When in the 19th century was it the best time for John Walker to go to prison?
This enquiry uses the power of the personal story to engage your classes. We look at the case of John Walker, who was found guilty of stealing onions.
Your students start by drawing on their knowledge of punishments 1000-1800 to speculate what this petty thief’s punishment was.They then analyse and classify sources to work out what prison was like for Walker in 1873. Finally they consider what time would have been best for him to go to prison.
They also use the punishment pendulum to evaluate the purpose behind prisons at key points in the 19th century. This makes effective revision.
The enquiry covers the specs need to look at Pentonville prison.
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- Lesson presentation: PowerPoint
- Lesson write-up: PDF
- Resource 1: PDF
- Worksheet 1: PDF
- Worksheet 2: PDF
