Lesson 1: Immersion in the Time Period

(Open, Immerse, Explore; Mini-Inquiry)

Focus Question: How does immersing oneself in background knowledge enrich ones reading of
a text?

Common Core Standards:

W.8.7 Conduct short research projects to answer a question (including a self-generated
question), drawing on several sources and generating additional related, focused
questions that allow for multiple avenues of exploration.

RL.8.2 Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze its development over the
course of the text, including its relationship to the characters, setting, and plot

Learning Objectives: Students will be able to

Objectives Assessments
Determine the importance of Do Now/Exit slip
background knowledge

W.8.7, RL.8.2
Explore the background and Lists and Notes generated in Writers
time period of The Outsiders Notebook

W.8.7

Materials:
1. Chromebooks
2. Writers notebooks
3. Copies of articles, short biographies, etc.
4. Chart paper
Accommodations and Modifications: Utilize newsela.com (or something similar) to alter the
Lexile score of texts as needed. Provide translated sources as needed. Each lesson that follows
could easily accommodate either a physical paper Writers Notebook or an electronic one.

Instructional Plan:
Opening (00:00 00:07): Students will answer the following question on a loose piece
of paper: Do Now Does background information help us as readers even before we
start reading a novel? Why or why not? Discuss briefly as a class.

Chart Paper modeling (00:07 00:13): Using a physical copy of The Outsiders as an
example, model the process of examining a resource for important background
information on a piece of chart paper. Ask students questions such as What information
can I get from a book without even opening it? and Where can I find background
 information on most books? Make clear that students will be doing this same process in
their Writers Notebooks with each station that they visit clearly labeled with a header.

Immersion (00:13 00:45): Briefly explain the source that is at each station:

-Physical pieces of 60s clothing

-Picture collage (people, items [cars, houses, technology], etc.)
-Short list of 60s facts
-Short S.E. Hinton biography
-The Outsiders movie trailer

Students will be allowed to move to whichever stations interest them the most. There will
be plenty of copies at each station, as well as multiple Chromebooks to showcase the
trailer. Students must go to at least two stations and take notes on their findings in their
Writers Notebooks, but they will be encouraged to do as many as possible in the time
provided.

Closure (00:45 00:53): Everyone will come back together and discuss their findings
as a group. After briefly discussing as a class what was learned, students will answer the
following question on the scrap paper used at the start of class: Has your view on
background information changed since the start of class? Why or why not? Students will
hand this paper in as an Exit Slip.

Homework Pick the station that was most interesting to you and write 3-4 sentences on
why it grabbed your attention

IF NEEDED Have a brief back-cover summary of The Outsiders prepared in case students
need context for the days activity.