Letter Writing Assignment - Reply to Sodapop (The Outsiders)

This creative writing task is designed to help Junior Cycle and GCSE English students engage deeply with The Outsiders while developing their personal writing skills.

Students are asked to step into Ponyboy Curtis’s shoes and write a heartfelt reply to Sodapop’s letter from Chapter 5. The resource provides:

A clear task outline with prompts on what to include (life in hiding, Johnny’s feelings, missing home, thoughts on the park).
A letter structure reminder with layout, greeting, body, and closing.
Writing tips to encourage voice, informality, and emotional honesty in line with Ponyboy’s character.
Example sentence starters to support weaker students and get them writing quickly.
A success checklist so students can self-assess presentation, punctuation, layout, and content before handing up.

This resource works well as:

A standalone creative writing lesson
A follow-up to reading Chapter 5 of The Outsiders
A scaffolded activity to prepare for functional/personal writing tasks in exams

Editable for class use, differentiation, or homework assignments.