Lesson: Prison Systems-Then & Now
Source: Philadelphia World Heritage Tool Kit
Created by: Annabelle Lyons, Constitution High School
Subjects: Language Arts, Social Studies, Social Justice
Grade Levels: 9-12
View or download this Lesson Plan.
Overview: The Eastern State Penitentiary (ESP) is located at 2027 Fairmount Avenue, (between 20th Street and 22nd Street on Fairmount Avenue). It is a National Historic Landmark. ESP was opened on October 25, 1829 and is considered the world’s first penitentiary. Constructed during the period of Enlightenment, ESP was built to change incarceration with the intention of reforming criminals. At that time, prisons were simply way stations, holding large groups of assorted men, women and children who had committed crimes of varying severity until their term was completed. ESP broke with this tradition and sought to reform criminals through solitary thought, penitence and hard labor. Through this lesson, students will exam the history of ESP and its social mission. They will explore the experiences of visitors, staff and inmates and make connections to modern day prison systems.
Objectives: Students will read, synthesize and analyze a variety of texts to evaluate historical, cultural and social perspectives influencing the development of Eastern State Penitentiary. Students will explore the historical landmark to gain a first person perspective of its cultural and historical impact. Students will write creatively in order to evaluate the impact of principles guiding the construction and development of the Eastern State Penitentiary. Students will conduct research in order to analyze the influence of the Eastern State Penitentiary on other current and global prison system.
The Philadelphia World Heritage Tool Kit
This lesson is one of 29 lessons (K-12, all subjects) in the Philadelphia World Heritage Tool Kit. The goal of the Tool Kit is to help educators and their students develop a transnational analysis in their classrooms by using complex themes of world heritage as a framework to understand global regions across disciplines. These themes include shared architectural, cultural, economic, environmental, political, recreational, religious, and social heritage features. Real teachers created these lessons and based their work on “best practices” that reflect student collaboration and the broad goals of young people in ways that support care and understanding of others who may be very different in background and history.