Everything you need to understand or teach There Are No Children Here by Alex Kotlowitz.
There Are No Children Here by Alex Kotlowitz chronicles the true story of two brothers coming of age in the Henry Horner public housing project in Chicago over a two year period. Lafeyette and Pharoah Rivers, their mother and siblings struggle to survive gun battles, gang influences, overzealous police officers, and overburdened and mismanaged bureaucracies to simply survive.
Lafeyette and Pharoah Rivers are eleven and nine years old when the story begins in the summer of 1987. They live with their mother LaJoe and six siblings, though the three oldest come and go. Their father Paul is rarely around due to his drug habit. Summer is the most dangerous season as shootings are constant. The family's safe place to avoid stray bullets is in the narrow hallway of their apartment. Lafeyette is wary of gangs and does his best to avoid them. The Conservative Vice Lords is the local gang... View more of the There Are No Children Here Summary
There Are No Children Here Lesson Plans contain 138 pages of teaching material, including:
