Seventh Grade: Exploring What It Means To Be Different
"Ponyboy asks Cherry, 'Hey, can you see the sunset real good from the West Side?'"
"She blinked, startled, then smiled. 'Real good.'"
"'You can see it good from the East Side, too,' I said quietly."
Theme: what it means to be "different"
One of the best ways to learn about how individuals and communities evolve is to consider the human experience through literature. This year you will read novels that will help you better understand how, at some point in time, all of us feel as if we don't belong and how we face and resolve those feelings alone and with the support of others.
Unit Resources
See links in Researching the 1960s Project
Description of The Outsiders Unit:
Students will understand that...
-the complicated and, at times, murky distinctions between "us" and "them."
-poetry analysis is an interpretive skill.
-poetry is a unique and expressive method of communication.
-the essential components that constitute a poem (audience, setting, dialect, word choice, mood, tone, rhythm, patterns (visual or the content),
theme, symbols/literary devices).
-literary devices enhance writing.
-synthesizing multiple chapters into a concise summary is an important skill.
-learning, understanding, and applying new vocabulary enhances one's reading, writing, and oral skills.
-the essay formula is a viable approach to organizing thoughts and arguments into a cohesive position.
-evaluating, proofreading, and reflecting upon one's own work is necessary for true understanding.
Essential Questions for The Outsiders Unit:
The following are the arguable, recurring, and thought-provoking questions that guide inquiry and point toward the big ideas of the unit.
-What is worth dying for?
-What does it mean to be an "outsider"?
-Who are "outsiders" and why?
-Is brotherhood more important than family?
-What is family?
-What is community?
-Would we engage in “warfare” if we truly knew our enemies?
-How and why is fighting glamorized?
-Are human beings more alike than they are different?
"She blinked, startled, then smiled. 'Real good.'"
"'You can see it good from the East Side, too,' I said quietly."
Theme: what it means to be "different"
One of the best ways to learn about how individuals and communities evolve is to consider the human experience through literature. This year you will read novels that will help you better understand how, at some point in time, all of us feel as if we don't belong and how we face and resolve those feelings alone and with the support of others.
Unit Resources
See links in Researching the 1960s Project
Description of The Outsiders Unit:
Students will understand that...
-the complicated and, at times, murky distinctions between "us" and "them."
-poetry analysis is an interpretive skill.
-poetry is a unique and expressive method of communication.
-the essential components that constitute a poem (audience, setting, dialect, word choice, mood, tone, rhythm, patterns (visual or the content),
theme, symbols/literary devices).
-literary devices enhance writing.
-synthesizing multiple chapters into a concise summary is an important skill.
-learning, understanding, and applying new vocabulary enhances one's reading, writing, and oral skills.
-the essay formula is a viable approach to organizing thoughts and arguments into a cohesive position.
-evaluating, proofreading, and reflecting upon one's own work is necessary for true understanding.
Essential Questions for The Outsiders Unit:
The following are the arguable, recurring, and thought-provoking questions that guide inquiry and point toward the big ideas of the unit.
-What is worth dying for?
-What does it mean to be an "outsider"?
-Who are "outsiders" and why?
-Is brotherhood more important than family?
-What is family?
-What is community?
-Would we engage in “warfare” if we truly knew our enemies?
-How and why is fighting glamorized?
-Are human beings more alike than they are different?
The Outsiders Unit Projects and Assignments
Researching the 1960s Project - Guided Notes Handout - Rubric - Project Reflection - Student Exemplar
The Outsiders Introduction Web - Insider and Outsider
Chapter One - Vocabulary, Summary, Character Log, and Comprehension Questions - Summary Rubric - Comprehension Rubric
Chapter Two - Vocabulary, Summary, and Comprehension Questions - Summary Rubric - Comprehension Rubric
Chapter Three - Vocabulary and Comprehension Questions - Comprehension Rubric
Chapter Four - Vocabulary and Reading Response - Reading Response Rubric
Chapter Five - Vocabulary and Comprehension Questions - Comprehension Rubric
Chapter Six - Vocabulary and Comprehension Questions - Comprehension Rubric
Chapter Seven - Vocabulary and Reading Response - Reading Response Rubric
Chapter Seven - In-Class Questions
Chapter Eight - Vocabulary, Summary, and Comprehension Questions - Summary Rubric - Comprehension Rubric
Chapter Nine - Vocabulary, Summary, and Reading Response - Summary Rubric - Reading Response Rubric
Chapters Ten, Eleven, and Twelve - Vocabulary
Chapters Ten, Eleven, and Twelve - Generate a Question
The Outsiders Essay - Student Exemplar - The Outsiders Content Rubric - The Outsiders Organization Rubric
Researching the 1960s Project - Guided Notes Handout - Rubric - Project Reflection - Student Exemplar
The Outsiders Introduction Web - Insider and Outsider
Chapter One - Vocabulary, Summary, Character Log, and Comprehension Questions - Summary Rubric - Comprehension Rubric
Chapter Two - Vocabulary, Summary, and Comprehension Questions - Summary Rubric - Comprehension Rubric
Chapter Three - Vocabulary and Comprehension Questions - Comprehension Rubric
Chapter Four - Vocabulary and Reading Response - Reading Response Rubric
Chapter Five - Vocabulary and Comprehension Questions - Comprehension Rubric
Chapter Six - Vocabulary and Comprehension Questions - Comprehension Rubric
Chapter Seven - Vocabulary and Reading Response - Reading Response Rubric
Chapter Seven - In-Class Questions
Chapter Eight - Vocabulary, Summary, and Comprehension Questions - Summary Rubric - Comprehension Rubric
Chapter Nine - Vocabulary, Summary, and Reading Response - Summary Rubric - Reading Response Rubric
Chapters Ten, Eleven, and Twelve - Vocabulary
Chapters Ten, Eleven, and Twelve - Generate a Question
The Outsiders Essay - Student Exemplar - The Outsiders Content Rubric - The Outsiders Organization Rubric