Lesson Plan: Escape From Alcatraz

Essential Questions

• ​Why do people take risks?
• How does the geography of a place affect how humans use it?

Literature Connection

Novel: Al Capone Does My Shirts by Gennifer Choldenko

Preview Text Features (15 minutes)

Have students open their magazines to page 8. Guide them to preview the text features by asking the following questions:

1. What do you see in the large image on pages 8-9? How would you describe the mood of this image? The image shows an ocean with a prison in the background (we know it’s a prison from the subtitle). A searchlight shines out on the water, which is choppy and has a shark in it. The mood is scary because it’s nighttime, the water looks dangerous, and there is a searchlight looking for someone.
   
2. What does the map on page 10 tell you about Alcatraz? It tells you that Alcatraz is on an island near San Francisco.
   
3. Look at the photos on page 11. Why do you think someone made a fake head and placed it in a bed? Make a prediction. Someone probably made this fake head to make it seem like there was a person sleeping in the bed. They were probably trying to fool someone.

Preview Vocabulary (10 minutes)

• Direct students to the vocabulary box on page 10. Read each word aloud and discuss the definitions.
• Play the Vocabulary Slideshow featured with the article.
• Highlighted words: cells, inmates, wriggled, federal, landmark

Make a Plan for Reading (5 minutes)

• Set a purpose for reading by explaining to students that they will find text evidence in “Escape From Alcatraz” that shows how the three prisoners pictured on page 9 escaped.
• Point out Pause and Think boxes starting on page 9. Ask students to check their understanding of what they’ve read by answering these questions using text evidence.
• Tell students they will complete the activity on page 12 after reading. Call on a student to read aloud the Think About It! question and prompt students to keep it in mind as they read.
• Tell students that as they finish each section, they should look at the text features on the page (e.g., photos, captions, and section headings) and ask themselves how those features relate to what they’ve just read.

Guide students to read the article. Once they have a good understanding of it and can answer the Pause and Think questions, challenge them to go further by discussing the close-reading and critical-thinking questions.

Close-Reading Questions (20 minutes)

• How do you think Frank Morris felt on the night of June 11, 1962, before he and his friends made their escape? Use evidence from the article to support your answer. (inference) Frank Morris probably felt excited and nervous on the night of his escape. The article states that while all the inmates slept, Frank’s heart pounded. He had been planning for this night for months, and he knew it would change his life. He was probably excited that he could finally be free but nervous about the possibility of getting caught.
• Why was Alcatraz considered “escapeproof”? How did Morris and the Anglin brothers escape? (key details) Alcatraz was thought of as “escape-proof” because it was built on an island surrounded by rough, cold, and shark-filled waters. Morris and the Anglins escaped by placing dummy heads in their beds that fooled the prison guards into thinking they were still in bed. They crawled through holes that they had carved in their jail cells, then sneaked across the roof and down a drainpipe.
• What happened to most of the inmates who tried to escape from Alcatraz? Did the same thing happen to Morris and the Anglin brothers? (compare and contrast) Most of the inmates who tried to escape from Alcatraz were caught (23 out of 36). The rest died in the process. Morris and the Anglin brothers were not caught. No one knows exactly what happened to them, but most people believe they drowned. 

Critical-Thinking Questions (10 minutes)

• Why do you think Alcatraz was turned into a landmark? Why do tourists visit it every year? (text evidence) Alcatraz was turned into a landmark because it has an important place in American history. It was the country’s first “superprison” and took in some of the most dangerous criminals. Even though it was almost impossible to escape, 36 men tried to do so. Today, tourists visit Alcatraz to see the prison cells, hear recordings from inmates, and learn about how prisoners lived—and, of course, about how they tried to escape.
• After reading the article, your friend says that the great escape of 1962 caused the government to shut down Alcatraz. Is this claim supported by the article? Explain your answer. (drawing conclusions) No, this claim is not supported by the article. The article states that the government shut down Alcatraz because it was too expensive to keep open, not because of anything related to the escape. 

• Guide students to complete the activity on page 12.
• Visit Action Online for our Central Idea and Details activity, available on two levels.
• Writing prompt: Write a journal entry from the point of view of Allen West, the prisoner who was involved in planning the escape but never made it out of his cell. In the entry, describe why you weren’t able to go, how you felt about that, and what you think happened to your friends.