“…we want to give you kids in America a message: Don’t look at ghetto kids as different. You might now want to invite us to your parties, you might think we’ll rob you blind when you got your back turned. But don’t look at us like that. Don’t look at us like we’re an alien or an android or an animal or something. We have a hard life, but we’re sensitive. Ghetto kids are not a different breed—we’re human.”
We will be reading Our America: Life and Death on the Southside of Chicago in Social Studies. This book was written by two eighth grade boys, LeAlan Jones and Lloyd Newman. LeAlan and Lloyd lived in the Ida B. Wells Housing Project on the southside of Chicago and wrote this book in 1997 about their experiences. As we read this book, we will work on reaching our big goal of growing 1.5 grade levels in reading. We will also begin to ponder the question, "What is America?"
Read the first few pages of Our America: Life and Death on the Southside of Chicago by clicking on this link!