Can you choose your family after all? The greasers in S.E. Hinton's The Outsiders are as close as family, even though only Pony Boy and his brothers are related. A short video features commentary by hip-hop artist Danny Boy O'Connor and S.E Hinton herself about how important it is to feel accepted into a group.

Concepts

the outsiders, s.e. hinton, family, literary themes, american literature

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Additional Tags

english language arts

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Instructional Ideas

• Play the video to introduce a novel unit on The Outsiders
• Encourage readers to write an argument essay about whether friends can be as close as family

Classroom Considerations

• Requires access to the Internet
• Discussing voting for The Great American Read project, which has since closed

Pros

• Short length makes the video versatile for class or independent viewing
• Theme of the video (and novel) is resonant with teenage reader

Cons

• None

Common Core

RL.6.2 RL.6.3 RL.8.2 RL.8.3 RL.9-10.2 RL.9-10.3 RL.9-10.5 RL.11-12.2 RL.11-12.3