Homeboyz...Sharing a Good Read

This week we started reading Homeboyz, a book that takes us into the inner city in Los Angeles and into the lives of a family devastated by violence in their deteriorating neighborhood. The action is fast, the language is "colorful," and most of us are already glued to the page.

Some lessons seem to already be unfolding: People grieve in different ways. Our environment impacts our lives. Education is fundamental in America. Our choices impact the lives of others. There is no such thing as revenge.

We started our unit of study by surveying the class on these very issues, and with slips of paper with lines from the first chapter, we circulated the room sharing our lines and guessing what the story would bring. Some of us were able to piece together a pretty good picture of how the story would begin.

I wish there were enough of these paperbacks for each of us to have our own, but at least we have enough for each class. If you need to read at home, you'll need to visit the local book store. I'm not sure that they are available yet at the public library.

We'll be looking at various reading strategies and inquiry method as we share the journey of our new book. Stay tuned. It should be fun.

In the meantime, visit the author's website here. He has provided video introductions of his books and passages from each.

Happy weekend!