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Learning goals
Learning goals
Discuss and relate themes from Freedom Writes with real life gang members from Sierra Leone
Lesson exercises
Lesson exercises
Questions and Vocabulary Exercises
Read Gang's Stories
Read and Discuss Exercises
Questions and Vocabulary Exercises
Questions and Vocabulary Exercises
🕒~20 minutes
✍️By yourself and together with classmates
🎯Build upon themes from Freedom Writers by activating vocabulary related to social issues and personal change
Think & Discuss
Think, take notes on your whiteboard, and share with your classmate(s):
What factors do you think drive young people to join gangs in different parts of the world?
Do you believe it is possible for someone involved in a life of crime and drugs to completely change their identity? Why or why not?
How can education (school, learning, achievement) or creative arts (like poetry, music, or painting) help people overcome difficult experiences?
Pro tip! Use phrases such as "In my opinion," "It is often argued that..." and "On the one hand..."
Connect & Understand
Match the words (1-8) with their definitions (a-h) on your whiteboard:
Vocabulary
Trajectory (Bana)
Deterministic (Deterministisk, förutbestämt )
Testament (Vittnesbörd, bevis)
Redemption (Försoning, frälsning)
Navigate (Navigera, styra)
Hardship (Svårighet, strapats)
Advocate (Förespråka)
Stigma (Stämpel, negativ etikett)
Definitions
a) The action of saving or being saved from error, or evil.
b) A mark of disgrace associated with a particular circumstance or person.
c) To publicly recommend or support.
d) Severe suffering or experiencing a major problem.
e) To find one's way through a complex situation.
f) The path followed by a moving object or the development of a life.
g) Something that serves as a sign or evidence of a specified fact.
h) The belief that all events are determined by causes external to the will.
Vocabulary Answer Key
Vocabulary Answer Key
Trajectory (n) - f) The path followed by a moving object or the development of a life.
Deterministic (adj) - h) The belief that all events are determined by causes external to the will.
Testament (n) - g) Something that serves as a sign or evidence of a specified fact.
Redemption (n) - a) The action of saving or being saved from error, or evil.
Navigate (v) - e) To find one's way through a complex situation.
Hardship (n) - d) Severe suffering or experiencing a major problem.
Advocate (v/n) - c) To publicly recommend or support.
Stigma (n) - b) A mark of disgrace associated with a particular circumstance or person.
Watch Gang's Stories
Watch Gang's Stories
🕒~20-30 minutes
✍️By yourself and together with your classmate(s)
🎯Read the article Gang's Stories: Gangs’stories: The Sierra Leonian gangster who gave up violence and drugs for poetry
Read and Discuss Exercises
Read and Discuss Exercises
🕒~20-30 minutes
✍️First, watch the clip, then together with your classmate(s) choose the broad or the narrow path and answer the questions on your whiteboard
🎯Improves your reading comprehension skills and your discussion skills
https://youtu.be/GsWs5AE675k?si=31UR0-ItLpzaQULh
Reading Comprehension TRUE/FALSE
Take notes on your whiteboard if your believe the statements are true or false:
True / False: Most people believe that once a young person joins a gang in Sierra Leone, their future is already decided and cannot change.
True / False: Gaz believes that his life of violence was the only way he could have ever lived.
True / False: Poetry helped Gaz because it gave him a way to express his feelings and tell his own story.
True / False: After leaving the gang, Gaz decided to move to a big city to start a business in technology.
True / False: The author of the article thinks we should stop seeing gang members as just "criminals" and see them as complex human beings.
True / False: Gaz uses his poetry to encourage other young people to stay away from violence.
Discuss & Speak
Gaz moved into farming. Is it easier to change your life if you spend time in nature and away from the city streets?
If a famous former gang member visited a school to talk to students, would that be more effective than a police officer giving a speech?
Some people say "poverty is the mother of crime." If every gang member was given a good job, would gangs disappear? What do you think we should do to help people in gangs?
Reading Comprehension Questions
Take notes on your whiteboard:
How does Gaz’s story challenge the view of gang life that once someone joins a gang, their future is already decided?
What specific role did poetry play in Gaz’s transition away from violence?
Besides poetry, what other occupation did Gaz take up to sustain his new life?
According to the text, what are the "binary notions" often associated with gang narratives?
Discuss & Speak
The article mentions that opportunities to leave a gang can present themselves at "different moments in time." Do you think society does enough to provide these "exit ramps" for gang members?
Gaz eventually became a farmer. How does working with the land compare to the "fast life" of the streets? Which do you think offers more stability and why?
If you were to design a rehabilitation program for former gang members, what three activities would you include?
Reading Comprehension Answer Key
Reading Comprehension Answer Key
Broad Path:
True. (This a "deterministic" view, meaning that some think their future is already decided).
False. (He chose to change his trajectory).
True. (Poetry was his tool for "self-narrative").
False. (He became a farmer, working with the land).
True. (The author argues against "binary notions").
True. (He uses his voice to advocate for peace).
Narrow Path:
It shows that gang members are not "stuck" in that life forever; they have the agency to change and choose a different path.
It allowed him to express his experiences, process his past, and find a new identity outside of the gang.
He became a farmer.
The binary notions of "damnation" (being lost/evil) and "redemption" (being saved/good).
Homework
Homework
No homework
Exit ticket
Exit ticket
What activities, do you believe, are important to help rehabilitate gang members?
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