'The Outsiders' by S.E. Hinton

Teach ‘The Outsiders’ With Confidence: A Complete 12-Lesson Scheme of Work!

Engaging/Structured/Fully Scaffolded/Builds Independence

Bring S.E. Hinton’s ‘The Outsiders’ to life with this fully planned, read-to-teach 12-lesson unit, designed so that every chapter of the novel is explored through meaningful reading, writing, and discussion activities.

The comprehensive package is ideal for teachers who want a high-quality, low-planning approach that still pushes students to think deeply and independently about the text.

What’s Included?

12 Complete Lessons (One for Each Chapter!)

Lessons are fully structured and easy to deliver. Each one contains:

Clear learning intentions linked directly to chapter content.
Starter activities to activate prior knowledge and spark curiosity
A focused main written task designed to build analytical and creative writing skills
Success criteria for peer and self-assessment
A purposeful plenary to consolidate understanding and check learning

Blueprints & Scaffolding Documents

Support every learner with a wide range of writing frames, template, and sentence-starter scaffolds including:
Diary entry blueprints
Newspaper report templates
PEAL paragraph scaffolds
Eulogy frameworks
These resources help all students access the tasks confidently without limiting their ability to produce thoughtful, original responses

Encourage Independent Thinking

This unit is built to nurture:
Personal interpretation
Character insights
Independent inference
Understanding narrative viewpoint (including unreliable narration)
Critical thinking and empathy
Students are guided to form their own ideas and insights about characters, themes and key moments -developing genuine engagement with the text.

Why Teachers Love This Resource

Zero planning is required - print-and-go lessons designed for busy teachers
Accessible for mixed-ability groups with scaffolding built in, but optional
High-quality tasks ideal for classwork, assessment, or extended writing
Flexible and adaptable - use as a full unit or dip into individual lessons
Supports literacy skills through structured extended writing tasks
Engages students through a variety of activity types
Promotes independent, confident learners