Reading Assignment #1:
The Pact
By Drs. Sampson Davis, George Jenkins, and Rameck Hunt
Mandatory Summer Reading Assignment
The Pact
By: Drs. Sampson Davis, George Jenkins,
and Rameck Hunt
This first assignment is broken down into four segments. You will be graded based on each completed segment. ALL work should be completed in a composition notebook, (marble notebook).
Segment 1: Pre-reading Activities
Segment 2: During Reading Reader’s Response Questions
Segment 3: After Reading Culminating Activities
Segment 4: Final Reflections
If you should have any questions, feel free to email me at or . I will check my email at least once a day everyday this summer.
Segment 1
Pre-reading Activities
Direction: Before reading the book, complete the following activities. Make sure to answer all questions in your Guided Reading Tool Book.
1. Look at the book cover. Answer the following questions:
a. What did you notice first about the book cover?
b. What does it imply about the plot of the book?
c. What is written on the front cover besides the title and the authors’ name? Do these words create any type of anticipation?
d. Is there anything about the lettering that makes an impression on you? Why or why not?
e. Read the back cover. Does the synopsis and reviews make you want to read the book? Why or why not?
2. Answer the following questions:
a. What is the definition of success? Do you agree or disagree with this definition?
b. What does is take to become successful?
3. Create a spider web. Label the inside Successful People. Who do you think is successful? Why are they successful? Use these names to create your web.
4. Read the Epilogue located at the end of the novel. Write down what parts of it you think are most important. Why? Explain your choices. Please choose at least 3 pieces.
5. Concept Definition Map: Create a word map using the word “PACT” as your concept. Consider what you wrote in your previous questions. Complete your map by writing your own definition of the word.
Your definition of the word PACT:
Segment 2
During Reading Activities
YOU MUST COMPLETE 7 IN ADDITION TO #1 (EXTRA CREDIT AWARDED FOR ANY QUESTIONS ANSWERED BEYOND 8)
Directions: The following discussion questions and activities should be completed during your reading. My suggestion: read the questions first and be aware of what they’re asking. Every two chapters, return to the questions to see which ones you can answer. They do not have to be listed in order in your notebook; please, just make sure to mark which question you are answering. Make sure to answer 8 of the questions in complete sentences and cite examples from the novel.
1. [MANDATORY] As you read The Pact, identify positive and negative influences Sam, Rameck, and George lived with while growing up in Newark. Use one color to identify positive influences and another color to identify negative influences. Or, split the circle in half, writing positive influences on one side and negative to the other side. **Use the circles at the end of your packet (there is one labeled with each doctor’s name) to complete this activity.
2. "How can a mother's pleas compete with the thrill of having wads of cash handed to you when your pockets are empty and the pantry is bare?" Sam writes (p.53) "Sure, you see cats your age dying all the time, but you figure that's the price you pay for being born poor. And you accept your fate, unless someone or something convinces you that you have the power to change the script." Discuss the narrators' success in the context of this statement. Who or what provided that "someone or something" for these three boys?
3. The narrators cite role models as huge influences on their lives. Discuss how Mr. Jackson, Miss Johnson, Reggie, and Carla affected George, Sam, and Rameck. Do you think individuals are encouraged to take on leadership roles in troubled communities? Why or why not?
4. How did family relationships influence these boys' lives? What stands out about each of their childhood experiences at home?
5. The three doctors grew up on the inner city streets of Newark, New Jersey. a) How does this environment (the school, the neighborhood, etc.) affect the actions and development of each of the doctors?
6. Peer pressure plays an enormous role in the lives of young people in every circumstance. How did it play into Sam, George, and Rameck's lives? What drew them together and what kept their "pact" alive?
7. Rameck's grandmother tries to teach him a tough lesson when she takes back the money she's lent him for portfolio pictures because she found out that his mother used it to pay the utility bill. "You can't help nobody till you help yourself," she tells him. Do you agree with her philosophy? What do you think Rameck took away from that experience?
8. What is the attitude of the three young men concerning learning, studying, and acquiring knowledge? How did they deal with friends who looked down on them or made fun of them for excelling in school or for dreaming of going to college?
9. Education is at the center of this success story. But teachers like Miss Johnson, who nurtured and inspired George, were less prevalent than those who "...just didn't know how to reach us and didn't seem to care. They expected and accepted mediocrity or less, and unfortunately, we usually gave no more." Why do you think George felt this way? To what degree are teachers—and students—to blame for this situation? Does the book suggest any ways to improve the system?
10. If the EOP program that gave these three young men a chance at college—and the hundreds of other programs like it—didn't exist, do you think they would have succeeded anyway? Why or why not?
11. "We hope our story will also demonstrate that anyone with enough compassion has the power to transform and redirect someone else's troubled life," the doctors write in their introduction. Have they succeeded? Can you identify ways to take up that challenge in your own community?
12. Discuss some of the mistakes that the young men made throughout the story (i.e., Rameck and Sampson ending up in prison). How do those experiences change them for the better? What lesson does each one learn from his mistakes? What can you learn from their mistakes?
Segment 3
After Reading Culminating Activities
Directions: Select two of the following extensions activities. One must be a writing activity; the other may be a writing or an art activity.
1. Pretend that the movie, The Pact, is set to open in New York City next month. Your graphic design company is selected to promote the movie. Design a poster (or perhaps a website) to advertise The Pact. Briefly outline the rationale for your design and its relation to the original story. [ART]
2. Visit the Three Doctors Foundation website via the following link: http://www.threedoctorsfoundation.org/foundation.php. The foundation’s mission is “To inspire and create opportunities for inner city communities through education, mentoring and health awareness.” Research the foundation by clicking onto the above link. Using your knowledge of the power of a persuasive essay, compose a speech asking your audience for funding to support The Three Doctors Foundation. [WRITING]
3. Research the “History of Hip Hop/Rap.” Create a timeline showing the evolution of the dance form. Research the themes that are found in the lyrics of Hip Hop music. What role do you feel Hip Hop/Rap played in the culture of the characters’ lives in The Pact? [WRITING]
4. Reread Chapter 5 and Chapter 6. Design a poster featuring “The Rules of the Street”. [ART]
5. In Chapter Three, “Ma” (page 41), Rameck speaks on the subject of family. What message does Rameck reveal about his own family? Compose a Rap song that illustrates the same message. [WRITING]
6. Sam talks about his 3D’s, determination, discipline, and dedication. (p. 221). Reflect on the 3D’s and their importance in your life through one of the following mediums: poetry, essay, [WRITING] visual or auditory representation [ART].
9. If you were to email The Three Doctors at: http://www.threedoctors.com, what would your comments or questions to them be? Create such an email in written format. [WRITING]
10. You are a member of an executive board and just received $10,000,000 from a very wealthy philanthropist. Decide how the monies will be budgeted to meet the needs of your community. Be prepared to present the budget. BE CREATIVE!!!! [WRITING]
11. Graffiti is an art form that evolved in the Hip-Hop culture of the streets. It carries a powerful message portrayed through its art. Choose two chapters of “The Pact” and create a mini graffiti mural that fits on a single sheet of 8x11 paper. [ART]
Segment 4
Final Reflections
1. Has your view or definition of the word success changed? Why or why not? Explain your answer.
2. How are the experiences that the three young men faced during their teenage years similar to those faced by teens today? How are they different? What extra challenges did they face as teenagers?
3. Young people who have no social outlets, (no place to go for fun or to play sports), often tend to get into trouble as Sampson and Rameck did. What can be done to solve this problem?
4. Why did the doctors feel that forming a pact is so important? Do you agree or disagree? Explain your answer. If you were to form a pact, what characteristics would you yourself look for in others? What positive traits would you bring to the pact?
5. Choose ONE of the following quotes and answer the food for thought questions
a. “Sometimes the smallest, most insignificant events in life can develop into something large, important, and life-changing. Look for those moments and grab on to the possibilities.”—Dr. George Jenkins
Food for thought: Think about events in your own life that have been life-changing. How have these moments helped to make you a better person?
b. “Getting good grades and staying out of trouble are really cool and really, really smart. It also makes you a leader.”—Dr. Rameck Hunt
Food for thought: What does it mean to be a leader? Do you consider yourself to be a leader? Explain. To be a leader, you need to be focused. How do you manage to stay focused?
c. “I feel strongly that giving back is a responsibility for all to embrace.”—Dr. Sampson Davis
Food for thought: How have others positively influenced your life? In what ways can you “give back”?
d. “Everybody goes through difficult periods in life. The person who is successful is the one who doesn’t quit. Failure was not an option for me. It never was and never will be.”—Dr. Rameck Hunt
Food for thought: Think about times when you were about to give up on something; it can be as simple as working on a school project. What kept you from quitting? How can this lesson be applied to your future endeavors?
DR. SAM
[Use with during reading activity #1]
Dr. George
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Dr. Rameck
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