Along the way he encounters the kindness of strangers in line at the soup kitchen; migrants in a Hooverville camp; and Mr. Lewis who drives Bud to Grand Rapids.

Once in Grand Rapids, Mr. Lewis takes Bud to Herman E. Calloway and his band.  There, Bud meets a whole cast of characters including the kindness of the bands’ singer, Miss Thomas, and the cranky Herman E. Calloway.  Mr. Calloway refuses to believe that Bud is related to him but Miss Thomas convinces him to let the boy stay.  Within this group, Bud finally finds the family he had been looking for and is given a saxophone and nickname so that he could be a part of the band.

It is through Bud’s recognition of rocks, that both Herman E. Calloway and his mother had kept, that finally lead everyone to the realization of the relationship that Bud and Mr. Calloway share.  Bud finally discovers the true identity of Herman E. Calloway; he was Bud’s mother’s father, making Calloway his grandfather.  The final emotional connection between Bud and his new family leaves the rest of the story open to the readers’ interpretation, but provides the final pieces to the puzzle that Bud had dedicated his life searching for.

While Bud never finds out the identity of his father, he does find a family and a sense of belonging.

Themes

1.            Opening/Closing Doors

This is a dominant theme in the story—each event builds up to another. With each bad situation comes another, better, situation. Bud gets closer and closer to the truth with each event.

2.            Fate or Destiny

Despite many setbacks, Bud is on a journey that leads him to his ultimate destiny—finally finding his family.

3.            The Great Depression

Bud is exposed to the dire effects of the Depression on people during this time. Despite poverty, Bud also experiences kindness of strangers. Curtis explores the duality of kindness even in the darkness.

4.            Family and Relationships

Bud’s entire journey was all about finding his family. Bud finally finds his family and home with the band. It is at that moment that his tough exterior cracks and he is finally able to be simply a kid again.

5.            Survival

The stunning amount of hardships that Bud endures is only matched by the amount of strength with which Bud meets them. His own story of survival is a smaller story within the larger context of survival during the Great Depression.

6.            Hope

Bud creates a metaphor of a small seed growing into a large tree, and it parallels the ability of hope to start with a small seed of kindness and grow into a giant tree of hope.

Bud, Not Buddy

Lesson Plan 1:  The Great Depression Research Project

1.  New Mexico Language Arts Standard 1:

Reading and listening for comprehension:  Students will apply strategies and skills to comprehend information that is read, heard and viewed.

                 Benchmark(s)/Indicators:

i.                    8th Grade: Use information for specific tasks by:

iv.           8th Grade: creating a research product in both written and presentation form.

v.            8th Grade:  Use images, videos, and visual representations as informational research tools.       

Improve On:  Comprehension and Research

2.  Objectives:

3.  Lesson Summary: This lesson is designed to us the book Bud, Not Buddy to illustrate the student’s ability to gather pertinent information and present as well as relate to it in a way that shows why and how they chose and understood the main ideas.  Students will practice and improve their researching methods by using several different types of resources.  They will need to back up their decision to choose such main ideas by presenting factual information and relating it to Bud’s life.  Students will answer such questions as: How did the situation and events of the Great Depression affect people’s outlook on orphans?  Why were some willing to help Bud when others weren’t?  In particular, how did the Great Depression affect the area in which Bud lived?  The research paper and presentation will model the student’s comprehension, showing that they utilized the correct information from their sources and that they understood what information needed to be presented in their oral presentation.  It is important that students keep their audiences, their teacher and peers, in mind when writing their paper and preparing their oral presentation.

4.  Resources:

* Construction and notebook paper, poster board, markers, colored pencils, glue, scissors, rulers, tape, computer, printer and a television.

* Any books, newspaper, Internet, magazine or journal articles as well as the book Bud, Not Buddy, electronic databases, CD-ROMS, videos, movies, interviews, documentaries and educational programs related to the Great Depression.

5.  Procedures:  Students will determine what events or aspects of the Great Depression directly affected Bud, his family and the area in which he lived.  They will then conduct their own research to find factual information to back up these ideas.  This information will be presented in their research paper as well as their oral presentation.  When writing their papers and designing their presentation, students will need to keep their audiences in mind.

Readiness (Engagement):  “Today we will be talking about your project and research paper on the Great Depression and how it relates to the characters and setting in the book we just finished reading, Bud, Not Buddy.  The purpose of this project is for you to gain understanding of how the circumstances of this time period affected Bud’s life and for you to gain historical knowledge of the Great Depression.  This project will build upon your comprehension and researching skills as well as your ability to relate aspects of fiction to factual information.  When choosing aspects from the book to conduct your research on, please keep in mind that you must be convincing both in your paper and presentation that they are relatable.  You will be answering such questions as: How did the situation and events of the Great Depression affect people’s outlook on orphans?  Why were some willing to help Bud when others weren’t?  In particular, how did the Great Depression affect the area in which Bud lived? etc.  Now I would like to ask that you take a look at the handout I just passed out which gives you instructions and guidelines for this assignment.  (I will give students a couple of minutes to look over the handout.)  You will see that it states what is necessary and expected of you in order to earn your grade. When creating your presentation, please make sure to keep your audience in mind.  You all will be learning about the Great Depression from each other so it is important that you provide concise and factual information.  Let me remind you that this is an individual assignment so I will expect for you all do your own research and work.  Now I would like to read you a passage from an interview I found discussing the role of missions and their ability to feed the homeless during the Great Depression in the northeast.  Once I am done reading, I will ask you how you think this might be related to Bud and then tell you how I would relate this to Bud’s experiences. (I will read the passage while students listen quietly and then ask them for feedback relating the interview to Bud.)  I find that the information presented in this interview relates to Bud’s ability to receive food at the mission and why they were so strict in determining who received food and why it was important to have a cut off time. Are there any questions?  (I will take a few minutes to answer and discuss any questions brought up by my students). Your research paper is due three weeks from today at which point you will also begin giving your presentations.  Please use the rest of today’s class period to work on your assignment.  The dates for which you have been assigned to give your presentations are posted on the wall by my desk so please feel free to come up and take a look.”

Focus of Lesson (Explore, Explain and Extend):  I will read a passage from an interview I found on Missions and their process of feeding the homeless.  Then I will ask my students questions such as: “If I was writing a research paper, what information from this interview would be valuable and important to mention?  How does this relate to Bud?  Can you think of a passage in the book that addresses situations relating to missions and feeding the homeless?  What types of problems did Bud encounter at the mission?  Where else could I find information on missions, how they functioned then and now?”  I will ask these questions to check for my student’s comprehension of the interview I just read.  We will then discuss whether or not their responses focus on the correct information and why.  I will then model how I relate this information to the book Bud, Not Buddy and Bud’s life.  Next I will cite my source and show my students where they can obtain information on citing sources from the Internet, books in the classroom and library.  Students will then begin their research for their papers and presentations.  Once they’ve completed their papers, have cited their sources and are done designing their presentations, they will present their information to the class and turn their papers into me.

Closure:  Each student’s visual aid will be posted in the classroom for his or her peers to review.

Assessment (Evaluate):  As students are giving their presentations, I will take notes in which I will refer to later when grading their work.  I will read their papers and view the information presented in their presentations to determine whether or not they were able to comprehend the information from their research and clearly relate it to the book and Buds life.  Following this lesson, students should be able to use information obtained through research to create research papers and presentations.  Students should also be able to use a variety of resources; including videos, television programs and other visual aids, as well as determine what information from their research is important to use in an assignment.  By creating a concise research paper and informative presentation students will have understood: how to relate both written and verbal information in a way that is easily understood and relates to their intended audience, how to take factual information and relate it to fictional ideas, what types of information should be researched, how to cite information and lastly, how to take factual information and use it to create research papers and presentations.

6.  Enrichment:  Students may choose to create a video of themselves conducting an interview with an individual who lived during the Great Depression.

7.  Reflection:  I will ask my students to write a brief summary telling me what they learned from their projects and whether or not they enjoyed it.  I will also ask them if they feel more comfortable using and citing research materials and if there is anything they would change or add to the assignment and why.  I will review this information and assess what, if any, changes should be made for the next time I decide to use this assignment.  I think that this will be a great lesson to incorporate the use of comprehension and student’s creativity as well as the practice of critical thinking, writing techniques and research methods.

Bud, Not Buddy

Lesson Plan 2: Time line of Bud’s life and major events

http://www.proteacher.org/c/668_Novel_Unit_-_Bud_Not_Buddy.html

New Mexico Strand: Reading and listening for Comprehension

Content Standard 1: Students will apply strategies and skills to comprehend information that is read, heard, and viewed.

5-8 Benchmark I-D: Demonstrate competence in the skills and strategies of the reading process.

iv.           5th Grade: Choose materials to read independently, identifying the main ideas and significant details, and determine the correct sequence of events or information.

Objective: Students will explicate their metacognitive processes in relation to a specific task. Students will create a timeline and verify the chronological order of specific events in a novel.

Lesson Summary: This lesson is designed to use the book Bud, Not Buddy to illustrate the student’s ability to use chronological order in a story. Students will take the information from the story and create a timeline of major events in the story.

Materials: Bud, Not Buddy novel, poster board, markers, crayons, colored pencils, pens, and a ruler.

Procedures: Students will read the book Bud, Not Buddy. They will then gather information to create a timeline.  The information will be put in chronological order of major events that have taken place in Bud’s life.  Students will be required to organize the information into a horizontal timeline.

Closure: Student’s timelines will be displayed on a bulletin board in the reading center of the classroom.

Bud, Not Buddy

Lesson Plan 3:  Summarize your favorite chapter

1.  New Mexico Language Arts Standard 1-D:

Reading and listening for comprehension:  Demonstrate competence in the skills and strategies of the reading process.

                 Benchmark(s)/Indicators:

ii.                   6th Grade: Generate questions to be answered while reading and reflect on what has been learned after reading.

iv.           6th Grade: Follow oral and written directions for a procedure.

Improve On:  Demonstrating competencies in the reading process and being able to follow directions.

2.  Objectives:

3.  Lesson Summary: This lesson is designed to use the book Bud, Not Buddy so that students can practice their critical thinking and comprehension skills as well as their ability to complete a task by following directions.  Before reading, students will need to draw upon prior knowledge, context clues and their own inferences to create questions that they believe they will find answers to in preceding chapters.  Throughout their reading students will need to reflect on their questions to see what answers they can find.  Once they are through with a particular chapter, students will review their questions and answers.  They will need to see how well they interpreted the information previously presented to determine how effectively they predicted what might happen next and whether or not their questions related to key events.   As they continue reading and reflecting on their questions and answers, students should be able to create a better understanding of the story and the authors’ purpose.  In response, students will be able to improve on their comprehension of the text by creating more thorough and meaningful questions as well as their understanding and use of context clues.  Finally, students will illustrate their ability to create a summary of a passage by choosing their favorite chapter to summarize.  They must be able to address the chapters’ main idea and back it up with supporting details.  They will then create a picture of what they thought was the most significant event or idea of the chapter.

4.  Resources:

* The book, Bud, Not Buddy, notebook paper, pen and/or pencil, markers, colored pencils and construction paper.

5.  Enrichment:  Students may choose to create character interview questions and answers for the character that they thought held the most significant role within the chapter.  They should address questions such as: “What does the character think will happen next?, Why did the events unfold the way they did?, How do they feel about what happened?, How did it impact their life?”  By having students create the questions and answers, they will have to look at the book from two perspectives.  First, they will step into the readers’ role and create questions they believe readers will want answered in order to gain a better understanding of the events that took place within the chapter.  Next, students must step into the characters shoes and, by using context clues and information from the chapter, will create answers from the characters perspective.

6.  Reflection:  To reflect on the effectiveness of this lesson and to find out if it was an enjoyable activity, I will ask my students to write a brief summary telling me what they learned and whether or not the activity was enjoyable.  Because this lesson’s focus is on their ability to improve their comprehension skills, I will ask my students if they found this activity helpful in: finding and using context clues, creating questions that draw upon prior knowledge and information, if it helped them gain a better understanding of the story, characters and the authors’ purpose, and their ability to predict what will happen next.  I will ask my students to identify what aspects of the lesson they found challenging and what, if anything, they would change.  I will then review this information and assess what, if any, changes should be made for the next time I use this assignment.  I think that this will be a great lesson to teach and assess student’s comprehension of and ability to use the skills and strategies of the reading process as well as provide practice of their critical thinking and writing techniques.

Bud, Not Buddy

Lesson Plan 4: Making Your Own “Bud” Suitcase

http://www.proteacher.org/c/668_Novel_Unit_-_Bud_Not_Buddy.html

New Mexico Arts Content Standard 2: Use dance, music, theatre/drama, and visual arts to express ideas.

5-8 Benchmark B:  Use subjects, themes, and symbols when expressing ideas in art

                 works.

                 ii.            5th Grade: Identify and describe the emotional connotations of the use

                                 and placement of design principles and elements in one’s work.

Objective: Students will demonstrate their ability to listen, read, and follow step-by-step directions to create their own suitcase.

Lesson Summary: This is an art lesson designed to use the book Bud, Not Buddy to create a “Bud” suitcase. Students will take the information they read about in the book and make their own suitcase and place personal items inside. Students will then present their “Bud” suitcase and its contents.

Materials: Cereal box, glue, scissors, tag board, color paper, construction paper, markers, crayons, color pencils, string, yarn, buttons, and 3 or more personal items.

Procedures: Students will design their own “Bud” suitcase and place personal items inside.  Students will follow the following steps:

1. Take a cereal box and glue down the flap on top of the box.

2. Cut one of the long sides so that it is open.

3. Make a handle pattern and have students trace it on tag board. Students will need to trace and cut out 2 of these handles.

4. Cover the box with plain paper in any color. Leave the open part uncovered.

5. Glue the handles on each side of the open box and let dry.

6. Decorate the box like a suitcase.

7. Have each student take his or her box home and put three or four personal possessions in it that are of particular importance to them.

8. Each student will share with the class what is in his or her box and address why they chose these items.

Closure: Students will present their suitcases and the items inside.  They will explain the items and why they are important to them.  The suitcases will be displayed in the art areas in the classroom.

Bud, not Buddy Fun!

Class Activity:  Bud has a list of things to remember in order to survive.  He calls his list, "Rules and Things To Have a Funner Life and Make a Better Liar Out of Yourself".  Please review Bud's rules listed below and then participate in the activity that follows.  

Bud’s List of  “Rules and Things To Have a Funner Life and Make a Better Liar Out of Yourself"

·  “If You Got to Tell a Lie, Make Sure It’s Simple and Easy to Remember.” (p. 11)

·  “You Have to Give Adults Something That They Think They Can Use to Hurt you by Taking it Away.” (p. 18)

·  “When You Make Up Your Mind to Do Something, Hurry Up and Do It, If You Wait You Might Talk Yourself Out of What You Wanted in the First Place.” (p. 27)

·  “If a Adult Tells You Not to Worry, and You Weren’t Worried Before, You Better Hurry Up and Start’ Cause You’re Already Running Late.” (p. 42)

·  “When an Adult Tells You They Need Your Help with a Problem Get Ready to Be Tricked, Most Times This Means They Just Want You to Go Fetch Something.” (p. 102)

·  “When You Wake Up and Don’t Know for Sure Where You’re At and There’s a Bunch of People Standing Around You, It’s Best to Pretend You’re Still Asleep Until You Can Figure Out What’s Going On and What You Should Do.” (p. 116)

·  “Never, Ever Say Something Bad About Someone You Don’t Know- Especially When You’re Around a Bunch of Strangers. You Never Can Tell Who Might Be Kin to That Person or Who Might Be a Lip-Flapping, Big- Mouth Spy.” (p. 157)

·  “Gone= Dead” (p. 178)

·  “The Older You Get, the Worse Something Has to Be to Make You Cry.” (p. 219)

Now Create Your Own List of Rules for Survival:

·

·

·

  Here is an Example of a Fable:  

“A Lion was awakened from sleep by a Mouse running over his face.  Rising up angrily,he caught him and was about to kill him, when the Mouse piteously entreated, saying:“If you would only spare my life, I would be sure to repay your kindness.”  The Lion

laughed and let him go.  It happened shortly after this that the Lion was caught by some hunterswho bound him to the ground by strong ropes.  The Mouse, recognizing his roar, came and gnawed the rope with his teeth and set him free exclaiming: “You

ridiculed the idea of me ever being able to help you.”

Directions: Bud has special memories of his mother reading him fables.  He remembers the lessons that he learned from each fable she read.  Now, write a fable of your own

Christopher Paul Curtis

“To me the highest accolade comes when a young reader tells me, ‘I really liked your book.’ The young seem to be able to say ‘really’ with a clarity, a faith, and an honesty that we as adults have long forgotten. That is why I write.”—Christopher Paul Curtis

Christopher Paul Curtis was born in Flint, Michigan on May 10th 1953.  He is currently fifty-six years old and resides in Windsor, Canada. Curtis grew up in an all-black community and the only white people he saw were his educators.  He was a straight A student from kindergarten to eighth grade.  Curtis had future ambitions of becoming a doctor like his father.  However once he was in high school he lost an interest in his education.  After Curtis graduated high school he accepted a job that paid well in an automobile factory. He was able to purchase a new car with his wages and soon he became weary of his nine to five job.  His job on the assembly line was to install doors but he and his partner created a system that provided them thirty minute breaks every hour.  During these breaks he began writing.  He worked on the assembly line during the day and went to college at night.  He had put in thirteen years at the factory before deciding to follow his ambitions and write a novel. His first story was written long hand and typed out by his son on their computer.  He stresses that the ideas and influence behind is writing is his family.  His first novel was The Watsons Go to Birmingham-1963.  It won the Coretta Scott King Honor and the Newberry Honor.  First of all, his wife Kaysandra and their two children are great motivators and the stories he wished to share of his family's history. His grandfather's Earl "Lefty" Lewis who was a Negro Baseball League Pitcher and Herman E. Curtis Sr whom was a 1930's bandleader led to inspiration to his second novel. Curtis' second novel, Bud, Not Buddy, became successful immediately it also won the Newbery Medal and the Coretta Scott King Award. Christopher Paul Curtis has had great success as a writer and he has been able to quit his job to write full time.

Other Books by This Author:

Bucking the Sarge 

Mr. Chickee’s Messy Mission 

Elijah of Buxton 

The Watson's Go to Birmingham - 1963 

Mr Chickee's Funny Money   

Websites & Resources:

PBS Christopher Paul Curtis Interview

Official Christopher Paul Curtis Website

KIDSREADS.COM Christopher Paul Curtis Q &A

Discussions Summary

Our first literature circle discussion for the book Bud, Not Buddy took place in the chat room on November 10.  For this discussion, the following people took on the following literature circle roles:

Discussing Director – Suzanne

Summarizer – Tammie

Connector – Dynette

Word Finder – JD

Passage Picker – Irene Chen

Artful Artist - Angela

Suzanne organized the discussion meeting through a series of emails. She also facilitated the discussion by calling on the different group members to present the information they were responsible for.  Tammie summarized the first half of the book and Dynette followed by making a connection between the story and her life experiences.  JD brought up the word “depression” into the discussion, noting that it is a word with different ideological meanings.  He thought that it would be a good idea to incorporate a student activity by having students research the meaning of the word “depression” and its’ context in the story.  He also discussed the use of slang words in the book.  Irene chose a passage from the text that she felt was moving and important from which we all then discussed our interpretations.  On the chat room blackboard, Angela drew a picture of Bud's suitcase because it is a prominent symbol introduced in the first half of the book. His suitcase holds all of his possessions to which he holds dear to his heart.

Our second discussion took place on November 17 in the chat room, and our group members took on the following roles:

Director - Angela

Summarizer - Dynette

Connector – JD

Word Finder - Irene

Passage Picker – Tammie

Artful Artist – Suzanne

Dynette did a very short, and great summary of the last half of the book.  In her summary she stated, “Bud is on his way to find his father when he is picked up by Lefty Lewis. Lefty takes Bud to Mr. Calloway and this is where the story takes off.  Bud has to prove to Mr. Calloway that he is his son.  Bud has many things that led him to believe that Mr. Calloway is his father.  After he presents a picture of his mother Bud finds out that Mr. Calloway is his grandfather.”  JD made a connection to a favorite novel of his by author J.D. Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye.  He related this book to Bud, Not Buddy because it chronicles the story of a child in a way that is easy for its’ readers to relate to.  JD also mentioned that The Catcher in the Rye seemed more like a positive “coming of age” story.  Irene led our discussion on some of the different vocabulary words used in the second half of the book.  One of the words she selected was “gig.”  She stated that she felt that it was a “great word with which to engage students.”  We all agreed that it was a strange word that it could be a great way to initiate a class discussion.  Tammie picked a passage from p. 235 that started with, “here we go again, only this time I can't wait.” Tammie explained that she chose it because, “it was nice to see that he finally found something to be excited about.”  The group agreed that Bud finding his family was a great resolution to the book.  Suzanne was our artful artist.  She chose to draw rocks on which, "Flint, Michigan 8-8-1911 and Gary, Indiana, 7-13-1912" was written.  She explained that, “those are the rocks that make Mr. Calloway come to the realization of who Bud was, and ultimately, what happened to his daughter.”  The discussion brought the group to the realization of many new connections within the story.  It was by far the most fruitful of our 5 discussions about the book.

We ended the second discussion by choosing the roles we wanted to undertake for our final project presentation.  We concluded that the following people would take on the following roles:

Tammie - will research and write up information about the author and other books he's written

Irene - will summarize the book, including it's themes

Angela - will create an engaging activity related to our book in which our class will participate

Suzanne and Dynette - will each write two lesson plans

JD - will summarize each of our discussions and include a sample of each member's postings

During the 3rd online meeting, the group solidified a plan of action for our final presentation and discussed the individual roles we would take on for project.  The meeting took place on November 24th.  The outcome was that we would all have the sections for which we were responsible to complete, ready to share by the following Tuesday.  We shared our work during our final meeting on December 1st, and discussed any changes we wanted make before posting the presentation by Friday, December 4th