Slam!

Use these questions or activities to help gauge students’ familiarity with and spark their interest in the context of the work, giving them an entry point into the text itself.

Short Answer

1. Sometimes locations or neighborhoods within a city, town, or rural location are said to have or possess characteristics that set them apart. How might exposure to certain neighborhoods impact individuals? How might living in impoverished areas influence lifestyles and decisions?

Teaching Suggestion: Slam, the novel’s protagonist, lives in Harlem, a place in New York City characterized negatively (e.g., a “bad” neighborhood). The neighborhood is a frequently explored subject of the novel as Slam and his brother experience hardships due to rampant drug exposure and crime. Slam aims to move his family from Harlem, where his brother will have a better life. Later in the novel, Slam learns his friend, Ice, has fallen prey to the neighborhood as he begins selling drugs. Slam calls this “Harlem’s dead,” referring to those victimized by the neighborhood. With sensitivity, consider exploring the impact of impoverished areas on the individuals living in them by discussing the questions in small groups (or independently in a reading journal) and using the resources below.

• This article describes the impact of neighborhoods on the well-being of its residents.
• This article explores a study conducted over the lifetime of individuals who can escape bad neighborhoods. (Subscription may be required for viewing)

Short Activity

Explore the possible consequences of everyday small decisions. Use the questions below to explore important decision-making. For each, decide on possible best-case scenarios and worst-case scenarios.

• What are the possible consequences of fighting in school?
• What would happen if you left school without permission?
• What might happen if you arrive late for the tryouts of an important sport?
• Do you think hitting the snooze button on an alarm clock has consequences?
• Are there consequences for developing friendships with those who make poor choices?
• What may be the benefits of having friends who make good choices?
• What might happen if you fail to do your schoolwork once? What if it happens multiple times?

Teaching Suggestion: Slam makes various choices in the novel, both good and bad, that all have consequences. Ultimately, to escape his circumstances in Harlem, he must be careful to make the right choices. Consider exploring the consequences of decision-making with students using the questions above. Students may be able to identify dire consequences for small decisions or seemingly no consequences at all. After students have spent some time exploring these questions, consider discussing the results of continual poor decision-making. Students may also benefit from exploring the consequences of good decisions. This activity can be extended by students in small groups creating a consequence chain, taking turns developing a story by writing a small decision for a character before the next student builds off that decision and develops the next, contributing good or bad consequences that result from those decisions.

Differentiation Suggestion: Students who require an additional challenge may find it beneficial to explore decision-making as a neurological process in the brain or how good decisions, no matter how small, contribute to an individual’s overall growth and well-being. Students may present their findings using chart paper with facts that can be referred to as students read the novel.

Personal Connection Prompt

This prompt can be used for in-class discussion, exploratory free-writing, or reflection homework before reading the novel.

Have you or someone you know ever wrestled with having a good attitude? Do you think a positive attitude is important? How do you benefit from treating others and situations with a good attitude? Why might negative attitudes be detrimental to people or toward yourself?

Teaching Suggestion: Slam is consistently confronted with his poor attitude in the novel as it impacts his interactions with his teammates, schoolmates, and friends. Though Slam is an excellent basketball player, his attitude becomes an obstacle. Students may find it beneficial to explore the idea of attitude aloud or in pairs after responding individually to discuss how it impacts performance, relationships, and success.