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 To Belong or Not to Belong

Adolescents often look for a sense of belonging during this crucial phase in their lives.  Street gangs are prevalent throughout our Nation and they are advertising for new recruits around the clock.  Often children join gangs because they know no alternatives and they have an intense desire to belong. 

      This unit is designed to help students understand the results of being in a gang, the impact it has on the rest of the student’s lives, and how resisting gangs will decrease violence.

      Students will research the results of gang membership, the impact it has on their lives, and how fewer gangs mean less violence.   They will create an Inspiration project showing the results of gang membership. Students will also compare and contrast the lives of someone who has chosen to assimilate with gangs with someone involved in alternative activities. They will also create literature for alternative activities to gangs.  They will also create a graph showing how the decline of gangs has resulted in less violence in communities.

•    How do we prevent violence?

•  More specifically, how do we avoid gang violence and what are the alternatives for young people?

• What would inspire someone to join a gang?

• What alternatives are there to joining a gang?

•   Do gangs affect all communities?

•   What are the results of being in a gang?

• What impact will gang membership have on the rest of your life?

STATE GOAL 1:                                             STATE GOAL 4: 

CAS A: CFS 1,4                                                CAS B: 1

STATE GOAL 24:                                           CAS C: 1,2,3

CAS A:  CFS 1

STATE GOAL 2: 

CAS B   CFS 1,2

Unit Prerequisites

Students will have an understanding of the social issues that gang violence supports.

Mrs. Green has contacted the Gang Intervention Unit within the Chicago Police Department and created a partnership to create a violence intervention plan for our communities. The class will create a guidebook, a bulletin board for the hallway, and build a web site to share information on gangs and resistance to recruitment.

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