YAL - GangsCayla Ramos

Dedicated to

• The athlete who left school to be involved in a gang• The immigrant who longed for his ranch home in Mexico, then became involved in a gang and lost interest in school.• All students whose lives have been affected by gangs.

Inspired by• The student from LA who came to Portland to escape gang life. He scoffed at his classmates who wanted to look like gangsters with baggy pants, gothic lettering and hand signals. He told them they had no idea what real gang life was about. He started getting into fights after classes and left school before the end of the year.•The unruly 8th grade class who yawned through most of the reading selections, but sat silently mesmerized with the telling of The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton.

Goals

• Provide a comprehensive list of fiction and nonfiction books about gangs for reluctant readers.• Show students the dark side of gang life.

• Give educators ideas about how to incorporate this literature into meaningful activities.

Fiction LiteratureEasy to read, award winning,

captivating• Scorpions by Walter Dean Meyers• The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton• Romiette and Julio by Sharon Draper

• Any Small Goodness by Tony Johnston

• Drive-By by Lynne Ewing

ScorpionsWalter Dean Meyers

Summary: 12-year-old Jamal takes over a Harlem gang called the Scorpions. He gains possession of a gun that bring consequences to the life of his best friend.

Quote: “Jamal felt Angel’s knee against his shoulder, looked up, and saw Angel reaching into his pocket. He tried to crawl forward, but Angel’s leg pinned him against the fence. He looked up as he heard the click and flash of steel” (192-3).

Review: The names and dialogue used in the story reflect real street talk. Authentic and action-packed.

• 610 Lexile• 216 pages• Newberry Honor Book

Drive-ByLynne Ewing

Summary: 12-year-old Tito witnesses the death of his older brother in a gang-related shooting in LA. He comes of age as he uncovers the mystery surrounding his brother’s violent death.

Quote: “A car stopped near Jimmy. The shadows and trees made it hard to see. Four guys slouched low in the car. I could barely see their heads. I thought maybe they were asking Jimmy for directions. Then gunshots exploded” (4).

Review: Quick read, action-packed.

• 560 Lexile• 85 pages• Arizona

Young Reader’s Award

Romiette and JulioSharon M. Draper

Summary: A love story between an African-American girl and a Hispanic boy. They are harassed by a gang at their high school for interracial dating.

Quote: “Two grabbed Julio before he could react. He fought and cursed and struggled, then he felt the cold steel of a gun on his neck” (157).

Review: Action-packed. Points to the problem of the community’s lack of awareness about gangs, including parents, school administrators and local media.

• 610 Lexile• 236 pages

• Young Hoosier Book

Award

The OutsidersS.E. Hinton

Summary: Ponyboy Curtis is part of a poor, teenage gang called the Greasers. They often fight with a wealthy group of boys called the Socs. Pony dreams of a different kind of life but finds himself trapped in his own harsh reality.

Quote: “How’d you like that haircut to begin just below the neck” (5).

Review: Classic tale of the clash of social classes and the struggle for a young person to find identity. Quick read and action-packed.

• 750 Lexile• 180 pages• ALA Best Young Adult

Books

Any Small GoodnessTony Johnston

Summary: Eleven-year-old Arturo is growing up in East LA where he loves his family and friends, but suffers a frightening event with a local gang that makes him feel unsafe. He forms his own “gang” to combat the violence.

Quote: “Just before it happens, I hear the dark purr of a car. A beast creeping on stealthy tires. Then I hear gunfire. The slap of bullets into the flesh of our house. The room’s raining plaster and glass and choking dust” (96).Review: Filled with sensory imagery and figurative language. Creatively infuses the text with Spanish without losing meaning.

• 600 Lexile• 125 pages

• Massachusetts Children’s Book Award

Non-Fiction LiteratureFor those who want real facts

about gangs• The Cross and the Switchblade by David Wilkerson• Gangs by Lisa Wolff• Gangs by Greenhaven Press• Gangs and the Abuse of Power by Stanley T. Williams and Barbara Cottman Becnel

The Cross and the Switchblade

David WilkersonSummary: The story of the founding of Teen Challenge, an inner-city ministry of crisis counseling. Country preacher David Wilkerson follows the call to reach out to teens in trouble on the streets of New York, some of whom are gang members.

Quote: The seven boys stabbed him in the back seven times with their knives, then beat him over the head with garrison belts. They went away wiping blood through their hair, saying, ‘We messed him up good’” (4).Review: True story. Describes some realistic solutions to the problem of gangs. Violent scenes – use discretion.

• 880 Lexile• 173 pages

GangsLisa Wolff

Summary: An overview of facts about gangs. Chapter Headings include The Appeal of Gangs, Gangs, Drugs and Violence, Life in a Gang-Infested Neighborhood, Cracking Down on Gang Activity and Preventing Gang-Related Crime.Quote: “The roots of gang activity---poverty, discrimination, poor education, and the breakdown of families---need to be addressed” (75).

Review: Filled with graphics and pictures to help students understand information. Great resource for research.

No lexile available, but text

isn’t overly difficult to understand.

GangsGreenhaven Press

Summary: Opposing viewpoints on a variety of topics surrounding gangs such as immigrants, rap, schools, girl gangs, prevention programs and drugs. Each topic provides an article with a pro and con viewpoint.

Quote: “Ice Cube argues that gangsta rap is hated because it is telling truth about the ghetto, not sugar-coating racism and poverty” (87).

Review: This would be a great resource for writing a persuasive paper because it offers compelling arguments and shows both sides.

• No lexile rating, but text is

difficult to read – best for high school, advanced readers

Gangs and the Abuse of PowerStanley “Tookie” Williams and

Barbara Cottman BecnelSummary: An illustrated description about how gangs use their power to hurt others and obtain what they want. Topics such as using weapons, mobbing and gangbanging are discussed and talk about negative consequences. Contains glossary and vocabulary in bold text.Quote: “But when you use your power to make someone do something they don’t want to do, or to hurt someone, you are abusing your power” (18).Review: This is a first-person account from the cofounder of the Crips who wrote it while on Death Row in San Quentin State Prison. It is part of a series about gang violence. Excellent resource.

• 700 Lexile• 23 pages

• Easy read, illustrated

Activity IdeasWhat to do with the gang

literature• Literature Circles• Comparison to Romeo and Juliet• Live Speaker• Prep for benchmark tests

Literature Circles

1) Consider including nonfiction selections for those who like the “real story.”

2) Choose books at different lexile ranges for skill levels, but keep age level appropriateness in mind.

3) Different roles include, but not limited to, discussion director, passage master, connector and illustrator.

4) For ELL students, consider giving all members same role until they’re mastered.

Romeo and Juliet

1) Romiette and Julio1) Common theme: innocent love.

Couples meet at a young age and develop a friendship.

2) Common theme: love as a cause of violence because their romance causes the gang to harass them.

2) Scorpions or Drive-By1) Common theme: the individual

vs. society. Main characters are pressured by community or family to join a gang.

3) Watch a live/recorded screenplay of Romeo and Juliet. Discuss common themes.

Benchmark Exams

1) Use Gangs by Lisa Wolff to practice for benchmark exams. Pages 9, 12 and 31 contain charts and diagrams that can be analyzed.

2) Use Gangs and the Abuse of Power to practice vocabulary skills.

3) Teach students strategies for how to quickly identify main idea of text by skimming chapter titles, headings and picture captions.

4) Practice reciprocal teaching by having students question, summarize, clarify and predict the text.

Guest Speaker

1) Staff and student body are sometimes ignorant about the seriousness of gangs or how to identify gang activity.

2) Have a guest speaker address your class, school and/or staff about gangs.

3) Police/Gang Unit specialists can offer info. on tattoo ID, gang symbols and consequences of gang life.

4) Former gang members can help dissuade students from joining gangs by sharing personal experiences.

Sources of Information

Tomlinson, Carl M. and Lynch-Brown, Carol. (2009). Essentials of young adult literature (2nd edition). Boston: Pearson Allyn & Bacon.

Latendresse, Carter. “Literature Circles: Meeting Reading Standards, Making Personal Connections, and Appreciating Other Interpretations.” Middle School Journal. January 2004.

Lexile. The Lexile Framework for Reading. www.lexile.com.