| From Classbrain.com's History & Government Gangs of New York Resources and Materials Gangs of New York (movie) Gangs of New York - Suggested Book List Excerpt from The Secret Language of Crime: The Rogue’s Lexicon Internet Resources - Gang Warfare: Then & Now ClassBrain’s Ellis Island Article Veteran’s Memories Kit ClassBrain’s Irish Potato Famine Article Topics LESSON PLAN #1 Gangs of New York Linguistics Lesson Plan The Secret Language of Crime: The Rogue’s Lexicon is a linguistics dream as it covers a time period when several different dialects mesh with a myriad of cultures. Compiled by former Police Chief of New York City, George Matsell, this record of 1859 street slang will surely take you back. You will find The Secret Language of Crime: The Rogue’s Lexicon in the ClassBrain Suggested Book List in the Resources & Materials section of this Lesson Plan. Divide your class up into teams of two to three students. Option One of the Gangs of New York Linguistics Lesson Plan is to have several copies of The Rogue’s Lexicon on hand for students to refer to. Have each team of students use a set number of words (suggested number is 25) from the book to create a story. Students must underline each word taken from the text and include a reference sheet for them as the last page of the story. You could have them tag the words in a footnote fashion to make this easier. If you choose not to provide the books, use the excerpt taken from The Rogue’s Lexicon from the Resources & Materials section of this Lesson Plan. Option Two of the Gangs of New York Linguistics Lesson Plan is to give each team of students a copy of the excerpt taken from The Rogue’s Lexicon. Explain that this time period in United States history demonstrates the meshing of numerous cultures and encompasses the idea of a melting pot society. Many languages were spoken depending on which country the person hailed from, but in a unity-among-thieves fashion, dialects such as New York City street slang were born. Have your students write a story using their own version of street slang. Have them create words or phrases to use in their story, underlining them as they use them. As above, you could have them tag the words as footnotes and have the definitions they create as a reference page at the end of the story. LESSON PLAN #2 Gang Warfare - Then & Now Have your students use the Internet Resources - Gang Warfare: Then & Now located in the Resources & Materials section of this Lesson Plan, as well as their own findings to write a ‘compare and contrast’ essay. Have them research the history of gang warfare in America versus present day gangs in the states. It’s a good idea to recommend three to five sources in addition to the Internet sites provided. Also recommended for this Lesson Plan is a book from the ClassBrain Suggested Book List called Gangs of New York: An Informal History of the Underworld. LESSON PLAN #3 Where did you come from? Option One of the Where did you come from? Lesson Plan is to have each student pick a relative they would like to learn more about. After reading ClassBrain’s Ellis Island article (from the Resources & Materials section of this Lesson Plan), have them use the learning links at the bottom of the page to conduct historical research on their chosen relative. They may collect records, pictures, written accounts, newspaper clippings, and anything else they would want to create a scrapbook with of their relatives’ life, and how they came to be an American. Whether they came through Ellis Island or by some other means, it’s important for students to recognize the struggles of their predecessors and the significance of their heritage. Option Two of the Where did you come from? Lesson Plan is to refer to the Veteran’s Memories Project Guidelines. Scroll down until you see the Veteran’s Memories Project Kit and click on the link. All necessary worksheets are provided. LESSON PLAN #4 Irish Potato Famine This Lesson Plan will focus on how the world’s current events effect America’s immigration numbers. Have students read ClassBrain’s article on the Irish Potato Famine from the Resources & Materials section of this Lesson Plan. Have them choose a major event in history and research the corresponding fluctuation of immigration numbers in the United States. What were the circumstances surrounding the event? Were there political, international, or any other type of ramifications? Were there more or less people entering the United States at this time? What were the repercussions of the population increase or decrease? What was the general population’s opinion of the situation? Where there homeland issues as well? How was the populous divided? Was this situation avoidable? Have the students write an essay that explores the answers to these questions. Film Facts Genre(s): Action, Crime, Drama Rating: R Family Rating: kids-in-mind Please visit the "kids-in-mind" website to get a detailed explanation of why this movie is rated "R". This film is not recommended for kids ages 16 and under. Running Time: 166 minutes Primary Actors: Leonardo DiCaprio, Daniel Day-Lewis, Cameron Diaz Director: Martin Scorsese Music: Bono, Peter Gabriel, Howard Shore Screenplay: Jay Cocks Producers: (Primary) Alberto Grimaldi, (Associate) Gerry Robert Byrne, (Co-Producer) Laura Fattori Studio: Mirimax Film Corporation Related Internet Resources www.gangsofnewyork.com © Copyright 2003 by ClassBrain.com |
