Lesson Plans
Day 1 – Introduction
- Students will analyze “Letter to the Free” by Common
- Introduction – Students will document their experiences with the criminal justice system in their journals
- Students will do a gallery walk of political cartoons and pictures related to the criminal justice system.
Day 2
Students will read and answer questions from Race to Incarcerate: A Graphic Retelling
Ch. 1 – US Prisons from Inception to Export
- What is the purpose of prison?
- Give at least 3 characteristics of early prisons in the United States.
- What are the proactive ways to influence human behavior according to the book?
- Give at least 3 similarities between early prisons and the Richmond Juvenile Detention Center.
Students will answer one discussion question in a one-page journal entry
- What are some ways to influence human behavior positively and negatively?
- Would your current case be different if you had a high-powered lawyer? Explain
Class Activities
- Students will examine the DJJ Historical Timeline and correlate it with national crime debates.
- Students will watch video clips from Slavery by Another Name
- Students will analyze “Letter to the Free” by Common
Day 3
Students will read and answer questions from Race to Incarcerate: A Graphic Retelling
2 – The Rise of the “Tough on Crime” Movement
- Explain indeterminate sentencing.
- How did the George Jackson case illustrate the problems with indeterminate sentencing?
- Explain the racial overtones eying Nixon’s “law and order” campaign.
- Differentiate between conservative (right) and Liberal (left) approaches to rehabilitation.
Students will answer one discussion question in a one-page journal entry
- Do you agree with this practice of indeterminate sentencing? Explain
- Do you believe the story of what happened in George Jackson’s attempted escape? Explain
- Which philosophical approach to rehabilitation fits your beliefs? Explain
Class Activities
- Students will examine the DJJ Historical Timeline and correlate it with national crime debates.
- Students will analyze Supreme Court case Terry vs Ohio in relation to the constitutionality of modern police policies.
Day 4
Students will read and answer questions from Race to Incarcerate: A Graphic Retelling
3 - The Triumph of the “Tough on Crime” Movement
- Give 3 reasons why crime rose in the 1960’s.
- What 2 groups were to blame for a breakdown in law and order?
- Explain “moral malaise”.
Students will answer one discussion question in a one-page journal entry
- Do population increases play a role in crime?
- What role did race play in Nixon’s “law and order” campaign?
Class Activities
- Students will examine the DJJ Historical Timeline and correlate it with national crime debates.
Day 5
Students will read and answer questions from Race to Incarcerate: A Graphic Retelling
4 – The Rock Gets Rolling/
- What were the Rockefeller drug laws?
- What was the purpose of state sentencing commissions?
- Does gun control have an effect on crime?
Students will answer one discussion question in a one-page journal entry
- Are sentencing commissions a good idea? Explain
Class Activities
- Students will examine the DJJ Historical Timeline and correlate it with national crime debates.
- Students will research politicians committed to reducing the cocaine/crack disparity laws.
Day 6
Students will read and answer questions from Race to Incarcerate: A Graphic Retelling
5 - Crime as Politics: The Reagan Bush Years
- Explain Ronald Reagan’s philosophy concerning government and social problems.
- What laws were passed as a result of the Len Bias tragedy?
- What were the results of the 1983 study by the Reagan Justice Department?
- How much did spending on prisons increase during the Bush/Reagan years?
Students will answer one discussion question in a one-page journal entry
- Do you believe in rugged individualism?
- Does the media have a responsibility to tell the truth or to make viewers/readers buy their product?
Class Activities
- Students will examine the DJJ Historical Timeline and correlate it with national crime debates.
- Students will analyze the song “Reagan” by Killer Mike
Day 7
Students will read and answer questions from Race to Incarcerate: A Graphic Retelling
6 – Kemba Smith
- How long did Kemba Smith receive in prison?
- What crimes were she guilty of committing?
- What was the hypocrisy in Bill Clinton commuting her sentence?
Students will answer one discussion question in a one-page journal entry
- Do you think Kemba Smith was implicit in her own demise? Explain
- Do you agree with her sentence? Explain
Class Activities
- Students will examine the DJJ Historical Timeline and correlate it with national crime debates.
Day 8
Students will read and answer questions from Race to Incarcerate: A Graphic Retelling
7 – Crime as Politics: Clinton Years
- What were the components of President Clinton’s mixed approach to fighting crime?
- Explain the role the media played in passage of the 1994 crime bill?
- What objections did Janet Reno have to the 1994 crime bill?
- What was included in the 1994 crime bill?
- How did state governments benefit from the 1994 crime bill?
Students will answer one discussion question in a one-page journal entry
Should America abolish the death penalty? Explain
- Does the media have a responsibility to tell the truth or to make viewers/readers buy their product?
- Should politicians be judged for their rhetoric or their actions?
Class Activities
- Students will examine the DJJ Historical Timeline and correlate it with national crime debates.
- Students will watch and analyze clips from the movie “13th”
Day 9
Students will read and answer questions from Race to Incarcerate: A Graphic Retelling
8 – Crime as Politics: George W Bush Years
- Explain “compassionate conservatism”.
- What did Bush propose to Congress?
- Explain the sentencing disparity between crack and cocaine.
- How much did federal prisons grow during the Bush years?
Students will answer one discussion question in a one-page journal entry
- Do you agree with the philosophy of compassionate conservatism?
- Does the Attorney General have too much or too little power in the war on drugs? Explain
Class Activities
- Students will examine the DJJ Historical Timeline and correlate it with national crime debates.
Day 10
Students will read and answer questions from Race to Incarcerate: A Graphic Retelling
9 – The Prison/Crime Connection
- How did the rise in prison populations correlate with crime statistics?
- What does the author suggest as factors to a decline in crime?
- List 3 crime reduction stats in New York City in the 1990’s.
- Explain 3 reasons for the reduction in crime in New York City in the 1990’s.
Students will answer one discussion question in a one-page journal entry
- Why don’t more prisons equal less crime?
- What factors do you believe results in less crime?
Class Activities
- Students will analyze statistics from Virginia Department of Juvenile Justice Reports on Crime and ethnicity in Virginia
Day 11
Students will read and answer questions from Race to Incarcerate: A Graphic Retelling
10 – Color Coded Justice
- What percentage of black boys born after 2000 will spend time in prison?
- List 3 immigrant groups and the criminal stereotypes associated with each group.
- Explain convict leasing.
- What is a super predator?
- Explain 3 factors of the criminal justice system that led to more black people being in jail.
Students will answer one discussion question in a one-page journal entry
- What racial stereotypes do you believe? Explain
- Do you think America would give more attention to prison issues if the majority of prisoners were white? Explain
Class Activities
- Students will analyze statistics from Virginia Department of Juvenile Justice Reports on Crime and ethnicity in Virginia. They will compare and contrast the types of crimes committed in 4 different DJJ jurisdictions (Richmond, Norfolk, Fairfax, and Shenandoah).
Day 12
Students will read and answer questions from Race to Incarcerate: A Graphic Retelling
11 – The War on Drugs and African Americans
- Explain the correlation between African American population statistics and drug arrest statistics.
- What happens during a drug sweep?
- Explain how mandatory sentences have increased the prison disparity for African Americans.
- How did court jurisdiction increase the prison disparity for African Americans?
- List 3 other life factors are affected by the war of drugs.
- List 4 ways to reduce the prison population due to the War on Drugs.
Students will answer one discussion question in a one-page journal entry
- Are drug sweeps a violation of the 4th amendment?
- Are drug sweeps a violation of the 14th amendment?
- Explain a positive and a negative interaction with a police officer.
Class Activities
- Students will read excerpts from Ch. 5 of Locking Up Our Own “The Worst Think to Hit Us Since Slavery: Crack and the Advent of Warrior Policing”
- Students will read excerpts from Ch 7 of Chokehold, “If You Catch a Case, Act Like You Know”
Day 13
Students will read and answer questions from Race to Incarcerate: A Graphic Retelling
12 – A New Direction
- List 3 alternatives to incarceration.
- Explain community policing.
- Explain how the criminal justice system has disenfranchised African Americans.
- What is restorative justice?
Students will answer one discussion question in a one-page journal entry
- What do you think would be an alternative to prisoning? Explain
- What can police do to improve their relationships with the community?
- What can the community do to improve their relationships with police?
Class Activities
- Students will research hip hop songs about police tactics and prison system and create an oral report on the meaning of the song
- Students will create a letter to their younger self on how to avoid the pitfalls of juvenile prison.
Day 14
Class Activities
- Students will edit their letters to their younger self on how to avoid the pitfalls of juvenile prison
Day 15
Class Activities
- Students will research pictures for a visual timeline to be displayed in Detention Center hallway or in a computer-generated slideshow. The pictures must represent key points in American history that produced an increase in the prison population.
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