Lesson Plan: Tell Christy I Love Her

Subject/Course: English/Multidisciplinary/SEL

Topic: Restorative Justice

Grade Level: 11/12

Common Core Standards:

College and Career Readiness Anchor Standards for Reading (Grades 11 & 12: 1-3, 6-8)
Reading Standards for Literature (Grades 11 & 12: 1, 2)
Reading Standards for Informational Texts ( Grades 11 & 12: 1-6)
Writing Standards (Grades 11 & 12: 1, 7,8, 9, 10

Episode: “Tell Christy I Love Her” (Season 4) Full audio | Transcript

Lesson Length/Time Needed: 2 class periods (45-60 minutes each), with one 45-minute homework assignment to listen to the podcast

Lesson Created by: C. Rein

To understand the forces that drive violence
To understand the foundations of healing
To practice using restorative justice tools
To practice self-reflection
To develop empathy and compassion across difference, and internally
To reflect on what a change from punitive to restorative justice might require of all involved

Audio

Day 1:

Begin with a collective grounding (ideas for seated grounding or collective movement here).
Introduce Non-Violent Communication: Needs Inventory (a tool used in restorative justice); students read through individually.
5-7 minute writing in your notebook: Which of your most important underlying needs are being met right now? In what ways? By whom? Which of your most important underlying needs are not being met? What are the impacts on you and those around you? Brief sharing — whole class.
Watch sections of this interview with Danielle Sered, restorative justice practitioner and author of Until We Reckon that introduce the driving forces of violence and needs of survivors:
1. 8-min Danielle Sered on Democracy Now: Clips - 2:38-3:32; 5:06-7:13; 7:51-12:42 (8 min total)
Class Review: what are the four driving forces of violence and needs of survivors? (from the clips we just watched)
Small groups: Read excerpts from Until We Reckon, about the needs of survivors, here. On board (or in notebooks), connect survivors’ needs to the Non-Violent Communication: Needs Inventory

Homework for Day 2:

Listen to “Tell Christy I Love Her.”
Make of copy of this graphic organizer to:
- Take notes on where you see underlying needs not being met for Jason, Tom, and Christy.
- Take notes on where you see the four driving forces of violence at work in Jason’s life and in Tom’s life.

Day 2:

Begin with a collective grounding (ideas for seated grounding or collective movement here)
Introduce the Feelings Wheel (a tool used in restorative justice). Students reference while writing in the next activity.
5-minute writing: What feelings did you hear in Tom’s, Christy’s, and Jason’s voices as they told their stories? What feelings came up for you as you were listening?
Circle share: Every person shares one detail from their 5-minute writing. Okay to pass.
In groups of 3: What came up for you (feelings, curiosities, realizations) while listening to the podcast? What surprised you? What new questions do you have?
Whole class: share a few questions that came up. Then:
1. What did you hear Tom say about policing? What were the forces at work on him the night he encountered Jason?
2. What did you hear Jason say about the conditions of his childhood? What were the forces at work on him the night he encountered Tom?
3. What enabled Tom and Jason and Christy to arrive at the friendship they have today?
4. What would have to change, in Tom’s world of policing, and in Jason’s world in Bakersfield, to help them to have a different outcome?