Struggling with Standards? Need a way to break out and find creative ways to meet your teaching goals?

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Struggling with Standards? Need a way to break
out and find creative ways to meet your teaching
goals? Maybe you need a trip to an island
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Alcatraz Island!
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AlcatrazStandards of the Rock

• A look at the history of Alcatraz, its residents,
  and how one place can help you address standards
  in four subjects

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Brief Explanation of this Presentation for L551
audience

• This presentation will provide a framework for a
  collaborative project and analyze the ways it
  links to the principles and key ideas as well as
  academic standards for four areas
• Check for notes on pages with clipboard icon in
  corner
• Just mouse over the icon and note will appear.
  Try it now!

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On to the Presentation
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Al Capone Lived there, but who else?

• Students are probably familiar with gangsters and
  the big names such as Al Capone, Machine Gun
  Kelly, Baby Face Nelson, Pretty Boy Floyd, the
  Birdman of Alcatraz and others who have been
  portrayed in movies

Photos from A Brief History of Alcatraz Island
(http//www.alcatrazhistory.com)
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Families on Alcatrazand Native Americans?

• Students will doubtfully have thought of the
  history of Alcatraz prior to the prison
• Students may not have considered the prison
  guards and other civilians who lived on the Rock
• Students may also be surprised to learn that
  Native Americans lived on Alcatraz Island for 19
  months from 1969-1971.

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Rock Populations

• Introduce students to the original jailbirds
  Alcatraz was named for
• Let them in on the fact that there was another
  prison there before the home of Al Capone
• Give them the true story of some of the legends
  of attempted escapes

not
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Project Aspects

• This is a series of ideas for collaborative
  projects for eighth grade students and involves
  the media specialist, English teacher, science
  teacher, and social studies teacher.
• Students will be challenged to move beyond their
  initial ideas of Alcatraz and think about the
  true history of the island, what life was really
  like there for its various inhabitants and just
  who exactly those inhabitants were.

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Project Aspects

• Using the aspects of Information Inquiry
  Methodsquestioning (I wonder), exploration (I
  find), assimilation (I relate to what I know),
  inference (what I think this means and what I
  will share with others), and reflection (how the
  process went) students will research Alcatraz to
  move beyond their limited knowledge.
• Projects can be pursued in groups or by
  individual students

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Project Aspects

• Assessment of projects will be conducted by both
  the teacher and the media specialist
• Assessment will take into account the creativity
  of the student and group questions as well as the
  project
• Students will be expected to choose an area and
  look at the way it connects with something they
  know about or are learning in another class

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Media Specialists Role

• The media specialist would meet with the teacher
  and discuss possible directions for student
  inquiry projects
• Assistance would be offered in the form of
  recommended books, websites, videos that pertain
  to the project
• The media specialist would also meet with student
  groups and guide them toward useful resources
• The media specialist would also teach
  mini-lessons related to the project and the
  research process

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Project Notes

• Students should be encouraged to follow topics
  about Alcatraz that interest them.
• Allowing students to focus on what interests
  them and figuring out ways they will learn
  material best will get them out of the mindset of
  homework just being a means for a grade instead
  of a way to practice and learn new concepts
  (Vaughn, 2005).

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Project Notes

• Along the way students should ask themselves
• What resources are available, and which ones
  should I use to learn this information?
• How much information do I already know about this
  topic, and where are the gaps in my
  understanding?
• How much and what type of practice should I
  engage in?
• When should I complete this work?
• Do I want to work alone, or would it be more
  helpful to work with a classmate?
• Source Vaughan, A. L. (2005). "The Self-Paced
  Student." Educational Leadership 62(7).

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Addressing the Standards
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Standards Slide Order

• Standards are grouped into major areas
• Social Studies
• English/Language Arts
• Science
• Math
• Projects suggestions are also grouped within
  these categories, but English/Language Arts
  overlaps with presentations in all areas

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Social Studies Standards

• Standard 1History
• (discovery, exploration of America social
  reform westward expansion)

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Social Studies Standards

• Standard 1History Specifics
• Chronological Thinkingdevelop and interpret U.S.
  history timelines from 1750-1877
• Comprehension, Analysis, and Interpretationrecogn
  ize historical perspective, avoid evaluation of
  past solely in terms of present-day norms
• Issues-Analysis, Decision-Making, Planning and
  Problem-Solvingexamine causes of problems
  evaluate solutions consider alternative courses
  of actions

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Social Studies Standard 1

• Timelines
• Chronological Thinkingdevelop and interpret U.S.
  history timelines from 1750-1877
• Alcatraz Prison In American History (1998)
  presents a timeline of Alcatraz history from
  1542-1973.
• Students can evaluate these dates and relate them
  to other U.S. events to begin to see correlations
  in historical events

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Alcatraz Timeline

• 1542 Explorer Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo sails along
  the coast of California and claims Alta (Upper)
  California for the King of Spain
• 1769 Sergeant Jose Ortega discovers San Francisco
  Bay
• 1775 Spanish explorers Juan Manuel de Ayala and
  Jose Canizares chart the islands in the bay
  Ayala names one island Alcatraces after the
  large number of pelicans seen there

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Alcatraz Timeline

• 1846 Julian Workman obtains a land grant for
  Alcatraz Island and is ordered to build a
  lighthouse there
• 1854 A forty-foot tall lighthouse is put into
  operation on the island
• 1859 Company H of the Third Artillery occupies
  Alcatraz, beginning a 70-year occupation of the
  island by the U.S. Army.

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Alcatraz Timeline

• Timeline example
• 1933The army announces that the military prison
  on Alcatraz Island would be closed The federal
  government announces plans to make Alcatraz a
  federal prison for the most dangerous inmates in
  the federal prison system.
• What else was happening in America in 1933?
  (Volstead Act, final year of Prohibition)

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Alcatraz Timeline

• 1963 Attorney General Robert Kennedy orders
  Alcatraz federal prison closed the last inmates
  leave
• Questions for students to researchwhy did
  Alcatraz close in 1963? What else was happening?
• What kinds of important historical events took
  place while Alcatraz was a prison (from
  1934-1963)?
• How did these events effect the inmates or change
  the face of crimes committed?

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Information Inquiry Aspects

• Ask students to reflect on what else they are
  studying and link these dates to what they know
• Have students research some events they know
  about but are unsure of dates
• Have students work in groups to create different
  pieces of a timeline. Write it out on large
  sheets of paper and hang it up in the classroom
  to help students see the linear qualities of
  history
• Add dates of importance as they are discussed in
  class

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Timeline Project

• Use a timeline website such as World Almanac for
  Kids www.worldalmanacforkids.com
• Or the Library of Congress American Memory
  Timelinehttp//memory.loc.gov/learn/features/time
  line/

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Social Studies Standard 1

• Comprehension, Analysis, and InterpretationThere
  are may stories about Alcatraz, some true, others
  embellished.
• Students can, study maps, read primary source
  documents and compare their findings to fictional
  accounts as well as movies

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Social Studies Standard 1

• Projects might include comparing and contrasting
  non-fictional accounts with fictional stories
• These could take the form of papers but might
  also include student-written plays to illustrate
  truth vs. fiction
• Another project might be to build a model based
  on the map in the previous slide

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Social Studies Standard 1

• Recommend reading Al Capone Does My Shirts by
  Gennifer Choldenko
• This provides some background knowledge for
  students about life on Alcatraz
• Students should question how they might have
  reacted to life on Alcatraz
• Students could record these thoughts in a journal
  as if they were living on the island
• Students would be encouraged to include another
  event on Alcatraz, an escape or the last week
  before the prison was closed

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Social Studies Standard 1

• Issues-Analysis, Decision-Making, Planning and
  Problem-Solving
• Students can look at the reasons prisoners were
  sent to Alcatraz and what psychological effect
  that had on both the prisoners and people afraid
  of some of those prisoners
• Students might be challenged to question whether
  the Alcatraz concept of isolation worked better
  than current prison standards

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Social Studies Standard 1

• Another issue students can look at is the Native
  American occupation
• Students should go beyond just the facts and
  analyze why Native Americans chose Alcatraz
• The Alcatraz Proclamation lists the reasons
  Native Americans declared Alcatraz suitable for
  them
• Students should read the list and link the
  statements to the history these statements are
  based on

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Social Studies Standard 1

• Alcatraz Proclamation
• We feel that this so-called Alcatraz Island is
  more than suitable for an Indian reservation, as
  determined by the white man's own standards. By
  this, we mean that this place resembles most
  Indian reservations in that
• 1. It is isolated from modern facilities, and
  without adequate means of transportation.
• 2. It has no fresh running water.
• 3. It has inadequate sanitation facilities.
• 4. There are no oil or mineral rights.
• 5. There is no industry and so unemployment is
  very great.

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Social Studies Standard 1

• 6. There are no health-care facilities.
• 7. The soil is rocky and non-productive, and the
  land does not support game.
• 8. There are no educational facilities.
• 9. The population has always exceeded the land
  base.
• 10. The population has always been held as
  prisoners and kept dependent upon others.
• Further, it would be fitting and symbolic that
  ships from all over the world, entering the
  Golden Gate, would first see Indian land, and
  thus be reminded of the true history of this
  nation. This tiny island would be a symbol of the
  great lands once ruled by free and noble Indians.
  - Indians of All Nations, The Alcatraz
  Proclamation to the Great White Father and His
  People
• Source http//www.pbs.org/itvs/alcatrazisnotanis
  land/landings.html

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Information Inquiry Aspects

• Students might want to delve more into how the
  Alcatraz Proclamation relates to current
  situations for Native Americans
• Students could research the PBS website and watch
  a video about the occupation to get a better
  understanding
• Students who choose this aspect could share their
  findings by linking the proclamation to other
  historical events linked to Native Americans

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English/Language Arts Standards

• Standard 2Reading Comprehension
• Comprehension and Analysis of Grade-Level
  Appropriate Text
• Standard 4Writing Process
• Research and Technology
• Standard 5Writing Applications
• Write responses to literature
• Write research reports

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English/Language Arts Standards

• Standard 6English Language Conventions
• Sentence Structure
• Grammar
• Punctuation
• Capitalization
• Spelling

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English/Language Arts Standards

• Standard 7Listening and Speaking
• Speaking Applications

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English/Language Arts Standard 2

• Reading Comprehension
• Comprehension and Analysis of Grade-Level
  Appropriate Text
• Students could read books and websites about
  Alcatraz
• Students could choose both fiction and nonfiction
  to learn more about life on Alcatraz Island

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Information Inquiry Aspects

• Introduce students to the concepts of families
  living on Alcatraz by reading Al Capone Does My
  Shirts by Gennifer Choldenko.
• Some students may feel this book is for younger
  students, but for struggling readers it might be
  a good way to introduce the topic
• Students who dont struggle with reading might
  enjoy trying to extend the story by introducing
  other inmates or by writing about what might have
  happened in the years following the story (the
  book is set in 1935)

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Information Inquiry Aspects

• A note about levels of reading material
• The books that help (students become lifelong
  learners) are those that allow youngsters to
  think about and read about the things they want
  to think about and read about. Theyre books that
  let students discover issues and topics they may
  have never imagined...Its OK for students to
  move up and down within reading levelsmost
  people do this all the time. We read based on
  interest not necessarily on whats at our
  appropriate level.
• Source Carter, B. (2000). "Formula for Failure."
  School Library Journal 46(7).

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Information Inquiry Aspects

• As mentioned previously, students should ask
  themselves how their lives might have been if
  they had lived on Alcatraz
• Students could research fiction and nonfiction
  and relate to a family member, guard, or even a
  prisoner
• Students might also want to write a journal from
  the perspective of someone living on the island

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English/Language Arts Standard 4

• Writing Process
• Research and Technology
• The media specialist will help students locate
  helpful websites to explore more about
  Alcatrazfrom the look of the island through
  virtual tours, to populations on history websites
• Students can present their findings through
  websites, power point presentations, or blogs

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English/Language Arts Standard 5

• Writing Applications
• Write responses to literature
• Write research reports
• This standard could be worked in with any of the
  standards. Students will write to take notes on
  their research and their presentations will rely
  on a written aspect

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English/Language Arts Standard 6

• English Language Conventions
• Sentence Structure
• Grammar
• Punctuation
• Capitalization
• Spelling
• Also covered in anything written.

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English/Language Arts Standard 7

• Listening and Speaking
• Speaking Applications
• Students may wish to share the results of their
  research through a play or an oral presentation
  to their classmates

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Science Standards

• Standard 3The Physical Setting
• Forces of nature
• Standard 4The Living Environment
• How living things function and interact with each
  other

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Science Standard 3

• The Physical Setting
• Earth and the Processes that Shape ithow
  physical features of the earth formed
• Students can do a more in-depth look at how many
  notable geographic landscapes were formedGrand
  Canyon, Mount Everest, etc.

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Science Standard 4

• The Living Environment
• Interdependence of Life and Evolutionhow
  environmental conditions affect the survival of
  individual organisms and how entire species may
  prosper in spite of poor survivability or bad
  fortune of individuals

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Science Standard 4

• The Living Environment
• Originally there were no native plants on
  Alcatraz Island. Students could conduct a
  botanical study of vegetation introduced and
  study the plant varieties to see which might have
  thrived and what in the conditions of the island
  allowed this survival.
• Students might also do a study on the bird
  populations and how sea gulls acted as natures
  alarms.

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Math Standards

• Standard 5Measurement
• Convert common measurements for length, area,
  volume, weight, capacity, and time to equivalent
  measurements within the same system

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Math Standard 5

• Measurement
• Convert common measurements for length, area,
  volume, weight, capacity, and time to equivalent
  measurements within the same system
• Students could study escape attempts and figure
  the distance from Alcatraz to the nearest shore
  in different measurements (miles, kilometers,
  feet, meters, nautical mileswhatever makes the
  most sense).
• They could also try and factor in variable such
  as wind speed, current, water temperature, etc.
  on the probability that a person could survive in
  these factors.

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Conclusion

• These are just brief sketches of ideas that
  should serve as jumping off places for projects
• The real goal of the presentation is to show just
  how many standards you can meet in just one
  place. Choose another location and imagine the
  possibilities
• Every place has history and anything can be
  linked to knowledge students already have

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Internet Resources

• AlcatrazHistory.comhttp//www.alcatrazhistory.com
  /mainpg.htm
• AlcatrazA Merry and Illustrated
  Historyhttp//members.aol.com/OtherToons/alcatraz
  .html
• Alcatraz Indian Occupation http//www.nps.gov/alca
  traz/indian.html
• Alcatraz is Not an IslandReclaiming Native
  Landhttp//www.pbs.org/itvs/alcatrazisnotanisland
  /landings.html

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Internet Resources

• Alcatraz! (A WebQuest)http//www.users.interport.
  net/r/-/r-acaron/Alcatraz/
• Federal Bureau of Prisons Alcatrazhttp//www.bop
  .gov//about/history/alcatraz.jsp
• Historic Posts, Camps, Stations, and Airfields
  Post at Alcatraz Islandhttp//www.militarymuseum.
  org/Alcatraz.html
• Tour Alcatrazhttp//www.nps.gov/alcatraz/tours/
• Virtual Tourhttp//www.virtuar.com/alcatraz/

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Other Resources

• Choldenko, Gennifer, 2004. Al Capone Does My
  Shirts. New York G.P. Putnams Sons
• Oliver, Marilyn Tower. 1998. Alcatraz Prison in
  American History. Springfield, New Jersey Enslow
  Publishers, Inc.
• Brownlie, Alison. 2000. Crime and Punishment
  Changing Attitudes 1900-2000. Austin, Texas
  Raintree Steck-Vaughn Publishers.
• Gregory, George H. 2002. Alcatraz Screw My Years
  as a Guard in Americas Most Notorious Prison.
  Columbia, Missouri University of Missouri Press.