Name__________________________
Humanities 7/8 Summer Reading Packet
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Over the summer, you are required to read the novel, The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton and complete the
sections in this packet, all of which are intended to guide your reading and focus your thoughts. This
packet will be due in your Humanities class on the first day of school.

By carefully completing this assignment over the summer, you will be prepared to discuss the novel
and to write about related themes and concepts in the fall.

In order to successfully complete this assignment, you must understand the following concepts:
CHALLENGE: A challenge can be considered a test of one's abilities or resources in some sort of demanding
situation. Most good stories involve challenges that characters must face and attempt to overcome. Through
challenges characters grow, typically gaining new knowledge and perspective.
CHARACTER TRAITS: A trait may be one word that a reader could use to describe the personality of a
character. For example, a character may be considered courageous, disciplined, or curious. A reader can
identify a character’s trait(s) through what the character says or does. Character traits are not feelings or
physical features.
“COMING OF AGE”: A novel can be considered a “coming of age” story when a main character is initiated
into adulthood through knowledge, experience, or both. For example, a character can “come of age” when
he or she moves from:
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ignorance to knowledge
innocence to experience
false view of world to correct view
immature responses to mature responses
idealism to realism
INCIDENT: A single event that a character or person experiences; the event can be large or small.
Part A: Dialectical Journal
As you read, thoughtfully complete the dialectical journal below.
Significant Quote
Character Trait and Interpretation
Cite four specific examples of challenges faced by a
variety of characters. Include page numbers.
Explain how the quote demonstrates the character trait you
listed. What does it establish about the character?
1. Page #_________
Character trait:______________
Interpretation:
2. Page #_________
Character trait:______________
Interpretation:
3. Page #_________
Character trait:______________
Interpretation:
4. Page #_________
Character trait:______________
Interpretation:
Part B: Interviewing a Character
The Outsiders includes many incidents that cause a character to grow or mature. What would you say is the most
important incident that happens to one of the characters? What was a “coming of age” moment in the novel? Take
some time to re-read the incident in the novel.
Write a summary of the incident. (pg#________)
Why is this incident so important?
Although the incident is described to some extent in the novel, you probably have additional questions. What if you had
the opportunity to interview the character? Make a list of five questions you would ask the character about the incident.
Be sure that you write open-ended questions or statements (questions/statements that do not yield simply a "yes" or
"no" answer, but require further explanation).
1. _____________________________________________________________________________________
2. _____________________________________________________________________________________
3. _____________________________________________________________________________________
4. _____________________________________________________________________________________
5. _____________________________________________________________________________________
Part C: Written Responses
Directions: Using your own paper, respond thoughtfully to the prompts below on two separate pieces of paper. Your
work should be typed using MLA format. Please attach your responses to this packet.
.
Response #1 : Expository Paragraph
Prompt: The author ends the novel with a paragraph that leaves the reader with something to think about. What lesson
do you think S.E. Hinton wants you to take away from this paragraph? Reread this paragraph and, in your own words,
write a two-chunk paragraph that explains the author’s message to her readers. Begin with a strong topic sentence and
support your topic sentence with evidence from the text (you may use evidence from anywhere in the text) and with
thoughtful commentary.
“I sat down and picked up my pen and thought for a minute. Remembering. Remembering a
handsome, dark boy with a reckless grin and hot temper. A tough, tow-headed boy with a
cigarette in his mouth and a bitter grin on his hard face. Remembering – and this time it didn’t
hurt – a quiet, defeated-looking sixteen-year-old whose hair needed cutting badly and who had
black eyes with frightened expression to them. One week had taken all three of them. And I
decided I could tell people, beginning with my English teacher. I wondered for a long time how to
start that theme, how to start writing about something that was important to me. And I finally
began like this: When I stepped out into the bright sunlight from the darkness of the movie
house, I had only two things on my mind: Paul Newman and a ride home… (179-180).
Response #2 : Personal Response
Prompt: The Outsiders and of the other major pieces of literature that we will study this upcoming year are similar in
that they deal with the topic of ‘coming of age’. How is your identity established as a child? To what extent do early
experiences shape who you are and who you will become? What does it mean to be an “adult” and what does it take to
get there? Write freely about the topic of “coming of age.” You may respond to one or more of the questions in this
prompt or describe a ‘coming of age’ incident in your life. Organize your response in any way that makes sense to you;
your writing should be at least one page in length.