Narrative

Lesson Plan & Teacher Reflection TOPIC: Prisons in the U.S. Class: 10th Grade African American History Period: 1 & 7 Time: 52/56, depending on the bell schedule School: Magnet Program, Northeast High School ST: Jaimie Stevenson CM: David Sokoloff PM: Pam Gallagher Draft date: April 7, 2013 Teaching date: April 11, 2013 NARRATIVE LESSON PLAN OVERVIEW/ RATIONALE LESSON In this lesson students debrief the previous days field trip to Eastern State Penitentiary and continue to explore the effects of incarceration on the incarcerated. On the previous day, most of the students in the class attended a field trip to Eastern State Penitentiary, a decomissioned prison-turned-museum in the Fairmount neighborhood of Philadelphia (70 students total, from 3 sections of my CMs African American History). Students who did not attend the field trip were assigned a reading about the history of Eastern State Penitentiary, and completed the same writing assignment as students who went on the trip. In the two days prior to the trip, students read newspaper articles detailing contemporary examples of racial profiling, and examined statistics about changing prison populations in the 20th century. An emerging understanding is the relationship between what is going on in larger societysuch as laws, religious beliefs, etc.and what is going on in prisons at a given moment in history. The tour at Eastern State presented another case for looking at the outside/inside relationship. With the input of some of my collaborating teachers, we developed a graphic organizer to help students arrange notes around this concept. In this lesson, students debrief from the field trip (or the reading about Eastern State Penitentiary) by recalling details about the prisons physical shape/space, then connecting them to conditions or beliefs in the world outside the prison. For homework prior to todays class, students read excerpts from 4 prison narratives. In the second part of the lesson, students prepare excerpts of those narratives to present as tableaux vivants and dramatic readings in class the next day. ENDURING UNDERSTANDINGS The purpose of prisons is a contested issue in the U.S. The purpose of prisons is different in the U.S. than in different countries worldwide The purpose of prisons is for social control African Americans are disproportionately represented in the populations of prisons in the U.S. Legalized racial profiling affects the racial makeup of prison populations in the U.S. Prisons are a relatively new development in world history The institution of slavery did not disappear with the Emancipation Proclamation, but transformed to a new model to control African Americans: first labor camps, then prisons

 While crime rates have fallen in recent history, incarceration rates have increased dramatically Some people who are incarcerated are wrongfully convicted Convicted persons lose significant rights as citizens in the U.S. ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS LESSON 1.What is the purpose of prisons in the U.S.? 2. How do prisons reflect the norms of a society? 3. What is the role of racial profiling in who ends up in prison? 4. How does incarceration affect the incarcerated? UNIT What is the relationship between slavery and state and federal prisons during Reconstruction and the Jim Crow era? Why are African Americans disproportionately represented in U.S. prisons? How does incarceration affect the families of convicted persons and the communities they live in? What does the extremely large number of prisons in the U.S. say about this country? What does prison architecture communicate to the people inside about who they are and their personal worth? What arguments support the construction of new prisons today? What arguments go against the construction of new prisons today? OBJECTIVES Debrief trip to Eastern State Penitentiary Construct diagram to compare events in the history of ESP to trends in larger society Develop a plan for group presentations of dramatic reading and tableaux vivant ASSESSMENT/EVALUATION Students will compose 6-word memoirs from the perspective of an inmate or guard at Eastern State Penitentiary Students will construct a diagram to compare events in the history of ESP to trends in larger society Students will describe in writing their plan for presenting a dramatic reading and tableaux vivant of an excerpt of a prison narrative STANDARDS PA 8.1.12.A: Evaluate chronological thinking PA 8.1.12.B: Synthesize and evaluate historical sources PA 8.1.12.D: Synthesize historical research PA 8.3.12.A: Identify and evaluate the political and cultural contributions of individuals and groups to United States history from 1890 to present PA 8.3.12.B: Identify and evaluate primary documents, material artifacts, and historic sites important in United States history from 1890 to present CC.8.5.9-10.A, B, D, F, H, I CC.8.6.9-10.A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I MATERIALS Projector & Laptop

Student Handouts: Reading Handout_Prison Narratives; Original Prison Narratives_Assignment Sheet Teacher Presentation: Prisons Unit_JStevenson.pptx PROCEDURES OPENER (5 mins) Do Now: Take out a 1/2 piece of paper that you will hand in. Write a 6-word memoir from the perspective of an inmate at Eastern State Penitentiary. (T collects these from students) BODY OF THE LESSON 0. During Do Now, take attendance (5 mins) 1. Debrief Do Now (5 mins) Share out a few 6-word memoirs Collect 6-word memoirs Remind Ss about HW due tomorrow: ORIGINAL PRISON NARRATIVE (assigned the previous day) o Assignment: Write a full 1-page prison narrative from the perspective of someone who is incarcerated. You can research an actual incarcerated person, or create a persona. Describe why the person is in prison, what they are experiencing, and how prison is affecting who they are (it could be a lot, could be not at all). The more detail you give about the persons experience and thoughts, the better. Make sure that you write in the first person, and be imaginative! 2. Activity One: Debrief from Field Trip (25 mins) Ss hand in their assignment sheets from the field trip T displays prompt on board: list 5 things that you heard, read, or noticed about the prisons design and physical space Ss pair/share (1 min) T displays graphic organizer on the board for Ss to copy: 2 concentric circles with spokes radiating out, to resemble ESPs radial floor plan As a full-class, T takes Ss responses, arranges them on graphic organizer to indicate aspects of the prisons design (inner circle) as related to conditions or changes outside the prison walls (outer circle) Discuss relationship between prison/outside world, and how prison population #s and design reflect bigger social realities *During this exercise, verbally review 4 official purposes for prison in relation to changes in the buildings architecture over time o Deterrence: prison discourages people in society from committing crimes o Punishment: prison is a penalty for criminal offenses o Rehabilitation: prison is a place for restoring a criminal to a useful and mainstream life o Public safety: prison protects society from people who could be dangerous if free 3. Activity Two: Prepare Tableau Vivant & Dramatic Readings of Prison Narratives (15 mins) Ss take out HW readings distributed the previous day T introduces assignment, to be completed on this day and following day Presentations of Dramatic Readings will take place in class the next day Display instructions for presentations o Small groups will prepare dramatic readings of an excerpt from the prison narratives reading

o Select approx. 12 of text to present to the class o Answer questions as a group to prepare your reading o In each group: o 1 person presents the reading o 1 or more people make a still-life tableaux to show the scene of the reading Display instructions for tableau vivant o Students act out a still life of a moment in history o Details matter! o You will: o Pose silently during the presentation o Afterward, each member comes to life, one at a time, and explain the part of the scene he/she represented o Each person in the group should practice explaining his or her part of the scene and get feedback from other group members. T takes 5 volunteers to demonstrate a tableau vivant for a scene of convict leasing o T directs Ss to pose in a certain manner, explains the scene to the class in terms similar to how the Ss should explain their own actions in the tableau during the presentation Display 5 questions for Ss to answer as exit ticket, questions are prep for the presentation o Each group needs to hand in 1 half-sheet of paper with the following: o Who is the author? o Describe the tone of the narrative. o Describe how you picture this person to look when they are imprisoned. o Describe how the reader and tableau actors will position themselves on stage. o Describe the tone of voice the presenter of the reading should use. CLOSURE (<5 mins) Exit Ticket: Each groups 1/2 sheet prep questions for the dramatic reading. ACCOMMODATIONS This first half of the lesson appeals to students multiple intelligences, including transferring a physical experience from the field tripsuch as stepping inside a cold, small prison cellto the composition of a 6-word memoirs and the construction of a graphic organizer centered on the prisons physical space and design. The second half of the lesson also appeals to students multiple intelligences, requiring students to read the real-life first-person narratives of prisoners in history, working with small groups to select an excerpt and plan a presentation, and prepare a dramatic reading and tableaux vivant. For students for whom the previous nights reading was challenging, working with peers to present a short excerpt can facilitate deeper exploration of a smaller amount of text. The homework (assigned the previous day, due the next day) asks students to write a 1-page original prison narrative, allowing students to creatively explore the experience of being incarcerated, with the strong examples of the previous nights readings. TEACHER REFLECTION

STUDENTS RESPONSE The primary focus of this days lesson was to debrief from the field trip to Eastern State Penitentiary and transfer students impressions and learnings from the trip to the next activity. In each of my two

sections of AAH, 710 students did not attend the trip; for those students I assigned a 4.5 page reading about the history of the penitentiary, published by Eastern State. In class on this day, students were evidently still excited about what they had seen on the trip. Students who had attended explained details about the buildings appearance to those who did not attend. The construction of the pinwheel graphic organizer was truly a group effortsometimes in an orderly manner and sometimes with disregard for procedure, lots of students volunteered ideas from their notes. In first period, one student brought the brochure from Eastern State to class, laying the map out on her desk to remind her group- mates about the highlights of the tour. I was excited to see two things: first, that students were still glowing from the success of the field trip; second, that students were able to recall an extraordinary amount of detail from the tour, their own observations, and for those who stayed behindwhat they read. The lessons opener primed students for the second activitypreparing for small group presentations of the four prison narratives they had read for homework. The presentations consisted of two parts: a dramatic reading by one member, and a tableau vivant by one or more other group members. Students were familiar with dramatic readings from a similar assignment earlier this semester, but tableaux were new. When I asked five students to help demonstrate a tableau under my direction, the rest of the class was silently attentiveit was clear that they were taking the assignment to heart, and wanted to know how to do it. From start to finish, students were making connections across various intelligences during this lessonthey referred back to the physicality of the previous days expeirence, they put themselves in the perspective of a prisoner to write 6-word memoirs during the warm up, they organized their learnings using a graphic organizer, and they began to plan for a dramatic rendering of a scene they had read for HW in the prison narratives. I think that students enthusiasm for the trip encouraged them to make so many connections across the lesson. ASSESSMENTS 6-Word Memoirs: for the warm up, students composed 6-word memoirs from the perspective of an inmate or guard at Eastern State Penitentiary. Pinwheel Graphic Organizer: working as a full class, students constructed a pinwheel-shaped graphic organizer to help them draw connections between the physical design of the prison (ESP), and larger societal trends. Group plan for Tableaux Vivant and Dramatic Readings of Prison Narratives: working in small groups, students answered 5 questions to create a plan for presenting a tableau vivant and dramatic reading of an excerpt of a prison narrative. PERSONAL REFLECTION I continue to be very impressed by students ability to demonstrate knowledge and understanding using 6-word memoirs. The warm up assignment revealed that students came away with a variety of impressions from being inside of Eastern State. Many of their memoirs included descriptions of the physical space, including detail they heard from the tour guide. Many of their memoirs also addressed the psychological effect of the prisoners experience. As an evaluator of student work, it feels more powerful for me to read students first-person narratives because it indicates a deeper understanding through the transfer of concepts from their own experience, seeing/feeling the prison, and the imagined experience of the prisoner-narrator. I will continue to use 6-word memoirs as a formative and/or summative assessment. The pinwheel graphic organizer emerged from a conversation among CM, another student teacher, and me following the field trip on the previous afternoon. I was explaining how I would change the lessons preceding the field trip in the future to make stronger connections across the unit. I landed on a desire to reframe the unit around the idea that prisonstheir physical shape and the makeup of

their populationsreflect the beliefs of the society around them. Unfortunately, that wasnt a dichotomy that I set up going into the unit, so it seemed trickyif not just wrongto superimpose it now. Describing to the other ST that I wanted students to organize what they learned that day around an inside/outside dichotomy, in general, she suggested the pinwheel graphic organizer and drew a few versions. I was really excited to try using it for the debrief. My implementation of the pinwheel graphic organizer went differently in my two periods, due in large part to collaborative reflections throughout the day with my CM, another ST, and my PM, who happened to be in the building. In first period my framing question was more complicated, but by seventh I had worked out the wording of my question to simply state: what do the physical shape and design of the prison say about the status of prison in society? As I mentioned in the previous section on Student Response, I was impressed by the tenor of students enthusiasm for the field trip in class the next day. Contributions to the full-class discussion came from a wide range of students, including students who did and didnt attend the trip, as well as students who are typically less forthcoming in full-class discussions. I believe the wide variety of activities and assessments appealed to this large classs multitude of intelligences more successfully than most other lessons I have taught. FUTURE CONSIDERATIONS Yes, I would teach this unit (and lesson!) again but I would change the primary essential question from what is the purpose of prisons in the U.S. to something like, what do prisons say about the larger society in which they exist? My own purpose for teaching the unit found some clarification halfway through, when developing the pinwheel graphic organizer. Using that dichotomization from the start of the unit will allow me to set up a more consistent set of case studies for prison/society counter- reflectionsif teaching this unit in Philadelphia, Eastern State Penitentiary provides at least two case studies (the buildings shape and philosophy change over time), and the setup would also have room for examples from other countries, such as modern-day Norway. This change to framing would also allow this unit to fit into a course in U.S. or World history, not just African American. Additionally, I would include a lesson that addresses the basic mechanics of the legal process in the U.S., with the purpose of highlighting the difference between the way a law reads, on the books, and the subjective ways that a judge and jury uphold it in court.