All American Boys

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. What does it mean to be “all-American”? Consider factors such as culture, religion, personality, social status, and ethnicity. In what situations or contexts might this term be used, and by whom? Who decides what is and is not American, and who, potentially, is left out of that conversation?

Teaching Suggestion: It may be helpful to acknowledge and discuss the concept of personal identity before asking for thoughts on a generalized label like “all-American.” Once students have a chance to note their thoughts on the question, the class might compile individual responses on the board or display in a way that visually demonstrates the connections between ideas. This prompt serves to introduce the novel’s theme of What It Means to Be All-American.

• The New York Times piece “What Do American Values Mean To You?” includes President Joe Biden’s thoughts on “Reclaiming American Values.” (Subscription may be required to view.)
• The article “What Does It Mean to Be An American?: Reflections From Students” from Stanford University provides multiple opinions from a diverse group of college students as they answer the titular question.

2. In what ways does the act of protesting affect societal, political, or cultural change?

Teaching Suggestion: The focus of protest in this novel is systemic racism and police brutality, primarily due to racial discrimination. Students might first brainstorm forms of protest they recall from class study, media, and current events; it may be helpful to provide students with historical examples and offer factual details to spark ideas. Students might formulate a response to the prompt independently, then share their thoughts with a partner. If time permits, students might follow up by forming a group of four so that each student can introduce their partner’s ideas by restating and paraphrasing. When groups circle back to whole-class discussion, the topic of power might arise, providing a good opportunity to introduce the novel’s theme of The Power of Protesting.

• History’s resource collection on “Protests” provides a selection of articles on historical protests.
• “‘Enough is Enough,’ Student Activists Say” from Scholastic Kids Press provides an article and accompanying video, “March for Our Lives,” about a student-led protest against gun violence. (Content Warning: The materials mention specific instances of gun violence including school shootings.)

Short Activity

Imagine you are organizing a protest in support of a cause that matters to you. Brainstorm responses to these questions:

1. What cause would be the focus of your protest?

2.Compile a list of reasons why others should join your cause. Include a minimum of 2-3 facts (e.g., laws, statistics, or historical events) from reputable sources to add credibility to your argument.

3. How do you plan on enacting change beyond the protest? What is your goal, and how will the protest help to achieve it?

4. Optional: Often protestors will create slogans or signs that verbalize their cause in an emphatic way. Create a poster representing your cause.

Teaching Suggestion: This activity relates to the theme The Power of Protesting and (depending on the chosen topic) may relate to The Challenges of Combating Systemic Racism. It may help to offer students a list of options, such as:

• Climate Change
• Racism
• Poverty
• Immigration
• Taxation
• War
• LGBTQ+ Rights
• Gun Rights
• Labor Rights
• Reproductive Rights

Because many perspectives exist on the topics of protesting and activism, students might hold strong opinions that contradict. It may be helpful to create a list of expectations to guide discussion of sensitive topics during this unit. If you are working with students who would benefit from a structured scenario with lower stakes, this activity might be adapted with a common focus, such as a change to school lunch menus.

• “Organizing a Protest, Walkout, or Boycott” by the National Youth Rights Association defines and discusses various types of protests and how activists may organize.
• “Productive Classroom Debates on Sensitive Topics” from Edutopia provides various strategies toward effective classroom discussions featuring sensitive or controversial topics.

Differentiation Suggestion: Students with attentional or executive functioning learning differences as well as others who benefit from focusing strategies might find it helpful to use a prepared graphic organizer that includes the activity’s questions. To streamline the activity, you might provide a shorter list of protest topics that connect most directly with the novel’s conflicts (such as systemic racism and police violence). Advanced learners or those who finish early might research the opposing perspective’s argument and present on the topic.

Personal Connection Prompt

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

Reflect on the term “systemic racism.” Where have you observed or experienced systemic racism? What are some ways in which authorities and citizen activists might effect change to eliminate or decrease the prevalence of systemic racism?

Teaching Suggestion: To assess students’ depth of understanding before revealing the prompt, you might ask for definitions or descriptions of “racism,” then “systemic.” Constructing a class definition of the term to display throughout the unit might be beneficial and effective for a variety of learners.

• “What Systemic Racism Means and the Way It Harms Communities” is a 7-minute NPR podcast and written transcript with Noel King and Ijeoma Oluo discussing the ways systemic racism appears in history and modern society. (Content Warning: Specific instances of police violence and gun violence are mentioned throughout the podcast.)
• “Annual Report Shows Systemic Racism Continues to Bring Down Black People’s Quality of Life” is a PBS article summarizing the results of a study on the effects of systemic racism.

Differentiation Suggestion: Students who struggle to share their opinion aloud due to anxiety might contribute an anonymous response on a sticky note or notecard or compose a private journal entry.