Three scary criminals and their daring plan to break out of america’s toughest prison.
Pre-reading strategy:
Vocabulary
Cells: small rooms that prisoners live in
Inmates: people who are in jail or prison
Federal: having to do with the U.S. government
Landmark: building or place that is important in history
At exactly 9:30 on the night of June 11, 1962, the lights at Alcatraz prison went out. Most of the men living there shivered on their thin beds as they tried to fall asleep.
But not Frank Morris. He waited for the prison to get quiet. His heart was pounding. If his plan worked, he would never sleep in this prison again.
For months, Morris and three other prisoners--Allen West and brothers Clarence and John Anglin--had been secretly planning to escape. This prison sat at the top of an island surrounded by San Francisco Bay. People said it was impossible to break free from “the Rock,” and Alcatraz was known.
Morris and his friends had come up with a clever plan. They had been using tiny tools to chip away at the walls of their cells. Eventually, the men made holes big enough to crawl through. Then they climbed up the pipes behind their cells and set up a secret workshop.
Here they used stolen and handmade tools to make a raft out of raincoats. It was their only hope for surviving the rough, freezing waters of San Francisco Bay.
Pause and think: what were Frank Morris and his friends trying to do?
The Crazy Escape
Morris had already escaped from several prisons. But Alcatraz was different. Security was tight. Guards counted the inmates many times each day and night. So Morris and his friends made dummy heads to fool them.
On the night of their escape, the men tucked the fake heads into their beds. In the the low light, the heads looked real. Now, as darkness settled over Alcatraz, everything was ready. Well, almost.
At the last minute, West couldn’t get out of his cell. Morris and the Anglin brothers left without him. They wriggled out of their cells and climbed up plumbing pipes. Next, they stepped onto the roof. They crawled across quietly and scrambled down a drainpipe.
Finally, the men were out.
The salty breeze from San Francisco Bay blew against their faces. The men still had to climb a 12-foot fence and survive the shark-filled waters of the bay. Land was more than a mile away.
Inmates had made it this far before. But then they’d drown--or go back because of the rough waves. Morris took a deep breath. COuld they pull off the most daring escape in the history of Alcatraz?
Pause and think: How did the men get out of their prison cells?
Ready for Troublemakers
Morris and the Anglin brothers didn’t have an easy journey ahead of them. That’s because Alcatraz was built to be impossible to escape.
During the early 1930s, there were many robberies and murders in the United States. Some people thought that the country needed a “super-prison.” Alcatraz seemed like the perfect place to lock up these criminals. It sat by itself on a tiny island one-and-a-half miles from shore.
In August 1934, Alcatraz opened as a federal prison. Other prisons were told that Alcatraz would take their biggest troublemakers. By the end of the year, Alcatraz was home to more than 200 criminals.
Pause and think: What made Alcatraz a good place for a prison?
Life in Prison
A prisoner at Alcatraz found himself in a harsh world. Prisoners banged on bars. No newspapers were allowed. Inmates could only listen to radio shows.
At 6:30 a.m., the men would wake up. They stood to be counted. Then they cleaned their cells and marched in one line to breakfast. After breakfast, guards counted the forks, knives, and spoons. They had to make sure no one used them later as weapons.
During the day, guards marched the inmates to jobs in places like the laundry room and the garden. The prisoners were counted constantly. Bedtime was at 9:30 p.m. on the dot. Anyone who broke rules faced cruel punishments.
Pause and think: What was life like for prisoners in Alcatraz?
Daring Escapes
Alcatraz was a prison for 29 years. But by 1963, it was too expensive to keep open. The government shut it down. Today, Alcatraz is a landmark run by the National Park Service. More than a million tourists visit every year. They learn all about the 36 men who tried to escape.
Of the 36 men, 23 were caught, 6 were killed, and 2 drowned. Experts believe that two others who tried to escape were swept out to sea.
That leaves three men: Frank Morris and John and Clarence Anglin. After the night of June 11, 1962, they were never seen or heard from again.
There was a big search for the men. Some people thought they escaped safely. In the end, officials said the that the prisoners probably drowned. But not everyone believes that. There are still rumors that the men are alive--and some people even say they’ve seen them. More than 50 years after the escape, a federal officer is still investigating the case.
What do you think? Did Morris and the Anglin brothers make it? Or did they die in the rough waters of San Francisco Bay?
Pause and think: What so people think happened to the three prisoners?
Four questions about Escape From Alcatraz. Find a sentence from the text that proves the answer.
Pre-reading strategy:
- Activate prior knowledge. What do you know about Alcatraz? Have you seen any movies or television shows that address the prison?
- Imagine what it's like. What would it be like to be in prison? What would you miss? What would daily life be like? How would you connect with family? What would lead you to want to try to escape?
Vocabulary
Cells: small rooms that prisoners live in
Inmates: people who are in jail or prison
Federal: having to do with the U.S. government
Landmark: building or place that is important in history
At exactly 9:30 on the night of June 11, 1962, the lights at Alcatraz prison went out. Most of the men living there shivered on their thin beds as they tried to fall asleep.
But not Frank Morris. He waited for the prison to get quiet. His heart was pounding. If his plan worked, he would never sleep in this prison again.
For months, Morris and three other prisoners--Allen West and brothers Clarence and John Anglin--had been secretly planning to escape. This prison sat at the top of an island surrounded by San Francisco Bay. People said it was impossible to break free from “the Rock,” and Alcatraz was known.
Morris and his friends had come up with a clever plan. They had been using tiny tools to chip away at the walls of their cells. Eventually, the men made holes big enough to crawl through. Then they climbed up the pipes behind their cells and set up a secret workshop.
Here they used stolen and handmade tools to make a raft out of raincoats. It was their only hope for surviving the rough, freezing waters of San Francisco Bay.
Pause and think: what were Frank Morris and his friends trying to do?
The Crazy Escape
Morris had already escaped from several prisons. But Alcatraz was different. Security was tight. Guards counted the inmates many times each day and night. So Morris and his friends made dummy heads to fool them.
On the night of their escape, the men tucked the fake heads into their beds. In the the low light, the heads looked real. Now, as darkness settled over Alcatraz, everything was ready. Well, almost.
At the last minute, West couldn’t get out of his cell. Morris and the Anglin brothers left without him. They wriggled out of their cells and climbed up plumbing pipes. Next, they stepped onto the roof. They crawled across quietly and scrambled down a drainpipe.
Finally, the men were out.
The salty breeze from San Francisco Bay blew against their faces. The men still had to climb a 12-foot fence and survive the shark-filled waters of the bay. Land was more than a mile away.
Inmates had made it this far before. But then they’d drown--or go back because of the rough waves. Morris took a deep breath. COuld they pull off the most daring escape in the history of Alcatraz?
Pause and think: How did the men get out of their prison cells?
Ready for Troublemakers
Morris and the Anglin brothers didn’t have an easy journey ahead of them. That’s because Alcatraz was built to be impossible to escape.
During the early 1930s, there were many robberies and murders in the United States. Some people thought that the country needed a “super-prison.” Alcatraz seemed like the perfect place to lock up these criminals. It sat by itself on a tiny island one-and-a-half miles from shore.
In August 1934, Alcatraz opened as a federal prison. Other prisons were told that Alcatraz would take their biggest troublemakers. By the end of the year, Alcatraz was home to more than 200 criminals.
Pause and think: What made Alcatraz a good place for a prison?
Life in Prison
A prisoner at Alcatraz found himself in a harsh world. Prisoners banged on bars. No newspapers were allowed. Inmates could only listen to radio shows.
At 6:30 a.m., the men would wake up. They stood to be counted. Then they cleaned their cells and marched in one line to breakfast. After breakfast, guards counted the forks, knives, and spoons. They had to make sure no one used them later as weapons.
During the day, guards marched the inmates to jobs in places like the laundry room and the garden. The prisoners were counted constantly. Bedtime was at 9:30 p.m. on the dot. Anyone who broke rules faced cruel punishments.
Pause and think: What was life like for prisoners in Alcatraz?
Daring Escapes
Alcatraz was a prison for 29 years. But by 1963, it was too expensive to keep open. The government shut it down. Today, Alcatraz is a landmark run by the National Park Service. More than a million tourists visit every year. They learn all about the 36 men who tried to escape.
Of the 36 men, 23 were caught, 6 were killed, and 2 drowned. Experts believe that two others who tried to escape were swept out to sea.
That leaves three men: Frank Morris and John and Clarence Anglin. After the night of June 11, 1962, they were never seen or heard from again.
There was a big search for the men. Some people thought they escaped safely. In the end, officials said the that the prisoners probably drowned. But not everyone believes that. There are still rumors that the men are alive--and some people even say they’ve seen them. More than 50 years after the escape, a federal officer is still investigating the case.
What do you think? Did Morris and the Anglin brothers make it? Or did they die in the rough waters of San Francisco Bay?
Pause and think: What so people think happened to the three prisoners?
Four questions about Escape From Alcatraz. Find a sentence from the text that proves the answer.
- Where is Alcatraz located?
- What challenges did the men face after they escaped their cells?
- How did the guards at Alcatraz keep track of prisoners?
- What happened to the other prisoners who tried to escape Alcatraz?