Six Week Unit Plan
Amanda Conner
Literature Core Team 2
The Outsiders
Week 1
- Intro to Summerbridge (go over rules, classroom procedures)
- Hand out materials (Journals, books)
- Intro to The Outsiders / S.E Hinton (author’s background, central themes)
- Read chapters 1-2
- Begin on-going character chart, setting chart, motif/symbols chart that will be
used throughout course
- Cover setting (time, place, traditions, beliefs = culture/society)
- Compare setting of The Outsiders to our own
Week 2
- Read chapters 3-4
- Apply concepts of setting to the novel so far
- Cover point of view (types, examples, implications)
- Begin to cover characterization so that students can analyze the roles of different
characters within the book
- Continue to cover central elements of the plot (exposition, how does the author
build up the rising action)
Week 3
- Read chapters 5-7
- Continue to cover elements of the plot: conflict
- Discuss and explore central themes/concepts: 1950s/60s culture and society,
social cliques, economic powers, bridging the gap between rich and poor, honor,
and male/female relationships
Week 4
- Read chapters 8-10
- Cover style and tone – use of language, etc
- Discuss how plot is unfolding, new characters, how to make predictions/read
actively
Week 5
- Read chapters 11-12
- Complete character, setting and motif/symbols chart
- Re-characterization of central characters– have they changed or remained
static?
- Final discussion of central themes
Week 6
- Intro to final project – Writing a continuation of the novel, 10 years later.
- Watching The Outsiders movie
Monday, June 22
Amanda Conner
Literature Core Team 2 – The Outsiders
Materials:
- Journals to hand out
- Pens/Pencils
- Construction Paper
- Markers
- Big piece of paper
Objectives:
- Students will be able to understand the Summerbridge program and classroom
rules/procedures
- Students will become familiar with teacher and instructor
Instructional Procedures:
- Take attendance (1 min)
- Warm-up/ Ice breaker activity (14 min)
o Pass out construction paper, markers
o Instruct each student to fold paper, write their name in the middle of one
side, and draw a picture of something that represents them or something
they like to do in each corner
o Pair up students, have them introduce themselves to each other and
explain their nametags
o Each pair takes turns introducing their partner to the class using what they
learned from each others nametags (I will pair up with one student if there
is an odd number, or if there is an even number, I will introduce myself first
as an example)
- Classroom rules and expectations (10 min)
o Initiate class discussion on what they think should be class
rules/expectations (suggest things like, respect others, only one person
talks at a time – everyone else listens, be open to new ideas/different
ways of thinking, participate actively, etc)
o Write rules on big piece of paper as discussion continues
o Have everyone sign the bottom of the list making it the classroom contract
for rules and expectations
o Hang paper in central location so it is visible to everyone
- Hand out journals and explain how we will use them in class (5 min)
o First section will be used for taking notes while reading – short summaries
of chapters, points of interest, things that confuse me/need more
clarification, unknown words, questions, reactions – you should always
write something in your journal after you finish a chapter.
o Second section will be used for in-class writing/journal entries and
homework assignments
- Introduce novel, The Outsiders (pass out copies of novel) (5 min)
- Introduce the author, S.E Hinton, author’s background, novel’s background with
instructional PowerPoint (10 min)
Conclusion:
- Homework is for students to begin reading chapter 1 and to begin a list of
characters with descriptions from the story in their journals.
Tuesday, June 23
Amanda Conner
Literature Core Team 2
Materials:
- small ball
- free-write handout
- pens/pencils
- smart board
Objectives:
- Students will collaborate to begin a list of characters with descriptions
- Students will understand the goals of “free-writing” as a technique to get as many
thoughts down as possible about a topic in a given amount of time
- Students will explore their own personal feelings about social groups/cliques in
their own schools
Instructional Procedures:
- Take attendance (1 min)
- Warm-up activity (14 min)
o Arrange students in a circle in the middle of the classroom
o Begin by going around the circle and saying your name again
o First person begins by saying the name of someone across the circle from
them and then tossing the ball to them.
o Person who catches the ball says “thank you ‘name of ball thrower’” and
then says the name of someone else in the circle and tossing the ball to
them
o Activity continues until everyone in the circle has received the ball
- Check homework (10 min)
o Have several volunteers come up to the board to compile a list of
characters read about so far as well as a description of each character
- Middle School Society Free-write (20 min)
o Students will be given the remainder of class to free-write on the following
topic (it will be stressed that in free-writing, the purpose is to express as
much as you can within the time given, grammar and spelling do not
count)
o
“In every organized grouping of people, social cliques exist. Think about the social
groups (cliques) that exist at your school. Where do you fit into this structure, and
do you feel that your placement in this category/group is a fair and accurate one?
Why or why not? Things to consider:
What specific social groupings exist in your school?
What characteristics does each social grouping possess?
Who makes up the criteria for membership in different social groupings?
How easy/difficult is it to get out of a social group that you have been placed in?
What do people need to do to change their social status? Are they easily accepted
into a new one?”
Conclusion:
- Ask several students to share parts of their free-write response with the class
- Homework will be for students to finish chapter 1
- Students are to fill out the social groups Venn diagram with the information they
have read so far in the novel for homework
Name: _______________
Social Groups in the Outsiders vs. My School’s
Social Groups
Fill in circles with descriptions of social groups that you find in the novel and in your
life. Similarities between the two should be written in the overlapping section of the
circles.
Social Groups in
ThE Outsiders
Similarities
My School’s
Social Groups
Wednesday, June 24
Amanda Conner
Literature Core Team 2
Materials:
- blank paper
- pens/pencils
- markers/crayons
- big paper
Objectives:
- Students will be able to interpret an author’s description of a novel’s setting into a
visual image
- Students will be able to identify descriptive clues to a story’s setting
- Students will be able to connect the theme of society to its importance in the
setting of a novel
- Students will be able to interpret more about a character based on clues given in
the setting of the novel
Instructional Procedures:
- Take attendance (1 min)
- Check homework (4 min)
- Warm-up activity – Setting visualization (20 min)
o Pass out blank sheets of paper, pencils, crayons and markers
o As I read aloud the following excerpt from the book A Wrinkle in Time
students will be asked to draw their interpretation of the setting of the
excerpt based on the clues in the description
o “It was a dark and stormy night. In her attic bedroom, Margaret Murray,
wrapped in an old patchwork quilt, sat on the foot of her bed and watched
the trees tossing in the frenzied lashing of the wind. Behind the trees
clouds scudded frantically across the sky. Every few moments the moon
ripped through them, creating wraith-like shadows that raced along the
ground.
o After pictures are completed, they will be hung up together on the
chalkboard and we will discuss what clues from the writing helped them to
know what to draw (descriptive words, time words, place, weather, sight,
sound, temperature)
o We will compile these clues into a list and transition into discussing setting
as a literary element
- Setting notes and discussion – connections to society (20 min)
o Main components of setting? (time, place and circumstances)
o How do you figure out the setting? (descriptive words)
o Setting provides the main backdrop for the story and can sometimes
include a context such as society
o How would society contribute to telling a reader more about the setting of
a novel? (clues to where the character lives, when the story is taking
place, what era)
o How would knowing about the society in the story tell us more about the
characters? What components of a society would give us clues about the
characters? (societal structures/expectations, social norms, etc)
Conclusion:
-
-
Homework will be to pick out a paragraph in the novel where Hinton describes
the setting of the novel and make a list of descriptive words that give you clues
about what it might look like. Draw your interpretation of Hinton’s description.
Students should also begin reading chapter 2
Name:______________________
What’s the Setting?




Pick a paragraph from the novel where the author describes the setting
of the story.
Complete a list of descriptive words that give you visual clues
Draw your own interpretation of the setting that the author is describing
Complete the journal question
Descriptive Words:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
My Drawing:
Thursday, June 25
Amanda Conner
Literature Core Team 2
Materials:
- Character Sketch work sheets
- Characterization work sheets
- Pens/pencils
- smart board
- Journals
Objectives:
- Students will be able to identify their own personal characteristics
- Students will be able to identify the main characters of the novel and give
descriptions
- Students will be able to support the main characters’ characteristics with textual
references
- Students will be able to recognize the similarities between themselves and
another character in the novel by comparing the two characterizations
Instructional Procedures:
- Take attendance (1 min)
- Check homework/ collect worksheet (4 min)
- Warm-up activity: Personal Character Sketch (15 min)
o Hand out work sheets
o Let students fill out a character sketch about themselves
o Discuss and share results as a class: What pieces of information tell you
the most about the person and why?
- Characterization worksheet on main characters (25 min)
o Pass out worksheet
o Remind students how they made character sketches of themselves
(physical description, thoughts, feelings, strengths, weaknesses)
o Have them do the same thing, except with the characters of The
Outsiders, using the book for help if necessary
o Students will take turns writing something that they had on their worksheet
on the class worksheet on the overhead/ smart board
o Students will then compare their own character sketch to the
characterizations of the characters in the novel and record any similarities
in their journals.
Conclusion:
- Homework will be for students to finish reading chapter 2
- “How do physical descriptions of characters in the novel can give hints about the
time period. What other references in the novel can tell you when it takes place?”
- Students will also complete a journal entry about any references in the novel that
describe the time period of the novel. Students are to research their topic so that
they can give a more in depth description to the class tomorrow.
Name:__________________
Character Sketch – Me!
Speech and
Behavior:
________________
Physical Description:
___________________
_________________
________________
_________________
________________
___________________
_____________________
Weaknesses:
__________________
__________________
Strengths:
_____________________
______________________
______________________
________________________
Feelings:
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________
__________________
__________________________
Characterization
THE OUTSIDERS by S.E Hinton
DIRECTIONS:
Character
Name
Ponyboy
curtis
Darrell
Curtis
NAME _______________________
Date _____________
Think about the chapters that you have read and fill out the chart.
Physical
Description
Speech Reaction Thoughts
and
to Others
and
Behavior
feelings
Strengths
weaknesses
Character
Name
Sodapop
curtis
Two-bit
matthews
Steve
Matthews
Physical
Description
Speech Reaction Thoughts
and
to Others
and
Behavior
feelings
Strengths
weaknesses
Character
Name
Dallas
Winston
Johnny
Cade
Cherry
Valance
Physical
Description
Speech Reaction Thoughts
and
to Others
and
Strengths
Behavior
feelings
weaknesses
Friday, June 26
Amanda Conner
Literature Core Team 2
Materials:
- journals
- copies of The Outsiders
- pens/pencils
- symbols/motifs worksheet
Objectives:
- Students will be able to recall the elements of effective characterization
- Students will be able to recall important elements of the plot that they have read
so far
- Students will be able to recognize symbols in selected literature and
communicate their effectiveness in the overall novel
Instructional Procedures:
- Take attendance (1 min)
- Check homework (4 min)
- Warm-up activity – reinforcement of characterization by playing “Who am I?” (7
min)
o Students will take turns giving descriptive clues about a famous or wellknown person without actually saying their name until the class is able to
guess who the person is
o I will start with the following example: “I am tall and have a big nose and
long ears. I am lanky and pretty clumsy at times. I have a great sense of
humor and a very unique laugh. My two best friends are a mouse and a
duck…Who am I? (Goofy)
- Socratic Seminar Discussion (15 min)
(Socratic seminar discussion is conducted in a circle where everyone is open to
participate in the discussion on an equal level, discussion may take on an alternate
route than originally anticipated)
o “How are Greasers different than Socs?”
o How is Dally’s approach to Cherry and Marcia different than Ponyboy’s?
What does this say about their character? How does Cherry’s response to
Dally differ than her response to Ponyboy?
o Pony was somewhat surprised that he was getting along with Cherry and
Marcia, why?
o Why are Cherry and Marcia alone at the Drive-in?
- Symbols and motifs in the novel (20 min)
o What is a symbol? (an object that represents an idea or concept)
o What are some examples of easily recognizable symbols? (the American
flag, peace sign, dove, etc.)
o How do symbols make the story more effective? (Challenge the reader to
interpret the author’s meaning on a deeper level, without being so literal)
Conclusion
-“What symbols have you come across in the novel so far?”
- Students are to complete symbols and motifs worksheet for the chapters they have
read so far and will be instructed to continue to do so throughout the entire novel.
- Students will take what they learned about symbols and create a symbol for
themselves, their life, or their motto. Illustration of symbol should be accompanied by
a paragraph (3-5 good sentences) description and explanation of their symbol. Due
on Tuesday, June 30.
Name:_______________________
Symbols and Motifs!
SYMBOL - An object (concrete noun) that represents an idea or concept (abstract noun). For example, the American Flag stands for democracy.)
Note the difference between symbol and the following literary terms:
MOTIF - A recurring literary convention or an element that is repeated within a literary work.
ANALOGY A comparison of two things essentially alike. (Drawing parallels between a rake and a comb.)
SIMILE A comparison using “like” or “as”. (He is as fast as a runaway train. Her temper is like fire
consuming an old, wooden building.)
METAPHOR An implied comparison of two things which are dissimilar. (Usually one thing is spoken as
something else. “death, that long sleep” or “He weaseled his way to the front of the line.”)
DIRECTIONS:
Think about the chapters that you have read and fill out the chart.
Who?
SYMBOL:
1. ______________________
2. ______________________
3. ______________________
4. ______________________
5. ______________________
What?
Where? When?
How? Why?