CoBaLTT Unit Plan

The Death Penalty in the U.S.
Lesson 02: How the death penalty affects minors in the United States

Submitted by Dan Dunagan

Objectives:

Content:
Students will...

CON 1. Identify which U.S. states allow the death penalty and which U.S. states that prohibit the use of the death penalty.

CON 2. Identify which geographic region of the U.S. includes the most states that do not permit the death penalty.

CON 3. Demonstrate understanding of the severity of at least four methods of carrying out the death penalty.

CON 4. Identify arguments for and against the death penalty for minors.

Cultural:
Students will...

CUL 1. Demonstrate an understanding that the comparative number of Latino minors on death row in the United States did not correspond to their percentages of the overall U.S. population.

Language: Content Obligatory
Students will...

Lang CO 1. Use “inverted” verb constructions in the present tense to describe personal opinions with words like gustar, disgustar, sorprender, molestar, encantar and ofender.

Lang CO 2. Use the present tense (3rd person singular and plural) to identify the location of U.S. states with the verb estar and directions al norte, al sur, al oeste, al este, al noreste, etc.

Lang CO 3. Use the present tense and geographic descriptions to identify regions of the U.S. such as el Suroeste, el Noreste, el Medio Oeste/las Llanuras Centrales, el Sur/el Sureste, las Grandes Llanuras, el Noroeste, and las Moñtanas Rocosas.

Lang CO 4. Use present indicative tense and the present subjunctive mood to predict (and explain the predictions) of which parts of the U.S. are more likely to support the death penalty than others with verb phrases such as yo pienso que…, es probable que…, dudo que…, creo/ no creo que…, and tal vez...

Language: Content Compatible
Students will...

Lang CC 1. Use vocabulary to explain the methods of execution and their severity with nouns such as la silla eléctrica, la guillotina, la inyección letal, pelotón de fusilamiento, ahogamiento, and cámara de gas and adjectives such as cruel e inusual, inútil, disuasivo legítima/ ilegítima and bárbara.

Land CC 2. Use the preterite verb tense to describe past legal events and actions with verbs such as calificó, sembraron, restauró, se felicitó, argumentó, prohibió/prohibieron, and repudió.

Lang CC 3. Use idioms related to Supreme Court decisions to understand and describe court decisions with words such as anticonstitucional, máximo tribunal, ejecuciones violan la Octava Enmienda, votación 5-4, los magistrados, la mayoría, los votos en contra, and la decisión fue aprobada.

Learning Strategies / Social and Skills Development:
Students will...

LS 1. Work cooperatively in groups

LS 2. Infer meaning from L2 texts

LS 3. Compare and contrast

LS 4. Use background knowledge to identify what is known

Time Frame:

One 47-minute period

Materials Needed:

Appendix 2-1 – Map of the U.S. with accompanying list of U.S. states which allow legal execution

Appendix 2-2 - Gustar –sheet to help with this lesson

Appendix 2-3 - Advanced organizer – Quick matching exercise of types of execution and their definitions – The students would then be asked to rate them for most cruel to least cruel and explain why each is more or less cruel than the previous (grammar – adjectives)

Appendix 2-4 - Homework – article on Supreme Court ruling the unconstitutionality of death penalty for minors (La Corte prohíbe ejecutar a menores).

Appendix 2-5 – Interpretational task for the article La Corte prohíbe ejecutar a menores - SQ3R Method.

Description of Assessment (Performance Project):

Purpose:
To understand that, until recently, the death penalty was a reality for some minors convicted of capital crimes in the United States.
Preview Phase:

Targeted Standards & Objectives

Description of Activities

Standards
1.1, 1.3, 3.1

Objectives
CON 1
LS 4

The students hand in their timelines.
The instructor reviews the homework and answers student questions.
One student per group (selected by the instructor) offers an interesting finding on the history of the death penalty in the U.S. (taken from the reading).
The instructor then selects two students to explain the concepts of codification of laws and jurisprudence.
(NOTE - The entire review of the previous day’s work should last no more than two to three minutes.)

The instructor now asks the students to predict which region of the country contains the most non-death penalty states. The instructor also has the students explain why they think their responses are correct. (NOTE – The instructor selects the students. In this way, all students are required to participate.) This activity will last from one to two minutes.

Standards
1.1, 1.3, 3.1

Objectives
CON 1-2
LS 1
LS 4
Lang CO 2-3

The students understand that the Eighth Amendment does not specifically address the death penalty. However, they know that the death penalty is allowed in parts of the U.S.
The students now receive a blank map of the U.S. and a list of states that allow the death penalty (APPENDIX 2-1). They have completed a map quiz on the location of U.S. states in a previous social studies unit. They complete this brief map exercise by coloring states that permit the death penalty in blue. States that do not allow the death penalty are colored in orange. At the bottom of the map are two questions. This activity should last ten minutes.
During the activity, the instructor walks to each group to monitor progress. The instructor should fully expect the students to be helping one another. After they complete the exercise and the questions, we will briefly review their conclusions based on the questions. The students will then hand in the maps to the instructor. This activity should last ten to fifteen minutes.

Standards
1.1, 1.2, 3.1

Objectives
LS 3-4
Lang CO 1

Mini lesson on the use of “inverted verbs” like gustar, disgustar, enojar, sorprender, molestar, encantar, and ofender.
The instructor explains that students love to express extremes of likes and dislikes. The following activity allows them to present their opinions. The instructor hands out Appendix 2-2. The students will first write the names of two foods that they like and two that they dislike. This should last for one minute. Then, as a class, the instructor asks for various responses. At least half of responses should be stated using gustar. For all responses, the instructor will reply with ¿te gusta ____ (name of band)? or A Brad/Jenny le gusta _____ (name of band). After the calming the students down after the invariable number of arguments over favorite bands, the instructor takes the names of two or three of the more contentious bands. These bands require a more descriptive type of verb to express pleasure or disdain. The instructor models me gusta mucho = ME ENCANTA.
The instructor also models no me gusta ni un poquito = ME MOLESTA, ME ENOJA, or ME OFENDE.
Finally, the students write the names of two TV shows that they really like. They also write the names of two TV shows they intensely dislike. For each, they provide an explanation.
(NOTE – Other possibililties include - the students list two bands que les encantan, les molestan, and comida que les disgusta, or if members of their families les ofenden, les molestan, les enojan, etc. They then share and compare with their group mates in an informal interpersonal task.)
The entire gustar lesson should last for ten minutes.

Focused Learning Phase:

Targeted Standards & Objectives

Description of Activities

Standards
1.2, 2.1, 3.1

Objectives
CON 3
LS 4
Lang CC 1
Lang CO 1

The instructor now provides another graphic organizer. This visual presents a matching exercise listing methods of carrying out the death penalty with corresponding definitions (See Appendix 2-3).
First the students match each method with its definition. Then students use the same sheet to rate the methods from most to least cruel and unusual using the 8^th amendment as guide. For each, students must list why they rated each as higher or lower than the previous method.
Methods of carrying out the sentence - is it cruel and unusual punishment? Students complete an interpersonal activity using gustar and other similar inverted verbs to declare their support or displeasure with the death penalty.
These activities should last for approximately ten minutes.

Expansion Phase:

Targeted Standards & Objectives

Description of Activities

Standards
1.1, 1.3, 2.1, 3.1

Objectives
Lang CO 1
Lang CC 1

The instructor shows photos of kids who were sentenced to death and actually received the punishment. Informally, the instructor asks several students how this makes them feel. Te molesta?, ¿Te disgusta?, Te importa?, etc. For each answer, the instructor asks for an explanation to support the answer. (Lasts one minute)

Standards
1.2, 2.1, 3.1

Objectives -
CON 4
CUL 1
LS 2
LS 3
Lang CC 2
Lang CC 3

Homework - The instructor supplies the reading La Corte prohíbe ejecutar a menores (See Appendix 2-4). The Supreme Court ruling on the unconstitutionality of the death penalty for minors.
For a pre-reading activity, ask students if any of them had heard about this Supreme Court ruling. This reading has an accompanying graphic organizer that includes a pre-reading, during-reading, and post-reading activity. The SQ3R process will be used (Hall Haley & Austin, page 174).
The explanation will take the rest of the period.

Assessment:

Review maps with the groups

Informal observation of student interaction and participation on the gustar activity
Review the graphic organizers on death penalty methods. The organizers are either complete or incomplete.
Homework collected and corrected. The SQ3R activity will be graded on correct answers for the questions.

Attachments:

NOTE: some attachments are in PDF form (get Acrobat Reader)

Appendix 2-1: Map of the U.S. with accompanying list of U.S. states which allow legal execution

Appendix 2-2: Mini lesson on “inverted verbs”
Appendix 2-3: Methods of capital punishment
Appendix 2-4: Article – Elimination of the Death Penalty for Minors
Appendix 2-5: SQ3R Method