The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton was the focus of our literature study this month. This is a particularly fantastic book to read with a group of high schoolers because the author was in high school when she wrote the book.
Add in some candy cigarettes, book-themed costumes, and some fantastic food ideas and you have a great ending to The Outsiders Literature Study with a themed book club.
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The Outsiders
S. E. Hinton
Genre: Classic Literature and Fiction
Length: 224 pages
First Published: 1967
View on Amazon | View on Goodreads
The Outsiders: Publishers Description
No one ever said life was easy. But Ponyboy is pretty sure that he’s got things figured out. He knows that he can count on his brothers, Darry and Sodapop. And he knows that he can count on his friends—true friends who would do anything for him, like Johnny and Two-Bit. But not on much else besides trouble with the Socs, a vicious gang of rich kids whose idea of a good time is beating up on “greasers” like Ponyboy. At least he knows what to expect—until the night someone takes things too far.
The Outsiders Literature Study
A literature study for the book, The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton, should definitely include time spent learning about the author in addition to other activities and fun.
Learn About the Author
Read more about S.E. Hinton on her official website.
This article in the New York Times includes my favorite fact to share with kids: S. E. Hinton was failing creative writing in high school when she began writing The Outsiders.
Create A Book Club
One way to make your literature study come alive is by creating a book club. We do this on a regular basis as part of language arts in our homeschool. Here are just a few ideas to create a book club for your own literature study.
Each month we rotate houses and the host mom prepares our snack while I lead a book discussion.
The Outsiders Book Club: Atmosphere
This month, the girls approached me with the idea that they wanted to dress up as Greasers. I was truly tickled that they were embracing the fun and adventure of our book club meetings. I suspect this idea arose from my appearance as Effie at our Hunger Games book club in September.
Of course, I agreed and decided to dress up as a Soc (short for Social).
The majority of the group came dressed as a Greaser so there weren’t very many Socs present.
Our hostess mom surprised the girls with a truly fun surprise, well known to those of us who grew up in the ’80s, but a completely new treat for these gals!
Yep, the mom who hosted this particular book club was able to track down candy cigarettes to add to the atmosphere of the evening.
The Outsiders Book Club: Snacks
After a lively book discussion, we headed downstairs for some “Outsiders” themed snacks including:
chocolate cake
gold wrapped candies
drive in pop-corn
sodapop
candy cigarettes
The Outsiders Literature Study For Kids: Book Club Questions
You can search google for The Outsiders discussion questions to find plenty of great questions for your discussion. Look for open-ended questions that will create conversation. Here are a few sites to get you started:
Sparknotes: The Outsiders (sample answers provided)
These fantastic discussion questions that you can use with any book, including The Outsiders, are the perfect source for additional book club questions:
The Outsiders Book Club: Decor
Printing quotes is a fun way to embrace the book club experience as well as decorate the table. We added some fun table decor for our The Outsiders book club:
After a lively discussion, the girls watched the movie, The Outsiders, which included all of the heart-throb male stars of the 80’s. They headed home with their parting gift, a reminder to “stay gold:”
I loved this night with these gals and am so thankful for the moms who love hosting and having fun with our teens’ book club as much as I do.
More Resources For Literature Study:
Book Clubs for Kids: Poppy by Avi
Book Clubs for Kids: The Green Ember
Book Clubs for Kids: Anne of Green Gables
Book Clubs for Kids: Mysterious Benedict Society
Book Clubs for Kids: Love That Dog
Ultimate Collection of Book Clubs for Kids
She believes that creativity, laughter, and fun are the backbone for engaging and inspiring homeschools. You can find her encouragement and tips on this blog, Mary Hanna Wilson.
She is an enneagram 7 and an extrovert. She enjoys traveling, tea (iced or hot), good conversations, and books. You can connect with her on Instagram and Facebook.
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