NPS

Student on Alcatraz

Grades 6-7

This program is full for the 2011 - 2012 school year.

Boat tickets to the island are provided for your class at no charge.

Excite your students about history's mysteries by using Alcatraz Island as your archeological case study. Besides being a popular national park site, Alcatraz served as a military post from 1854 to 1933, a federal penitentiary from 1934 to 1963, the site of an American Indian civil rights protest from 1969 to 1971, nesting site for thousands of birds annually, and the subject of many Hollywood movies. Students will search for clues from each historic era and draw conclusions about daily lives and cultural perspectives, and comtemplate issues facing individuals within each of these time periods.

Program Description

Alcatraz Uncovered utilizes the Essential Question model for learning and is organized so students can build on the knowledge they have already gained. The program is designed to help students achieve social studies standards.

Pre-site activities: Historic photos of Alcatraz are used to enhance observation skills in which students learn to make inferences from their observations.

Classroom presentation: A representative from the National Park Service leads activities that are fun, engaging, and which review the concepts of archeology, observation and inference, artifacts and features, and the history of Alcatraz. The representative also facilitates a discussion on the students' role and responsibilities as visitors to a National Park.

Field program: The on-island field experience allows students to apply their knowledge in an archaeological investigation. The students work in small groups; each student has a field journal and map of the island. At designated stations, students record their observations and inferences, and use critical thinking skills to answer questions.

After your trip: Post-site activities allow students to demonstrate what they have learned through a variety of assessments, one of which is an essay from the perspective of an archeologist. Other possibilities include having students design their own inquiry investigation, research more of Alcatraz history, or use online sources to tackle related contemporary issues.

Click on the links below to view and download PDF versions of the Alcatraz Uncovered curriculum:

Program description and curriculum in English and Spanish

Student field journal in English

Student field journal in Spanish

Want your students to dig deeper into inquiry and archeology? Check-out Questioning Artifacts, an Electronic Excursion of Alcatraz that helps your class discover how artifacts, found and missing, influence our interpretation of history, cultures, and even ourselves.

Please click here for in-depth information about Alcatraz Island.