Over the past number of weeks, G8 LA have been loosing themselves in the lives, loves and losses of a group of teens known as The Greasers. The Outsiders by S.E Hinton is our first foray into analysis of literature, and has proved incredibly enjoyable for students and teacher alike. The Outsiders is a coming of age story about a group of teenagers from the ‘wrong side’ of the tracks, who just want the same thing we all do – to belong.
As a class, we looked at this story from multiple angles and using a variety of media. Pre-reading included exploring a simplified and summarized version of the story on a slide show. To become familiar with each character, we spent some time looking at character profile posters created by another class, which described who they were, how they looked, felt and acted. To connect further on a visual level with where the story was taking place, we investigated a map of the world, located the setting, and explored images of small town America from the mid 60’s.
Then we moved on to the book. Chapter by chapter we engaged in a round robin read-aloud. At the end of each of the first 3 chapters, students reflected on a different set of characters and created simple, digital profiles of each one using Freyer model organizers. As we moved on with the story, students started to take the book home to reread the chapter that we had read aloud in class that day. By Chapter 6, students were reading independently and quietly in class, so lost in the story that you could hear a pin drop.
Every few chapters of reading was punctuated by engagement with our third medium, the original 1983 movie directed by Francis Ford Coppola. We read first then watched the section of the movie related to what we read. These multiple modes of entry into the story allowed us to visualize, contextualize, analyze and connect.
At the mid-point of the story, students created 6-frame storyboards of the story so far, as they remembered it.
Next week, we will read the final chapter of the book together. Then, the big work begins, co-creation of a summative assessment. As a group, we will brainstorm, plan and draft an outline for an approach to analyzing the text as a whole. This process will be driven by the IB core values of voice, choice and agency. Students will need to activate and develop their Communication and Creative/Critical Thinking AtLs as part of this process.
This is such an exciting time, and an awesome group of students to work with.
Forward ever forwards.