Lesson plan 12

Topic : film (short video)

Activity 1.
Objectives:
Students will understand that their claims while writing a review on a video should
be supported by reasons and proofs.
Time: 20 min.
Procedure: Lead-in

Close your eyes and relax. Follow your teacher’s instructions.

Now open your eyes and discuss the following question with your partner:
 What punishment do you think the person who committed this
crime should get, if any, and why?
Well, to be quite honest, punishment is crucial when the person
committed the serious crime. When they are punishing, jails life
teach them how behave.
Ex 2.

Now watch the DVD and see if your ideas of Ronald are right. Are you surprised?

Listening (part 2):

Trevor McDonald goes back to interview Ronald just outside his cell. Get together
with your partner and think about the following: hi
o Ronald’s cell: how big is it? What is in it? Has he got books?
If so, what kind of books do you think he reads? Is there
anything on the walls of the cell? Is it tidy or messy?
 o In my view, he lives in the little cell of prison, there isn't any
equipments. To be general, if he likes to read books, he would
prefer to read psychological books. Maybe some tattoos or
terrific things.
o Now watch the second part of the interview and check your
predictions.What is your opinion of Ronald L Sanford now?
o I'm partial right, but he adores to read a lot books, also
metaphysics and so on.

Language work

Ex. 1
 Read the audioscript for Parts 1 & 2 and underline the most interesting or
shocking response that Ronald L Sanford gave.

 Compare your choice to your partner’s and discuss why you find them
interesting or shocking.

Activity 2:
Choose one of the activities below. If there are other students doing the same
activity, you can do it together.

 Imagine that Ronald has been pardoned. Describe his first day as the prison
doors open.

 Life is the Gift of God. A person lives only once once and once, and
everything rely on how a person spend the time for what. In my view, he has
 already understand the value of life because he spent his blooming days in
the jail. When he leaves the prison, he will tries to read more books and
widen his outlook. Maybe he wants to marry someone who understands him
very well.

Activity 3
Home task
Identify the problems and think of the possible solutions. Brainstorm the ideas
and write problem and solution essay based on the ideas.

Handout 1
Audioscript

TM = Trevor McDonald (presenter)

RS = Ronald L. Sanford

Part 1
TM: The offenders in this Unit are locked down for 23 hours a day. And when
they’re allowed out for their 60-minute break, they’re kept apart in individual steel
cages.
One of the men is 38 year-old Ronald L. Sanford.
By any measure and in any prison community, his is an exceptional story.
When did you, when did you come here, to Indiana State Prison?
RS: Well I came here in 1989 at the age of 15 years old. I was actually convicted
of the crime that I’m in here for, at the age of 13 years old. Um... so.
TM: And what was the crime?
RS: Double homicide. So I committed a double homicide at the age of 13 years
old. At the age of 15, my case had run its course through the court and I was sent
here this prison in 1989.
TM: Double homicide at the age of 13?
RS: 13, yes.
TM: That’s … very, very young.
RS: It’s tragic to say the least, and it is very young, absolutely. It’s, um… it’s
unheard of, you know? Um… Wow… It’s unspeakable, to say the least, even
reflecting on it almost 25 years later.
In August it’ll be 25 years since that crime took place. It’s still very vivid, it’s still
very poignant and it still resonates and it still has the same amount of tragic
elements involved in it now as it did then and it will be always with me for the rest
of my life. I always say it’s like an albatross around my neck. No matter where I
go or what I do for the rest of my life, it’ll always be with me.
TM: What were the circumstances which led up to the incident, which led you
being in prison at the age of 15?
RS: me and a friend basically planned to get money to go to a fair. And to do so,
we were gonna cut grass. And… we went to a home basically, and they said they
didn’t want their grass cut and rather than continue on the vein and go to the next
house, we decided to push into the home, essentially, and it ended in a double
homicide. It’s that simple.
For being complicit in the crime, I was sentenced to 170 years, one-seven-oh.
TM: You got a sentence of 170 years?
RS: Yes, sir.
TM: However you cut that, you are not going to… get out of here.
RS: I’m eligible for parole when I turn 100 years old.
TM: Have you ever thought about all the things that you have missed, that other
15-year-olds go through as part of their normal lives?
RS: Absolutely. I’ve never been to the prom, I’ve never driven a car, I’ve never
had a driver’s licence, I’ve never filed tax returns. I’ve never been on an aeroplane,
I’ve never travelled abroad. Shall I continue?
My life has been living in this prison and it seems as though I’ve been in this prison
so long that I’ve never been free. 25 years in prison, you know, it’s a long time.
TM: Especially when you come in at the age of 15.
RS: Yeah, really.
TM: Thank you so much for talking to me. Thank you for taking the time.
RS: I appreciate it.

Part 2
TM: I went back to the Administrative Segregation Unit to see Ronald L. Sanford
again.
His story haunted me- a killer when he’d barely entered his teens.
RS: Hello.
TM: Ronald L., hi. How are you doing?
RS: I’m all right- yourself?
TM: Good.
How do you get accustomed to life in this environment?
RS: It takes some getting used to. It’s tough.
There was a young man on the range, very young man, maybe 19, 20 years old.
He’s, um… exhibiting psychosis. They took him to see the psychologist because
he’s having trouble adapting. This is an abnormal environment for a human being,
certainly. You know, these are essentially cages. And to think that we stay in ‘em,
24 hours, 23 hours a day, come out for an hour a day, uh… it’s, it’s taxing.
TM: May I have a look in your cell, have a look at some of the books?
RS: Absolutely, you absolutely may.
TM: Lieutenant, would you mind opening up?
I’d just like to have a look.
RS: Yes, sir.
You can, you can take whatever down you wanna take down.
TM: War Against the Weak- what’s, what’s that about?
RS: Eugenics.
TM: Eugenics?
RS: Yes, sir. America’s attempt to make a master race, essentially.
TM: And, and this one is Tree of Life.
What’s that about?
RS: Yes, that’s Kabbalah, actually.
It’s more, uh… metaphysics, essentially. Those, those deep questions about man-
where he comes from, where we’re going or who we are. Essentially, yes.
TM: I see that you have, in addition to your books, you have some of your own
writing on the walls here.
(Reads) Strength, well being and health.
RS: Yes, just something I try to focus on. Um, if there’s anything I wanna stay my
mind on, as I always say, it’s something progressive. So being strong and having a
good disposition and being in good health are certain, certain things I definitely
want to focus on.
TM: And you’ve written here:
(Reads) No man is your enemy, no man is your friend, every man is your teacher.
RS: Yes, sir.
TM: I’m also standing here and I think these are the parameters of your… of your
existence.
RS: Existence, absolutely. These four walls.
TM: It’s a pretty isolating place.
RS: It really is, if you see it as such.
It’s isolating only to the extent that you think it is. You know, I mean these books
allow for a great escape and for to be able to leave the confines of the world, so…
TM: But I’m only in here for a few minutes and I… I feel it, as such.
I feel it, I feel the isolation.
RS: Everybody in this building feels the, the, the, the, um… the confinement that
we’re suffering um… here. You know, you can put an animal in a cage for too
great, less of time and he goes crazy. You know, how much more so humans, you
know?

TM: This is what Sanford looked like when he came here at the tender age of 15.
His murder of two elderly women in 1987 netted him the meagre sum of $5. On
that vile act, he must reflect for the rest of his life.

Handout 2
For against statements ready to be cut out:

I believe if people are really concerned with Ronald and how he got into prison,
they should find a way to support him. A

Unfortunately, he is not the only black man to be incarcerated in an incredibly

racist society. A

Perhaps we should ask if he would have been sentenced to the same amount of
years had he killed two black elderly women. F

Making people believe that the ‘bad’ people are on the inside is misleading as
prison is just a microcosm of the realities of our society F

This 13 year old inside a 38 year old man, even if by some miracle gets a chance to
get out of prison, will never be ‘normal’. F

I agree that people change from the age of 13 to a man in their 30s but the damage
was already done and at 13 years of age I disagree with anyone who says that you
do not know killing is wrong. F

Not only did he kill one woman he went on to kill a second and no one will ever
know the full circumstances surrounding that. F

It is also very tragic two families had their loved ones so horrifically ripped from
them because they didn’t want their grass cut. F
I don’t know a single person who wouldn’t be remorseful for their crimes when
they realised it has resulted in them spending a very long time with very little
liberty. F

The next time someone asks you to buy a big issue or comes offering catalogues
round your door imagine if your refusal to do so resulted in you and a loved one
being painfully killed. A
Used material:
1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jEcvWYn1x9E