Lesson Plans for The Madonna Ghost: FIRE ISLAND, THE DARK SIDE

Station #6 FIRE ISLAND, THE DARK SIDE

Fire Island and Criminal Activities                                   

 

Grade Band: 9-12

 

Aim: Students will

• Understand the relationship between seacoasts and crime
• List and define the nature of smuggling, drug trafficking, bootlegging, piracy, privateering, terrorism, and kidnapping
• Link the various law enforcement agencies to the types of crime they prosecute
• Describe what measures law enforcement agencies take to prevent crime
• Build a vocabulary list.

 

In THE MADONNA GHOST, Annie and Ty uncover a terrorist plot. Fire Island’s geographic location lends itself to smuggling all manner of materials into the country. In the early history of our country opportunists took advantage of shipwrecks by looting their cargo. During prohibition, alcoholic beverages were smuggled into New York. This was followed by drug smuggling. Are terrorists really bringing materials to support their activities into the country along our coast line, particularly Fire Island?

 

Note: *****Be sure to check out any website for appropriateness to age groups before letting students use them.

 

Protocols:

• Using cooperative learning groups, have each group research the following crimes, prepare a visual and present to the class.
  1. smuggling
  2. drug trafficking
  3. bootlegging
  4. privateering
  5. piracy
  6. kidnapping

 

Suggested Classroom Interactive:

Essay Map

 

For Forensic Science Classes:

 

• Take the story of terrorism from THE MADONNA GHOST, and prosecute the terrorists by acting like a law enforcement agency.
• Collect the clues
• Explain what the forensic lab will discover from their testing of the clues.
• Build a case for the district attorney to present in court based on the evidence the lab provided in step b.
• Build a case for the defense attorney.
• Hold a mock trial, having students take the roles of D.A., defense attorney, expert witnesses, other witnesses, judge, and defendants. The class can be the jury.

2.) Make a chart showing which law enforcement agencies are involved in dealing with coastal crime, what they do, what it costs, and how effective they are.

 

www.trulia.com/voices/activity/FireIslandNY-CrimeandSafety-31-117776?usertype…

There are many websites dealing with crime on Fire Island. You may want to check them out before you allow students to access them.