The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton                                          

(7^th-8^th grade)  

Overview:

This writing assignment will be the culmination of the student’s reading of The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton.  Throughout the reading of the novel, I will give the students topics on which to do a bit of in-class research.  These topics will have to do with some of the aspects of the novel that the students might not know much about.  These topics will include “Tulsa, Oklahoma,” “Fashion in the 1960s,” “Music in the 1960s,” “Rodeo,” “1960s Slang,” and “Social Class.”  The students will have time in class when these topics are assigned to spend about ten to fifteen minutes making notes on the topics.  At the end of the reading, they will have these research notes to use for the writing assignment.  Also during the reading of the novel, we will talk about the way the story is narrated in the first person by Ponyboy as he tells his story.

Standards/Objectives:

1)      CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.7.7 Conduct short research projects to answer a question.

2)      CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.7.3a Engage and orient the reader by establishing a context and point of view and introducing a narrator and/or characters; organize an event sequence that unfolds naturally and logically.

3)      CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.7.6 Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing.

Procedures:

1)      Begin by asking the students to take out their research notes.  The notes will be together in packet with each topic labeled that the students will receive at the beginning of reading the text.  Ask the students to share some of what they found in their research of the different topics.  What did you find interesting? What was something new that you learned? (10-15 minutes)

2)      Use the rest of class to introduce the writing assignment.  Tell students that they will use what the research they have gathered to write a short creative essay about a day in the life of a character from the story from the time they wake up to the time they go to bed.  The paper should address the following within the story of the character’s day:

a.       What kind of clothing is the character wearing?

b.      What kind of music does the character listen to?

c.       What hobbies does the character have?

d.      What is the character’s family life like?

e.       What is the character’s social class?

f.       Anything else about the character’s life that the student would like to include

3)      Have character’s names on slips of paper in a hat and have the students choose a name from the hat.  These can include any of the characters EXCEPT Ponyboy.  Examples:

a.       Darry, Sodapop, Two-Bit Mathews, Steve, Dally, Johnny, Sandy, Cherry, Marcia, Randy, Bob, Paul, Tim Shepard, Curly Shephard

This paper will be written from the perspective of a character in the book.  Since the book is written from Ponyboy’s perspective, he will not be one of the characters that the students can write about.  However, they should model the novel’s style of a first person narrative.  The reader is given less information about these supporting characters that they are about Ponyboy.  The students will be able to use the information they were given in the story, along with their research, to create a day-in-the-life story about a character other than Ponyboy.

4)      For the first 15-20 minutes of class each day during the writing project, we will discuss different aspects of creative writing.  These mini-lessons will include such topics as:

a.       Narrative

b.      Backstory

c.       Persona

d.      Chronological sequencing of events

During the rest of class time after these mini-lessons, students will work on their writing assignment using the elements of the mini-lesson to help with their writing.  While they work on their writing, I will walk around the room and talk to the students individually about their projects and give them feedback.  (1 week of class)

5)      After the students finish the first draft of their papers, they will come into class and sit at tables that have been labeled with group members.  The students will work with their group to peer edit and provide feedback for each student’s paper. (2 class periods)

6)      The students will spend the final day of the project looking online to find pictures that represent some of the things that they talked about in their papers. (1 class period)

7)      We will put together a bulletin board of our “A Day in the Life” projects. They will hang their typed papers and pictures on the bulletin board outside of the classroom.

Assessment/Evaluation:

1)      Look over the students’ research notes after each assignment to see that they are gathering information about each topic.

2)      Provide feedback for the students during the drafting process and help them to integrate what they learn in the mini-lessons into their paper.  Read the students’ papers to see if they stayed true to the character they were representing while also following the format of a day in the life.

3)      Make sure that the student used resources available on the internet to make the finished product creative.