Lesson Plan: What's Dangerous About Trees
Subject/Course: US History/ Government/ Law/ Sociology
Topic: History of the U.S. Prison System and Comparing/Contrasting with European Prisons
Grade Level: 9-12
Common Core Standards:
CCSS.ELA-Literacy RH.11-12.9 Integrate information from diverse sources, both primary and secondary, into a coherent understanding of an idea or event, noting discrepancies among sources.
RH. 11-12.6 Evaluate author's differing points of view on the same historical event or issue by assessing the author’s claims, reasoning and evidence.
Episode: “What’s Dangerous About Trees” (Season 10) Full audio | Transcript
Lesson Length/Time Needed: 1-2 class periods
Lesson Created by: B. Fritch, California
Lesson Objectives
Students will understand the history and current state of the U.S. prison system.
Students will gain an understanding of the Norwegian prison system and its approach to rehabilitation.
Students will be able to compare/contrast American prisons and Norwegian prisons.
Students will be able to develop an argument if the Norwegian system of prisons could work in the United States.
Materials Needed
Audio
Listening device (computer or phone)
Goals of U.S. Prisons Warm Up
Activities
Intro: Introduce the topic of prisons and ask students what they know about the goals of U.S. prisons. After a brief discussion, introduce the warm up and have students write then share and discuss with the class.
Through: To understand how the prison system has changed over time, place students in pairs and distribute History of U.S. Prisons. In pairs, have students read about each type of prison over time. For each prison, have students address the questions. When students are done, ask the class over time what have been the practices and goals of the U.S. prison system. After students share and discuss, introduce them to the idea of Norwegian prisons and how there are other systems trying to do things differently.
Distribute the Prisons in Norway assignment. Have students watch the video and listen to the Ear Hustle excerpts. When done, have them address the three questions.
Beyond: Lastly, explain how California is beginning an effort to mimic Norwegian prisons. In pairs, have the students read the article from the Los Angeles Times about the effort in California to use Norwegian prisons best practices. When complete, have students address the reflection question about if they think the Norwegian system could work in the United States. When done, discuss their responses as a class.
Additional Resources
(Source Los Angeles Times, Sam Levin, March 17, 2023) ‘Ending San Quentin’: Plan would turn prison into ‘Norwegian style’ rehab center
Content Warnings
Hard stop at page 12 (in the transcript). Talk about sex toys. Begin again at page 14.
Use of the word “shit”
Earlonne: It’s this book called The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene that is very popular in prison settings. Actually, this book is on the banned list in San Quentin. I guess they feel by reading this book, you can manipulate others or you can use these strategies against others. It's almost like the Art of War or shit like that.
Use of the word “hell”
Nigel: From the outside, it did look like San Quentin, but when we got inside, it was eerie, it was so quiet. I just kept thinking like, "Where the hell is everybody?"