Class Overview
Made With You in Mind
This is a writing discovery class! One of the reasons we read is to learn from the greats. We use reading to grow teens as writers by putting strong "writerly skills" into their toolbox.
In this class, students will:
- Internalize the Mechanics: Through copywork and dictation of selected passages, students absorb the sophisticated grammar, punctuation, and syntactical patterns used by master authors.
- Master Literary Analysis: Using our signature Think Piece Questions, students investigate subtext, theme, and character motivation.
- Connect with Ideas: Students dive into cultural and historical context in order to share what was impactful for them and "connect the dots" as they analyze the book through a modern lens.
Nov 9 - Dec 11, 2026
Book Choice:
- The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton
No one ever said life was easy. But Ponyboy is pretty sure that he's got things figured out. He knows that he can count on his brothers, Darry and Sodapop. And he knows that he can count on his friends—true friends who would do anything for him, like Johnny and Two-Bit. But not on much else besides trouble with the Socs, a vicious gang of rich kids whose idea of a good time is beating up on “greasers” like Ponyboy. At least he knows what to expect—until the night someone takes things too far.
The Outsiders is a dramatic and enduring work of fiction that laid the groundwork for the YA genre. S. E. Hinton's classic story of a boy who finds himself on the outskirts of regular society remains as powerful today as it was the day it was first published.
Reading Schedule: To stay in sync with the class, students should have read at least the first third of the novel by the end of Week One.
A Note on Content: At Brave Writer, we select a wide range of literature that addresses a variety of perspectives. We use these works as teaching tools to foster understanding and growth. Please be aware that you may experience strong reactions to challenging content; we encourage parents to pre-read and prepare for these important discussions!
How does a reader response course work?
This course will follow a four-week schedule where students read and write on their own. The instructor comes in to provide thorough feedback on the final post.
Students can expect:
- Freedom to read, write, and post on their schedule (within the confines of the course dates).
- Limited instructor response. Students move through material on their own until the final week. At that point, they'll receive detailed reader feedback from a trained writing coach.
We've scaffolding the learning so a student flies mostly solo, with that instructor support right when students need it—at the end!
Spin and Spiral
This class includes information from the Boomerang manual written to accompany this novel. Each manual visits and revisits terms and skills related to writing mechanics and literary analysis. Here is an overview from the book under study. We will address some or all of these topics in class. Families can download a PDF of the complete manual (provided in class) to work through topics not covered in class.
