Punching the Air

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. Who are the Central Park Five? Jot down everything you know about their case.

Teaching Suggestion: One of the authors of this novel, Dr. Yusef Salaam, is one of the Central Park Five. Although not based explicitly on his experience, this novel covers similar racial profiling issues. Consider using this historical context as a way to ground students in the central issues of the text to avoid beliefs that Amal’s experience is “just” fiction.

• This article provides background on the case as well as interviews between each of the five and the teenagers who portrayed them in the recent Netflix documentary.
• This 2-minute trailer shows scenes from the 2012 documentary on the five.

2. Consider factors that contribute to the fallibility of justice systems, such as misidentification by witnesses, false confessions, and poor legal representation. Given the existence of these factors, do you believe that anyone found guilty by a court of law is unquestionably guilty?

Teaching Suggestion: This question is designed to help students question the systems that the novel questions. It may be challenging for some students to come to terms with the errors made by courts. Consider making this question part of a pre-reading anticipation guide, where students state a level of agreement (agree/disagree versus strongly agree/disagree) to give them a scale to work within.

• This study out of Northwestern University discusses how often juries give wrong verdicts.
• This page from the Innocence Project discusses the number of issues the group fights within the court system.

Personal Connection Prompt

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

Imagine that you have been accused of something you didn’t do—even a small infraction, such as pulling a harmless prank. How would you respond?

Teaching Suggestion: This question helps put students in the shoes of Amal, who is accused and convicted of a crime he didn’t commit. Consider giving students real-world examples (cheating on a test, picking on a sibling, skipping school, etc.) that may help them realize moments where they have had to respond to false accusations.

• This article from Cornell University’s Law School explains what false confessions are and why they happen.