Then and Now

By Susie Rogers ELA, 5th-8th

The 7th graders were assigned a "Building Background" project before we started reading The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton. They explored the music, the movies, the television shows, the fashion, and the important events in the 1960's. The students recognized the fact that even 60 years later, some aspects remain the same. By researching and presenting their information from the 1960s, they will be able to immerse themselves into the lives of Ponyboy, Sodapop, Darry, and Johnny in this classic coming-of-age book. 

  Students were then asked some difficult questions such as: being street smart is more important than being book smart, teenagers everywhere face the same problems, ​​loyalty is extremely important between or among friends, and everyone has felt like an outsider at one time or another.  After much back and forth discussions, all of them agreed to disagree. They did all agree that some of the same problems existed with everyone, and one statement truly resonated  with all of them. When discussing their responses to, “Everyone has felt like an outsider at one time or another,” my students unanimously agreed that they have all felt like an outsider at a point in their life.  With our class novel, they will explore the historical connections, the societal expectations, and family dynamics from then and now.