Topic: United States Culture in the 1930’s- Pre-reading for Al Capone Does My Shirts
Grade Level: 7th Grade
Standards: Since stations will
be used, there are 4 standards for this lesson- 1/station
1.
R7.A.1.3.2: Cite evidence from text
to support generalizations.
2.
R7.A.2.3.1: Make inferences and/or
draw conclusions based on information from text.
3.
R7.B.3.2.1: Identify, explain,
interpret, describe, and/or analyze bias and propaganda techniques in
nonfictional text.
4.
1.6.7.A: Listen critically and
respond to others in small and large group situations.
Essential Question: How can you use different mediums to learn more
about a topic of which you are unfamiliar with?
Materials:
1.
4 stations; two with access to
computers/tablets/ laptops
2.
Grouping materials
3.
KWL Chart
4.
Gangster Profile Chart
5.
Timeline on bulletin board near Great Depression
Station
6.
Post-it notes
7.
Propaganda printed
8.
Copy of 18th amendment printed or
available for students
9.
T-chart graphic organizer
10.
Lined paper
Activating Strategy:
1.
Introduce the book, “Al Capone Does My Shirts,”
to the students
a.
Pass out a copy for each student to look
at/browse
2.
Allow students 5 minutes to look at the book,
read the back of the book, flip through the pages, and explore.
a.
If students are not interested, ask them to
write down a few questions they might have concerning the book on a piece of
strap paper.
3.
Ask students how many have heard of this book,
read this book etc.
4.
Ask students to discuss with a neighbor his/her
first thoughts about the book before reading it; what are some questions you
might have, are you excited?
5.
Introduce theme of mobsters, Alcatraz Island,
The Great Depression, and the 18th Amendment
a.
Pass out KWL chart
b.
Have students write down anything he/she might
know about any of the following topics
i.
This should be done individually
c.
Have students write down at least 2 things
he/she might want to know about the topics listed above
d.
Pass up KWL chart
Teaching Strategy:
·
Introduce stations to students
·
Each station will take approximately 20 minutes
to complete
·
Each station will have a list of instructions
a.
Station 1: American Gangsters
i.
Must have access to computers for each student
and headphones
ii.
Students will choose to watch one of the videos
presented: The history of Al Capone or the History of George “Machine Gun”
Kelly
iii.
Students will take notes while watching the
short video clip
1.
Students will have to write at least 5 notes
2.
These notes will be collected at the end of the
lesson to ensure that students are paying attention
iv.
Once the video clips are completed, students
will create a Facebook Profile for the gangster of his/her choice
1.
Be sure to have worksheets of Gangster profile
at this station
v.
Students may work together to compare/contrast
notes BUT each student will turn in his/her own profile
b.
Station 2: Alcatraz Island
i.
Must have access to laptops/tablets/computers
ii.
Students will browse the website on Alcatraz
Island
iii.
Students will have 10 minutes to look at
anything he/she would like concerning Alcatraz Island on the given website
iv.
Students will create a Compare/Contrast T-chart
for the daily agenda of inmates vs. students
1.
Have T-chart available at station
2.
The first one on the T-chart is used as an
example (see worksheet)
c.
Station 3: Prohibition
i.
Have a copy of the 18th Amendment
ii.
Have printed out pictures of Prohibition
Propaganda
iii.
Students will work together to have a better
understanding of Prohibition Era
1.
Allow open discussions
2.
Encourage working together
iv.
Students must make inferences about what each
poster/advertisement is trying to convey and who it is targeting
1.
Infer who was behind the propaganda and images
placed in newspapers.
2.
Infer whether or not the American public was on
board with the 18th amendment; be sure to explain.
3.
Write down on lined paper
d.
Station 4: The Great Depression
i.
Students will browse a list of 50 facts from The
Great Depression
ii.
Students will work together in groups to create
a “time-line” of the most important features off of the list
iii.
Students will write each part of the time-line
on a post-it note
iv.
Students will place their post-it notes as a
group on the bulletin board on the universal timeline
1.
This station should be located near the
time-line bulletin board
·
Break students into groups of 4
·
Explain that the buzzer will ring every 10 minutes
a.
One for a warning, and one to rotate
·
Students will have 20 minutes at each station
and will rotate clockwise around the room
·
This will cover 2 day block periods to complete
·
Goal: have students finish 2 blocks a day
·
Walk around and ensure that students are staying
on task
Summarizing Strategy:
1. Collect papers from each
station
2. Ask students which station was his/her favorite.
3. Hand-out uncompleted KWL chart from the activating strategy
4. Allow students to fill in the “L” column from anything that he/she
has learned
5. Use “L” column as the ticket out the door.
6. Ask EQ as a full class discussion and relate it to the stations
Homework:
Assign the first three chapters of novel for homework (21 pages)
Finish any incomplete tasks from stations
Name:
Date:
 |
 |
|
|
|
Name:
Date:
Directions: Fold paper “hotdog style” before filling out to fulfill
T-chart shape.
Inmate
T-Chart
Me: Inmate:
18th Amendment:
- Section 1. After
one year from the ratification of this article the manufacture, sale, or
transportation of intoxicating liquors within, the importation thereof
into, or the exportation thereof from the United States and all territory
subject to the jurisdiction thereof for beverage purposes is hereby
prohibited.
- Section 2. The
Congress and the several states shall have concurrent power to enforce
this article by appropriate legislation.
- Section 3. This
article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an
amendment to the Constitution by the legislatures of the several states,
as provided in the Constitution, within seven years from the date of the
submission hereof to the states by the Congress.
Topic: Al Capone Does My
Shirts Lesson 4- Relating to Moose and Inferring
his feelings/actions
Grade Level: 7th
Grade
Standards: R7.A.2.3.1: Make inferences and/or draw conclusions based on information
from text.
Essential Question: Why is inferring
the actions and feelings of a protagonist of a story important when reading a
piece of text?
Materials:
·
Access to an overhead/Smartboard/chalkboard
·
Extra copies of novel
Activating Strategy:
1.
On the overhead/Smartboard/chalkboard describe a
day
a.
“I wake up before the sun rises. I forgot my
homework on the table, and my mom can’t drop it off at school because she went
into work early this morning. It’s raining, and my socks are soaked before I
make it to the bus stop. After sitting on the vomit-smelling bus for 35 minutes
I arrive at school. I can’t wait to see
the look on my teacher’s face when I tell her that I forgot my homework at
home, again.”
b.
Below the quote ask students to write in his/her
journal responding to the paragraph
c.
He or she may choose to respond to any of the
following areas based on Bloom’s Taxonomy
i.
Identify what happened to this person on that
particular day.
ii.
Infer or explain how this person might feel on
that particular day.
iii.
List all of the problems that went wrong for
this person from the short paragraph.
iv.
Compare this person’s day to yours thus far.
v.
Create a plan for this person that will help him
avoid having another day like the one above.
vi.
Evaluate how this person feels on the day
described above.
2.
How are you able to answer all of these
questions based on the small paragraph above?
3.
What parts of the paragraph helped you identify,
infer, list, compare/contrast, create, and evaluate?
4.
Which of these were easier? Which was the
hardest? Why?
5.
Relating to the novel we are reading, Al Capone Does My Shirts, how can we use
what we have read thus far to evaluate how each of the main characters feels
after the move to Alcatraz Island? Are some characters harder to evaluate than
others? Why?
6.
Ask students to get out their copy of the book
Teaching Strategy:
1.
Look at page 1 of book
2.
Read paragraph 4 aloud as a group- choral
reading
a. Everyone
gets involved- helps lower level readers feel more confident to try reading
b. “I
want to be here like I want poison oak on my private parts. But apparently
nobody cares, because now I’m Moose Flanagan, Alcatraz Island Boy-all so my
sister can go the Esther P. Marinoff School, where kids have macaroni salad in
their hair and wear their school clothes inside out and there isn’t a
chalkboard or a book in sight. Not that I’ve ever been to the Esther P.
Marinoff. But all of Natalie’s schools are like this.”
3.
Ask students to “think-pair-share” with his/her
elbow buddy.
a. Write
down individually what you think Moose is feeling.
b. Share
with your elbow buddy.
c. Class
discussion
i.
Is Moose happy about moving to Alcatraz
Island? Why or why not?
ii.
Evaluate is feelings towards Natalie’s
school.
iii.
What can you infer about Moose based on this
paragraph?
4.
Break up students into groups based on reading
level.
a. The
higher level readers will work on a more difficult paragraph from the novel
b. The
medium level readers will work on a regular paragraph from the novel
c. The
lower level readers will work with me
5.
Assign the paragraphs that each group should
read from the story
a. Top
level: page 35 paragraph 4
b. Medium
level: page 42 paragraph 1
c. Low
level: page 52 paragraph 5
6.
Work with lower level readers, but assign one
student from each group to ensure that all groups are staying on task
7.
Reconvene as a group- have one member from each
group read the paragraph and discuss the emotion or feelings that they inferred
from it
a. Have
students point to specific spots from the paragraph that helped the group infer
this feeling/emotion
b. Make
students follow along in their own novel
8.
Read Chapter 9 individually, “Nice Little Church
Boy.”
a. Tell
students to identify or infer the mood of Moose throughout the chapter
b. Tell
students to write down how his mood changes and a quick blurb about how or why
his mood changes and how he/she was able to infer this from the text
9.
Once students complete the reading, he or she
may work quietly until others are finished
Summarizing Strategy:
1. In
your English journal, write a paragraph or two describing Moose Flanagan to a
student who has never read the novel Al
Capone Does My Shirts. What is he like?
2. Ask
EQ.
Homework: Read chapters 10-12
Topic: History of Racial Tension in Baseball (The main character of “Al
Capone Does My Shirts” is an avid baseball fan and the sport is a prominent
theme throughout the book)
Grade Level: 7th Grade
Standard:
8.3.7.D: Examine conflict and cooperation among
groups and organizations in U.S. history.
·
Ethnicity and
race
Essential Question: How did the conflict of race and segregation in the
United States affect the Major League Baseball during the great depression?
Materials:
1. Access to a computer with a projector or Smartboard attachment
2. Student journals
3. Classroom set up for a Socrative seminar
4. “I Never Had It Made: An Autobiography of Jackie Robinson”
Activating Strategy:
1.
Ask students to think of one person who they
thought changed the way we viewed racism in the United States
a.
Have students write this down on a piece of
strap paper
b.
Have students share who they wrote down on the
piece of paper with a neighbor
c.
Take volunteers to share whom they wrote down
and what they know about this particular person
i.
Example: Martin Luther King Jr. – he passively
fought for the freedom of blacks in the south
ii.
Example: Barack Obama – the first black
president of the United States; broke barriers for blacks by defeating the odds
of running our country
d.
Ask questions but allow the students to think
about them quietly
i.
Express your thoughts on racism of any ethnicity
and examine why this particular group of people is being targeted over others
in a community or culture.
ii.
Has the fight against racism ended?
iii.
Based on your prior knowledge of the Great Depression,
defend your opinion on whether or not you think racism was better or worse
during this time period and explain your answer.
2.
Ask students to get their journals out
3.
Show the movie trailer of “42” about Jackie
Robinson
b.
Ask students to respond to the trailer in their
journals.
i.
How did you feel?
ii.
What did you see?
iii.
Has the fight against racism ended in today’s
culture?
iv.
Do you think Moose liked the Dodgers?
Teaching Strategy:
1.
“Today many of the MLB players, as well as,
other professional sports leagues have black members on their teams. Even our
president of the United States is black. In the twenty-first century it isn’t
unusual to have a black man or woman on TV, on sports teams, or in our own
neighborhoods or houses. Compared to the movie trailer we just watched, it is
obvious how things have changed over the times from the early 1930’s to today.
Before Jackie Robinson played on the Dodgers team, all professional baseball
players were Caucasian males. Jackie Robinson was one man who helped change the
way whites viewed blacks in the United States. Today the number “42” is retired
in the MLB and cannot be worn by any other player. Robinson opened the doors
for many other blacks in the United States and in the MLB. While the book we
are reading doesn’t directly discuss the racial tensions in the Major League
Baseball, it was something that was still going on during the same time. The
MLB organization and Jackie Robinson made a large impact on how we view blacks
today and how one person made a small step towards equality in the United
States.
2.
Read a 4 page insert from the autobiography
entitled, “I Never Had It Made: An Autobiography of Jackie Robinson” aloud to
the class.
a.
The Preface
b.
Discuss how the book was originally published in
1974
c.
Ask students if they would like to add anything
to their journal about their reactions on Jackie Robinson
3.
Class discussion about how the MLB changed the
conflict about race and ethnicity during the early ages of baseball in the
United States through a Socrative Seminar
i.
This discusses the rules of the seminar for
those who are unfamiliar
b.
Prepared questions for seminar
i.
Express your thoughts on racism of any ethnicity
and examine why this particular group of people is being targeted over others
in a community or culture.
ii.
Has the fight against racism ended?
iii.
Based on your prior knowledge of the Great
Depression, defend your opinion on whether or not you think racism was better
or worse during this time period and explain your answer.
iv.
In your opinion, why did the MLB allow Jackie
Robinson play in an “all white” sport?
v.
How did the conflict of race and segregation in
the United States affect the Major League Baseball during the great depression?
4.
Ask students to return to their seats after
seminar is completed.
Summarizing Strategy:
1.
Read the obituary of Jackie Robinson
b.
The first half
2.
Have students compare and contrast how people
viewed Robinson from the beginning of his career to his death on a T-Chart.
Homework:
Finish the compare and contrast T-Chart.
Beginning Death
Topic: Relating a non-fiction text to a fictional text
Grade Level: 7th grade
Standards:
R7.B.1.2.1: Explain, interpret, compare, describe, analyze, and/or
evaluate connections between texts.
R7.A.2.5.1: Summarize the major points, processes, and events of a
nonfictional text as a whole.
Essential Question: How can you relate connections between a fictional
and a nonfictional piece of text?
Materials:
·
List of chapters from Al Capone Does My Shirts
·
Articles printed for students to read
·
Access to YouTube on a projector/Smartboard
·
Student journals
·
Students seating arranged for small group
work/discussions
Activating Strategy:
1.
What do the chapters entitled, “Like a Regular
Sister,” “Tall for Her Age,” and “The Button Box” have in common in the book in
the novel?
a.
Have students respond in their journal
b.
Students should recognize that these chapters
are about Natalie
c.
Encourage students to describe Natalie
i.
What does the author say about her?
ii.
What are your thoughts about her?
iii.
Have you ever experienced working with someone
with a disability before?
2.
In the novel, Natalie Flanagan is the reason why
the family moved to Alcatraz in the first place; she is different. Throughout
the novel, up to part three, how has the author described Natalie’s behavior?
3.
What questions do you have about Natalie? What
is her condition?; is it ever mentioned in the book? Do you know anyone who is
different like Natalie?
4.
How do you think the time period of the novel
has affected Natalie’s treatment in terms of others?
5.
Discuss with a partner how you think things have
changed from the 1930’s to the 2010’s about how people who are deemed different
in society are treated and what is available for people with disabilities then
versus now.
6.
Show small clip from the movie, “Forest Gump.”
a.
This clip shows how Forest is turned down from
many schools because of his IQ.
b.
This takes place about the same time as the
novel.
c.
Have students discuss how this could relate to
the novel for 2 minutes.
i.
Stop clip at 58 seconds
Teaching Strategy:
1.
Pass out the first non-fiction article
a.
Have computers available if students are to read
the article online or print so that everyone is able to read and follow along
b.
The article is from a prestigious newspaper, and
is likely not written using 7th grade vocabulary; we will read
together as a group
i.
This is intended for background information
about one type of disability
ii.
Natalie, suggested by the author, as autism
iii.
Make connections between Natalie’s condition
described in the book to the article
1.
Do you think this is the correct diagnosis for
the character Natalie? Explain.
2.
Analyze the nonfiction article. Are there any
connections you can make to the novel?
3.
Underline facts that relate to the novel.
4.
Students may work with a partner
2.
Split into reading groups
a.
Lower level students will read a short piece
entitled, “Down Syndrome, autism no barrier to college”
ii.
Group will read nonfiction article together as a
group
iii.
Students in this group will discuss article
1.
How has times changed from the time that Natalie
was trying to get an education in “Al Capone does my Shirts” to now?
2.
Predict why this happened?
3.
What happened in history that may have caused
people with disabilities to become more accepted in our society?
b.
Upper level students will read a short piece
entitled, “15-Year-Old Pole Vaulter is Blind”
ii.
Group will read nonfiction book
iii.
Students will have to identify that being blind
is also a type of disability
iv.
Students will discuss other disabilities other
than blindness and autism
1.
What are they familiar with?
2.
This should be an appropriate conversation
3.
This lesson is provided to teach between texts,
as well as, teach tolerance
c.
Have students “jig saw”
i.
Two people from group one will pair up with two
people from group two
ii.
Students in these small groups will summarize
the articles that they had to read and talk about the significance of them; how
do they relate to the story? What did you learn? Are you curious about
something?
3.
Have students return to his/her own seat
a.
Students must write a short 2 paragraph summary
about how he/she used a nonfiction text in relation to a fictional piece
Summarizing Strategy:
1.
Discuss with the students today’s media
a.
Certain shows have actors or actresses with
disabilities
i.
American Horror Story, Glee, Secret Life of the
American Teenager, Switched at Birth, Pretty Little Liars, Parenthood, The
Middle
b.
Why is this so important to today’s society?
c.
Evaluate the reasoning behind why the producers
of these hit shows would include someone who has a disability.
i.
Write the answer to this in your journal.
2.
Show clip of Lauren Potter from glee
a.
Anti-bullying commercial about people with
disabilities
b.
Ends with a good note about the overall message
of tolerance
Topic: Summarizing a fictional text
Grade Level: 7th
grade
Standard:
R7.A.1.5.1: Summarize the key details and events of a fictional text as a
whole.
Essential Question: Why is summarizing a piece of fictional text
important?
Materials:
1.
DVD case to movie
2.
Access to a comic strip
3.
Cardstock paper
4.
Comic strip graphic organizer
5.
Access to student journals
6.
Access to two corners in the room
7.
Markers
8.
Crayons
Activating Strategy:
1.
Show students a DVD case and a comic strip
a.
Movie: The Hunger Games
i.
I chose this because some students might have
read the book and will be able to make the connections between the text and the
movie case as a summarizing skill
ii.
See attached sheet
b.
Comic Strip
i.
I chose a comic strip because they offer a small
story in short sentences and pictures- it summarizes a story that many can
relate to
ii.
See attached comic strip attached to lesson
2.
Ask students to brainstorm what the word summary
means individually
a.
Take volunteers
b.
Give definition
3.
Have students stand up out of his/her seat
a.
One corner represents Agree
b.
One corner represents Disagree
c.
Ask, “Is a summary similar to a movie case?”
i.
The students who went to the “agree corner” must
discuss with their group mates why they believe this is so
ii.
The students who went to the “disagree corner”
must discuss with their group mates why they believe this is so
d.
Ask, “Is a summary similar to a comic strip?”
i.
The students who went to the “agree corner” must
discuss with their group mates why they believe this is so
ii.
The students who went to the “disagree corner”
must discuss with their group mates why they believe this is so
4.
Ask students to take his/her seat
5.
Explain how both can be used a way to easily
summarize a text.
a.
Comic strips use visuals and short sentences or
paragraphs to pull the most important aspects of the story- since they only
cover the most important it easily summarizes a piece of text into short, easy
to understand blocks
b.
A movie case uses a summary on the back,
reviews, and one main picture to summarize a movie- it draws the viewer in to
watching the movie
Teaching Strategy:
1.
Ask students to work with his/her elbow buddy to
summarize in bullet points the plot of a Disney movie
a.
Example: Lion King
i.
Simba was born
ii.
Scar kills Simba’s father
iii.
Simba runs away
iv.
Simba is reunited with a childhood friend
v.
Simba saves the kingdom
vi.
Simba restarts the circle of life
2.
Students will be summarizing “Al Capone Does My
Shirts”
a.
Students will have two options
i.
Comic strip
1.
There is a template
2.
Students may use 8-12 blocks to summarize the
text
ii.
Movie case
1.
Students will use cardstock 8x11
2.
Students will fold paper in half “hamburger
style”
3.
Front of the paper will be the cover to his/her
movie
4.
Back will be the written summary
b.
Both involve summarizing the text in 12-15
sentences and adding visuals
c.
Students will have 2 days in class to complete
as much as possible
i.
If students do not finish, they will have three
days at home to complete their finished product
3.
Ask students to pull out a piece of scrap paper
a.
Students must brainstorm the main aspects of the
story
b.
Allow 10 minutes
c.
Tell students to do bullet points similar to the
first activity
4.
Students will have the option to create which
project he/she will complete
5.
Allow students to work on project
a.
Encourage creating the written piece of text
first
b.
Encourage students to edit
c.
Encourage students to do a rough copy
6.
Encourage students to look at rubric
Summarizing
Strategy:
1.
Students will
have had time to complete his/her project
2.
Students will place his/her work around the room
to create a “gallery”
a.
The projects will be numbered with a post-it
note under each to keep projects anonymous so that students do not vote for
his/her friends work
b.
Students will quietly walk around and observe
each of the projects completed by his/her classmates
c.
Students will choose one comic strip and one
movie case that is considered “the best” for the entire class
i.
Students will have to vote based on summary
accuracy and neatness of visuals
ii.
Students will then anonymously write which comic
and movie case was completed the best and put it in the box
3.
Count up the votes from the students
a.
Have the students from those two projects
present their project to the class
b.
Students will read the summary and show their
visuals
4.
How do these projects summarize our novel?
5.
Ask EQ.
|
Grading Scale
|
0-3
|
3-6
|
6-9
|
9-12
|
|
Summary
|
Summary includes at least 4 sentences.
|
Summary includes at least 6 sentences.
|
Summary includes at least 8 sentences.
|
Summary includes at least 10-12 sentences.
|
|
Grammar/Mechanics
|
There were 10-12 grammatical errors.
|
There were 8-10 grammatical errors.
|
There were 6-8 grammatical errors.
|
There were less than 5 grammatical errors.
|
|
Accuracy
|
Summary did not follow the novel.
|
Summary followed some of the novel.
|
Summary followed most of the novel.
|
Summary followed entire novel.
|
|
Neatness
|
Final project was sloppy and unprofessional.
|
Final project was somewhat sloppy.
|
Final project was somewhat neat.
|
Final project was neat and professional.
|
|
Followed Directions
|
Student did not follow directions.
|
Student followed some of the directions.
|
Students followed most of the directions.
|
Student followed all directions.
|
|
Met Due Date
|
Student turned in project 3 days late
|
Student turned in project 2 days late
|
Student turned in project 1 day late
|
Student turned in project on time
|
Comments:
Final Grade:
No comments:
Post a Comment