A short book in highly readable, grade level Spanish, about the violent Los Angeles based Mara-Salvatrucha 13 gang (more commonly referred to as MS-13) has consistently captured my students attention right from the first chapter. This little, unassuming paperback has riveted students and inspired them to learn more about this extremely violent American based gang. The story is narrated by an anonymous gang member who loses his family, is forced into the gang life at the age of 9 and eventually tries to leave to be with the girl he loves. A teenager, just like my students, who wrestles with terrible, life-altering decisions, and tries to challenge the role and purpose of his gang “family”.
What I find so interesting about this book is not the story itself, although it is highly topical and morbidly fascinating, particularly to my Surrey based students, but the fact that these 16, 17 and 18-year-olds so enjoy being read a story. Along with their textbook grammar, and awkward forced Spanish conversations, this teenage “story time” is something they look forward to, are inspired to learn more, are fascinated by its contents and are relieved at not having to read it out loud.
In short, to foster a reading culture within a school can take on many forms besides reading itself; whether it’s story time for teens, to students sharing their personal stories on a poster board, to having older students assist younger children with reading literacy, or bringing in a therapy dog who will never correct anyone’s pronunciation, tell them to read faster or point out any spelling mistakes. Possibilities take many forms.
Perhaps children can even be inspired to read more outside of school. For example, a grade 11 student of mine was fascinated by our anonymous gangster’s story and he went on to learn as much as he could about this gang. A gang that is highly organized, and highly feared in the United States and other countries. While a student’s interest in such a story may not seem so remarkable, what is remarkable, is that this student had no interest in reading anything. Ever. And yet this tiny book, under the guise of story time, made that happen. There are no chapter tests, no reading aloud, and no vocabulary quizzes, it’s just the simple act of being read to with literally no questions asked.
Retrieved from: https://fluencymatters.com/vida-y-muerte-en-la-mara-salvatrucha-resources-for-teachers/
Henderson's Library 
You are so right in saying that there are so many ways to foster reading, and your read aloud example is a perfect one. My grade 6/7 class get excited when the read aloud comes out and beg for one more chapter when I close the book. I love this reaction and I know the time I spend reading to them, is time well spent. Do you find that the story content comes up again in different conversations or is used as support/evidence by students later on?
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Hi Kelly,
Thanks for your comment. Yes! The kids continue to refer to this story and we often have class discussions around related themes. My senior students are just like the younger kids wanting to read more every time.
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A very engaging post; I wanted to learn more about the book and the gang after reading! I really appreciate that you inserted the book cover image and cited the source. In your post, you have identified many possibilities for fostering a reading culture and you have made connections to your own teaching practice. I wonder what your thoughts are regarding practical application or usefulness of some of the other possibilities that you mentioned.
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I totally think student choice in literature has a huge impact on reading habits and learning. The topic of “gangs” has little or no relevance in my community, but I could see how it would be particularly engaging to teenagers in Surrey and larger urban centers. I also appreciate your comment about reading for pleasure and how the minimal structure fosters greater joy than reading for task related purposes.
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