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

Harlem, a neighborhood in Manhattan, is the setting of Hoops. What knowledge or suppositions do you have about this neighborhood? Where does your knowledge come from? Some questions you might discuss (or investigate) are: Why is there a largely Black community in Harlem? How was Harlem initially developed? What role did Harlem play in the civil rights movement? What is the Harlem Renaissance? What is the Great Migration?

Teaching Suggestion: It might be helpful for students to read the article and watch the video or utilize resources they discover on their own before responding. In Hoops, Lonnie, the protagonist, is aware of the disadvantages he faces as a poorer Black resident of New York. Basketball is an opportunity for him to escape his surroundings and overcome poverty.

• This article describes the history of Harlem and why it has a large Black community.
• This 5-minute video describes the Great Migration and its role in the Harlem Renaissance as depicted in an exhibit of historical photographs.