Al Capone Does My Shirts Setting
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Al Capone Does My Shirts by Gennifer Choldenko
By Liane Hicks
Al Capone Does My Shirts: A Tale from Alcatraz is set during the Great Depression in 1935. It's about 12-year-old Moose Flanagan and his sister Natalie, who has autism. When their father gets a job as an electrician on Alcatraz, the family moves there and the siblings have to adjust to living on an island that houses some of the most dangerous criminals in the world!
Storyboard Description
Have students illustrate the setting of Al Capone Does My Shirts with this setting map activity.
Storyboard Text
- AL CAPONE DOES MY SHIRTS SETTING
- SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA in 1935 (During the Great Depression)
- ALCATRAZ ISLAND
- THE FLANAGAN'S APARTMENT
- THE WARDEN'S HOUSE
- MISS BIMP'S CLASS
- Today's assignment: "What I did on my summer vacation"
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- ESTHER P. MARINOFF'S SCHOOL
- The story takes place in San Francisco, CA in 1935 during the Great Depression. Moose and his family live in the city of San Francisco before moving to Alcatraz. Jobs were difficult to come by and Moose's father is grateful to have found work. While Moose is reluctant to move, during the Great Depression 1/4 of the population was out of work so he knows he should be grateful, too.
- Alcatraz Island (aka Alcatraz or The Rock) is a small island in San Francisco Bay in California. It was a military fort and military prison before becoming a maximum security federal prison in 1934. The prison closed in 1963 and today it is a popular tourist destination. Moose's family moves to Alcatraz in 1935 when his father becomes an electrician for the prison.
- The workers and guards for the prison lived on Alcatraz in apartment buildings built for them and their families. The Flanagans live in an apartment down the hall from Theresa, Annie, and other friends. The prisoners in Alcatraz did all the laundry and sewing needed on the island for workers.
- The Warden is in charge of Alcatraz prison and lives in a beautiful home that was set apart. Moose describes it as "Across the road from the cell house is a fancy mansion with flowerpots on the steps and curtains in the windows . . . high society on the left, grim and grisly on the right."
- The children leave the island by boat every day to attend school in San Francisco. Moose is in the same class as the Warden's daughter, Piper. In Miss Bimp's class, he meets Scout, whom he hopes will become a friend.
- The Flanagans have high hopes that the Esther P. Marinoff School will be the answer to help Natalie with the challenges caused by her autism. The school is lauded as being "quite extraordinary" at helping kids like Natalie improve in communication skills and in regulating their emotions.
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