MS-13

By: Katheryn Hickey and

Angela Scurt
Objectives:

● Language:
● Students will be able to identfy key vocabulary words, through
the Backs to the Board game, that have to do with gangs in
general, and MS-13 gang specifically.
● Content:
● Students will be able to draw conclusions about what they
learned to debate the idea of gangs.
What is MS-13?

● MS-13, Mara Salvatrucha, is a gang that was originally found in

Los Angeles, California.
● Motto: “mata, viola, controla” - Kill, Rape, Control.
● Composed of members primarily from El Salvador, Hondouras,
and Guatemala.
● They are known to recruit individuals in middle schools and high
schools in immigrant communites.
● Try to intmidate and scare individuals by violent machete
attacks, executon-style gunshots, gang rape and human
trafficking.
Why is MS-13 seen as a threat and injustice
to society?
● MS-13 is natonally ranked as one of the most violent gangs.
● The gang is composed of primarily immigrants who have
entered the country illegally.
● They are living mostly from extorton.
● Their resilience is from their strong bonds they show through
acts of violence.
● Beyond usual gang actvity with the buying and selling of drugs,
the gangs primary focus is committing brutal and violent crimes
in which members express psychopathic behavior.
● With such actvity and behavior, these gang members usually
attack not only other gangs but partcularly random individuals.
MS-13 in Suffolk County, New York

● Three gang members were charged with stabbing one of their

classmates, who was 16 years of age.
● The three gang members as well as the victm all go to
Huntngton High School, in Huntngton, New York.
● Due to this incident, Huntngton High School is now under
police watch through police officers patrolling the buildings and
also undercover cops disguised as parents.
Victims

● I. Kayla Cuevas, 16, and friend Nisa Mickens, 15, dead after
being brutally beaten and cut.
● II. Julio Cesar Gonzales-Espantzay, 19, hacked to death after
being lured into a park.
● III. Christan Villagran Morales, 18, stabbed 153 tmes in a
park while gang members took turns repeatedly stabbing the
lifeless body.
Resolutions

● In February 2017, President Trump signed an executve order

that would make MS13 members’ prosecutons a top priority.
● Since then, 400-413 members have been arrested and
deported.
● With MS13 involvement, local police departments can use
federal money to help with investgatons.
● The federal government granted Suffolk County $500,000.
Vocabulary

● gang: An organized group of criminals.

● prosecution: The process of holding a trial against a person who
is accused of a crime to see if that person is guilty.
● execution: The carrying out of a sentence of death.
● MS-13: Mara Salvatrucha, is a gang that was originally found in
Los Angeles, California. The number 13 comes from the letter
M being the 13th letter in the alphabet.
● extortion: The acton of gaining property or money by force,
through threat or violence.
● incarceration: The state of being confined in prison;
imprisonment.
Video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5CESjrSWVTY untl 5:48

Activites:

● Backs to the Board Vocabulary Game:

A. Every student will pair up with a partner ( or groups of three if
number is uneven).
B. One student will sit in a chair with their back to the board while
the other student reads the word to themselves that is on the
board.
C. The partner that knows the word will have to try and describe
the word to their partner without saying the word directly.
D. The partner with their back to the board has to try and use the
clues from their partner to identfy the vocabulary word.
Activites:

● Debate:
A. The class will split in half.
B. One side of the classroom will make a claim and argue why
people join gangs, even if they do not support gangs (critcal
thinking).
C. The other side will make a claim and argue why gangs are bad,
using MS-13 as a guide.
D. The two groups will tell their sides to each other.