YAL - Gangs
Cayla 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 Literature
Easy 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
Scorpions
Walter 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-By
Lynne Ewing
Summary: 12-year-old Tito witnesses the
death of his older brother in a gangrelated 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 Julio
Sharon 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 Outsiders
S.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 Goodness
Tony 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 Literature
For 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 Wilkerson
Summary: 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
Gangs
Lisa 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.
Gangs
Greenhaven 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 Power
•700 Lexile
Stanley “Tookie” Williams and Barbara
Cottman Becnel
•23 pages
Summary: 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.
•Easy read,
illustrated
Activity Ideas
What 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.
1) Romiette and Julio
Romeo and
Juliet
1)
2)
Common theme: innocent love.
Couples meet at a young age
and develop a friendship.
Common theme: love as a
cause of violence because their
romance causes the gang to
harass them.
2) Scorpions or Drive-By
1)
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.