The Outsiders – Teaching The Outsiders (and more)

The Outsiders

Still My Favorite Book!

mrC

It’s Alive! This blog that is. Nope, still not dead. Mebbe a bit sluggish, but… Spoiler Alert: This post even has The Outsiders in it! So. It’s last Friday, and I am taking the day off to drive 90 miles each way to pick up a huge assortment of vintage, metal kitchen cabinets. Very cool and […]

Presenting the Book, substituting, The Outsiders

Follow the Plan, Stan (Sub Tips)

mrC

I had a sub a week or so ago who went off plan. hrrrm. Dear Guest Teacher, If you are a noob teacher, out there subbing (sorry, guest teachering) your heart out and trying get a foothold on a full time gig, and you’re reading this? Don’t do that. We don’t forget. If you’re just […]

Presenting the Book, The Outsiders

Old Guy Alert

mrC

OK. All of a sudden this year, as we are reading The Outsiders, I am having to explain (or GoogleUp-on-the-big-screen*), all kinds of things I have never had to explain before. Up until this year, the references I had to stop and talk about were always pretty much the same ones. You know, the ones they put into […]

SE Hinton, The Outsiders, Twitter

I Just Remembered the Name of This Blog (Also: Vegas)

mrC

I have a real excuse this time for the latest posting drought. I took myself to Vegas for four days for my birthday. Yup, just me. All by my own bad self. I know it sounds sort of weird, but I love Vegas. I got married in Vegas. On Halloween. Yes, it was at one […]

Me, Seventh Grade Behavior, The Outsiders

Slow M-ohh-tion

mrC

I took a fall skating on Tuesday, landing on my forearm, jamming my pointy elbow into my rib-cage at 10 mph. In chapter four of The Outsiders, Dally says he cracked a couple of ribs and just needed a place to lay over, after Tim Shepard and he tangled. Then five days later he rescues Jhonny (Thanks for […]

Rerun, Stories of Seventh Grade, The Outsiders

Flashback to 2008 – Friendliest Class Ever

mrC

Back in 2008, I had what I like to call my friendly class. They were actually the friendliest class ever. And they really looooved The Outsiders. It was during the discussions about the book that they really came into their own as the friendly and sensitive class. Now, every year about this time, I have […]

The Outsiders, Video

Still Standing…

mrC

Been a while, I know… So I’m going all dot dot dot on you. It’s been almost a month–since September 14 to be exact–that the Standing Girl first decided to stand for the whole period. Not all periods. Just mine. And she’s still standing. Just for me. She still won’t say why… She does sit […]

Reading, Reading Aloud, The Outsiders

It’s Go Time!

mrC

Whoa baby, this is fun. The comments area has had a bit of controversy about my thing for reading Outsiders (or anything we read in class) aloud to my seventh graders. We got people saying they don’t like to be read to, we got people saying the book is predictable and Ponyboy annoying, and that […]

My boy, Reading Aloud, The Outsiders

What’s This Dang Blog supposed to Be About Anyway?

mrC

So far this year has been the year of weird schedules. Late start schedule for “faculty collaboration.” That’s on Mondays. Two extended second period schedules for tours of the school and to drill the school handbook. (Luckily, with a second period prep, I was able to avoid the ugliness.) Extended Homie Base Schedule for the […]

Hank Williams, Rerun, The Outsiders

Hank v. Prince Redux (Also: Miracle Nap)

mrC

The heatwave finally broke, and we finally reached Outsiders chapter 4. Pretty much every year about the third week of September or so, we get a heatwave around these parts. This year was no different. Well maybe a little. For one, the heat was almost a week later than usual. Secondly, it was the hottest stretch in […]

Reading, Reading Aloud, Rerun, The Outsiders

A Rerun, Just to Keep the Streak Alive.

mrC

As you may or may not have noticed, I actually have a streak going. After taking most of July and August off, it’s been six days in a row now! My longest run in 2+ years of doing this. So even though it’s getting late, I think I can squeeze in a rerun (from the […]

Presenting the Book, Reading Aloud, Rerun, The Outsiders

Virtual Mailbag: Yes, I do.

mrC

Over there in the comments, Christine (thanks for the nice words) asks if I really read the whole of The Outsiders to the kids. Ummm, yeah. That’s sort of one of my shticks. Well, more like a hook. As in the fishing metaphor. The Outsiders is the hook I use to draw reluctant 7th graders […]

CPS, Literary Stuff, Other activities, Seventh Grade Behavior, The Outsiders

New Material, and OMG, Groups!

mrC

I’ve been testing some new material lately. We finished Outsiders last week, and since S. E. Hinton managed to cram an example into the book of pretty much every single literary term we’re supposed to teach, I finally made a worksheet. And some new literary terms questions based on The Outsiders. (One, two, three) (Advertising: […]

Rerun, Steve Martin, The Outsiders, Writing

Guest Artist: Creating Memorable Characters (Also: Chapter 6 rerun.)

mrC

You can tell Susan Hinton was young when she wrote The Outsiders. Even as I read it aloud for the 60somethingth time (and still laugh and tear up), I see the repetitions and the plot holes and the shmaltz. But I don’t care, and neither do the kids. It’s the characters she created that bring […]

Nothing Gold Can Stay, The Outsiders, Writing

Gold.

mrC

I finally got all five classes through chapter 5 and into chapter 6. Man, we’re moving slowly this year. I’ve decided to get a move on, and with any luck, get to the rumble by Friday. And since we’re also working on our color justification essays this week, I did the unthinkable… I cut…back…on..home…work. Boy, […]