Punching the Air

59 pages • 1 hour read

Punching the Air

Fiction | Novel/Book in Verse | YA | Published in 2020

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Introduction

Before Reading

During Reading

After Reading

During Reading

Reading Questions & Paired Texts

Reading Check and Short Answer Questions on key points are designed for guided reading assignments, in-class review, formative assessment, quizzes, and more.

PART 1

Reading Check

1. What life event does Amal start his storytelling with?

2. Were more of the witnesses white or Black?

3. What does Amal call his mother?

4. What does Amal’s name mean?

5. Who threw the first punch in the fight that the court case is about?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Why does Amal’s mother insist that he wear a suit to court?

2. Why was Ms. Rinaldi NOT a good character witness for Amal?

3. What does Umi mean when she tells Amal, “[Y]ou walk on two legs, not four”? (“Picasso Face”)

4. What two “options” does Amal say are the only ones given to his people by “Lady Justice”?

5. What event from fifth grade does Amal look back to after the verdict?

6. How did Amal’s family get his bail money?

Paired Resource

“The Rose That Grew From Concrete”

This is the titular poem of the book by Tupac that Amal gave his lawyer.
Connects to theme of Freedom Is Worth Hoping for
In what ways is this poem similar to the poems written by Amal in the novel so far?

“Gorée Island: The Door of No Return”

This article explains the history of Gorée Island in relation to the slave trade. It also includes a picture of the “Door of No Return” that is referenced in the novel.
Connects to the theme of The System Perpetuates Racism
What is the author implying by relating Amal’s current experience to that of the enslaved people during the West African slave trade?

PART 2

Reading Check

1. What color jumpsuits are the inmates required to wear?

2. What is the first class Amal goes to?

3. What type of art did Amal want to do with Ms. Rinaldi?

4. Who does Amal feel he is shadowboxing in his cell?

5. Who does Amal get a surprising letter from?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. How does the author show the passage of time for Amal in this section?

2. Why does the officer tell Amal it’s a good thing that his face is messed up?

3. What is depicted in the white officer’s tattoo?

4. How does Amal earn Kadon’s respect/friendship?

5. Why does Amal get beat up waiting for the showers?

6. Why is Amal hesitant about Kadon’s friendship when he says, “[Y]ou one of us now”? (“Brotherhood”)

Paired Resource

“What Am I? Where Am I From? Who Do I Run With?”

This article from an inmate-turned-journalist explains his experience with race-based grouping in prisons.
Connects to the theme of The System Perpetuates Racism
Why do you think race is such an important defining characteristic among prisoners?

The Butterfly Effect: TEDxYouth

This 4-minute video is a talk given by a high school student regarding connections and the butterfly effect.
Connects to the theme of Destiny Cannot Be Controlled
Do you believe in the butterfly effect? Why or why not?

PART 3

Reading Check

1. What part of the prison does Kadon offer Amal as a piece of hope?

2. About which amendment do Imani and Dr. Bennu teach the inmates?

3. What does Amal steal from Imani?

4. Who suggests that Amal paint the mural in the visitation room?

5. With what color do they paint over Amal’s mural?

6. What does Uncle Rashon bring Amal when he finally visits?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. What advice and comfort does Officer Stanford offer Amal?

2. Why is Imani in the library when Amal returns his books?

3. What does Amal realize when everyone is sharing their situation with the guest speaker, Dr. Kwesi Bennu?

4. How did Amal end up in Solitary?

5. Why does Umi miss visitation the day she’s supposed to see Amal’s artwork?

Recommended Next Reads

Monster by Walter Dean Myers

Steve Harmon is a Black teenager from Harlem who is falsely accused of murder. The novel follows his trial and time in prison prior to his acquittal.
A shared theme is The System Perpetuates Racism.
Shared topics include racism, false accusations, and prison time.
Monster on SuperSummary

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

When Starr Carter witnesses the murder of her best friend at the hands of police, she has to decide how she is going to fight for what’s right while protecting her own safety.
A shared theme is The System Perpetuates Racism.
Shared topics include racism, violence against teenagers, and advocacy.
The Hate U Give on SuperSummary

Reading Questions Answer Key

PART 1

Reading Check

1. His birth (“Birth”)

2. White (“White Space II”)

3. Umi (Various poems)

4. Hope (“The Last Judgment”)

5. Amal did. (“Knockout Game”)

Short Answer

1. She wants to keep up the appearance of a well-mannered, behaved young man instead of a “thug.” Amal calls this move “optics.” (“Character Witness”)

2. Although she knows him well, she admits that she believes he has anger issues. This verifies what the jury already assumes about Amal. (“Anger Management”)

3.She is reminding him that he is human, not a monster or beast as he is being portrayed. (“Picasso Face”)

4. He says that people from his neighborhood have the options of jail or death as their destiny. (“Blind Justice”)

5. It’s his first (and only other) fight with his friend on the playground. He beats up his friend for calling him out on his breakup and ruining his reputation. (Various poems)

6. The community pitched in and donated so that they had enough to pay the bail. (“Money”)

PART 2

Reading Check

1. Orange (“Auction Block”)

2. Math (“Schooled”)

3. Paint murals (“Schooled II”)

4. God (“Cubism”)

5. Zenobia (“Conversations With God VI”)

Short Answer

1. The poems are broken into subsections labeled “lights out” and “lights on” to represent the passage of time. (Various poems)

2. He says it’s a form of protection. People are less likely to mess with Amal if it looks like he has just recently been beat up. (“Conversations With God II”)

3. The officer has a tattoo of a Black baby that has a noose around its neck and is crying. (“Blank Canvas”)

4. Kadon hears him rapping in his cell, and they bond over a shared love of rapping. (“Hype Man”)

5. The two white boys beat him up as race-based punishment for hurting a white boy as his crime. They act in a sense of solidarity, even though they have never met Jeremy. (“Guernica”)

6. He doesn’t want to admit that he’s just like the other prisoners based on his current situation. He also feels that gang issues are what landed him in prison in the first place. (“Brotherhood”)

PART 3

Reading Check

1. The library (“Lost-and-Found”)

2. The 13th Amendment (“African American II”)

3. Markers (“Conversations With God IX”)

4. Imani (“Art School IV”)

5. White (“American Graffiti II”)

6. Books (“Father Figure”)

Short Answer

1. He encourages Amal to continue staying out of trouble. He acknowledges how hard Amal is working and encourages him to be aware but to ultimately stay out of trouble. (“Blank Page II”)

2. A few of her poetry students are working on publishing their words to an online readership. (“Saint Peter in Prison”)

3. There are a lot of people who ended up in prison for being at the wrong place at the wrong time, just like he did. (“Harmony”)

4. He took Imani’s markers and drew all over his cell. (“Blank Canvas II”)

5. Jeremy has woken up, and she doesn’t want to miss any statement he may make. (“The Persistence of Memory II”)