Lesson 18: The Outsiders, Chapter 6, Part 2

Students often notice superficial differences between a book and its film version, but may not yet attend to why filmmakers make specific choices or how those choices affect meaning, character, or theme. Explicitly guide students to articulate observations, ask questions, and make predictions before viewing, using the structured discussion routine, Turn and Talk.

Turn and Talk

Say these Directions: Turn and talk with a partner to discuss your response to either Question 1 or Question 2 before transitioning into whole-class discussion. You may choose the question you would like to respond to.

• Ask: Question 1: Think about a movie or TV show you’ve seen that was an adaptation of a book. How did the movie/TV version compare to the book? What was the same and what was different, and why do you think the filmmakers made changes from the book? If you aren’t familiar with what happens in the book, how do you think it might compare to the movie/TV version, and why?

  • I read Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief before seeing the movie, and the biggest difference was how they changed Annabeth. In the book, she's tough and driven, but in the movie, she's mostly just a love interest for Percy. They also aged all the characters up from 12 to 16, which made it feel like a totally different story. I think the filmmakers wanted it to feel more like a regular action movie, but it ended up losing a lot of what made the book good.

• Ask: Question 2: Think about a book you’ve read. What do you think a movie or TV adaptation of this book would be like? What features (like characters, dialogue, plot, and setting) might be the same, and what features might be different? Why?

  • If someone made a movie out of The Eyes and the Impossible, I think the action scenes would be really easy to show on screen, like Johannes running through the park or the rescue after he gets leashed. But what makes the book so good is Johannes narrating everything in his own voice, like how he thinks about the ducks or explains Equilibrium. A movie would have to cut most of that or turn it into voiceover, which probably wouldn't feel the same.

Connection to Today’s Learning

• Say: Film and print can express the same ideas, often in very different ways. Today, you’ll review a film version of a significant scene from Chapter 6 in The Outsiders. As you’ve learned about story elements, you’ve noticed how authors use narration, dialogue, word choice, point of view, and other techniques to convey information. Think about these elements as you examine how films use their own techniques to express ideas, such as visuals, sounds, facial expressions, and body language.

Cloze Vocabulary

Target Words: disgrace, perspective, stereotype, apprehensive, aloofness, incredulous

Say these Directions: We’re learning about the words disgrace, perspective, stereotype, apprehensive, aloofness, and incredulous today. Let’s explore these words more deeply.

Introduce Activity: Present each sentence and the word bank to students.

• As needed, have students briefly review vocabulary definitions from their Personal Dictionaries:

Word Bank: disgrace, perspective, stereotype, apprehensive, aloofness, incredulous

Say these Directions: With a partner, complete each sentence using a word from the word bank.

1. The sun was out all morning, so I was ____ when she said it was raining now, but then I walked outside and got soaked with raindrops.

2. It’s normal to feel ____ about delivering a speech; many people dread public speaking.

3. We cleaned the house before important guests arrived so the mess would not be a(n) ____.

4. I thought cheerleaders were snobby and mean until I made cheerleader friends who proved this ____ is untrue.

5. Because our neighbors have lived here all their lives, they have a different ____ of the neighborhood than people who just moved in.

6. He stood apart from the group and stared at the wall, showing _____.

Answer Key: 1. incredulous, 2. apprehensive, 3. disgrace, 4. stereotype, 5. perspective, 6. aloofness

Review Responses: Review responses as a whole group and discuss why each word best completes the sentence.

• Ask: Why does this word fit?

1. Incredulous fits because it expresses how you feel about something that is hard to believe.

2. Apprehensive fits because the sentence describes an experience that may make people nervous or anxious.

3. Disgrace fits because a mess could cause shame or embarrassment.

4. Stereotype fits because the sentence describes untrue ideas about what everyone in a certain group is like.

5. Perspective fits because the sentence gives an example of how people may see or think about something differently based on their experiences.

6. Aloofness fits because the sentence describes behavior that shows distance and disconnection from others.

Connection to Today’s Learning

• Say: Think about all the words we’ve learned so far from this book. Word choice is one tool that authors can use to build character points of view, enhance dialogue, or set a memorable scene. While filmmakers can’t use vocabulary in the same way, they can use different techniques to create the same effects. As you compare the book to a film version, consider how words, images, and sounds can all convey themes and ideas.

Part A: Prepare to Evaluate Film (RL.7.7, SL.7.2) (15 minutes)

Say these Directions: Review your homework assignment from Lesson 17, a response paragraph on the following prompt. Discuss your responses in pairs or small groups before sharing responses in a whole-class discussion.

• Consider the scene with the church fire in Chapter 6 (pp. 90-96). How do you think the author makes this scene powerful and effective—through sensory description, dialogue, narration, or something else? If you don’t think the scene is powerful or effective, how do you think the author could have made it that way?

  • I thought the use of narration to describe Ponyboy’s inner thoughts was especially powerful. Through Ponyboy’s narration, the author used vivid imagery to describe the scene and showed how Ponyboy observed an important change in Johnny. These details helped readers understand the scene’s significance.

Teach: How Film Interprets Text

Briefly review important themes and main ideas that the book develops in the Chapter 6 church fire scene. Create a list of these themes/ideas. (Ex. how belonging and community can inspire people to work as a team; how your identity influences your choices and vice versa and how your sense of identity compares with how others see you; what heroism means and how people can show heroism; how destruction can spread and affect others)

Say these Directions: We will be watching a film adaptation of a scene from Chapter 6 of The Outsiders. The film develops many of the themes and ideas that the book does, but in different ways. There are several common ways that filmmakers adjust details when adapting a book. Below are examples of these techniques you may have noticed in multimedia, particularly multimedia based on books.

• Cutting Scenes: Filmmakers only have a limited amount of time and can’t usually show every event in a book. They often shorten scenes and may leave out some scenes altogether. This means films may skip or alter parts of the plot that are in the book.

• Pacing: Some film scenes may move more quickly than they do in a book to keep the film moving. Some scenes may move more slowly than they do in a book to emphasize their importance. Filmmakers can extend the pace of a scene in many ways, such as by focusing on an image, zooming in on a character to capture their reaction, or using extended periods of silence.

  • Note that authors can also expand or contract the pace of a scene, such as by lingering on the narrator’s inner thoughts about an important moment or by summarizing a long period of time quickly.

• Visuals and Audio: While books can show a character’s thoughts and feelings directly through narration, films use different techniques. They convey thoughts and feelings through actors’ facial expressions, body language, and reactions. The tone that actors use to speak can convey emotion and intensity in ways that print cannot. (Students may point out that some films use a “voiceover” technique where an off-camera narrator provides narration.)

  • Lighting, color, and camera angles help filmmakers focus viewers’ attention and set the mood. For instance, a camera angle can highlight an important image.

  • Because viewers typically process images more quickly than readers process words, filmmakers can draw attention to an image to help readers infer important information, while authors may need a couple of sentences to help readers make the same inference.

  • Sound effects and audio tools can set a mood as well as emphasize actions and reactions. For instance, many movies use musical scores or soundtracks that heighten the emotion in a scene (such as dramatic music for a high-stakes action scene).

• Point of View: The Outsiders is written from Ponyboy’s first-person point of view, highlighting his perspective more than that of other characters. In books, it can be easier to show a character’s thinking than in a movie. Narrating a character’s thoughts can reveal their point of view. Filmmakers can also choose which characters’ points of view to highlight. For instance, they may show viewers scenes as they appear to a certain character or include many scenes featuring some characters and not others.

Say these Directions: Use a Venn diagram to take notes on how the Chapter 6 church fire scene in the movie is similar to and different from the same scene in the book.

Prompt students to pay attention to:

• Pacing and Intensity: Does the scene unfold quickly or slowly? How does it use light, sound, and other techniques to create a sense of urgency?

• Characters and Points of View: Whose actions and reactions are shown, and whose are not? How do the movie and the book show character details differently? Does the movie help you see other characters’ points of view aside from Ponyboy’s?

• Dialogue: How do actors convey the feeling behind the lines? Which dialogue is left out compared to the book? Is any dialogue added?

• Visuals and Audio: How do the images in the movie—the background, costumes, etc.—compare to their descriptions in the book? How do visuals and sound effects, such as a musical soundtrack, convey a certain mood?

Show students a clip of the church fire scene when Ponyboy and Johnny perform a rescue (e.g., the scene in the 1983 film of The Outsiders).

Play the clip at least twice: once for general comprehension and the second time for deeper analysis and note-taking. Pause during the second viewing as needed for students to take notes.

This portion of the lesson supports students in analyzing how film interprets narrative text to develop theme, character, and perspective (RL.7.7, SL.7.2). Students often notice surface-level differences between the book and film but may miss how techniques such as pacing, camera angles, lighting, and sound convey meaning and emotion. Explicitly guide students to connect each technique to its effect on tension, character development, or theme.

Provide students with a confidence continuum (i.e., 1–5). As needed, model how to demonstrate a level of confidence using the continuum.

Part B: Discuss, Compare, and Contrast Two Mediums (RL.7.7, SL.7.2) (15 minutes)

Students often notice surface-level differences between a book and a film but may struggle to explain how these differences affect meaning, character perspective, or emotional impact. Explicitly guide students to use evidence from both the text and film, structured discussion routines (Give One/Get One), and academic language to produce comparisons that are precise and evaluative.

Have students use the observations they noted in their homework assignments and Venn diagrams to help them consider the following questions.

Give One, Get One

Say these Directions: Record your responses to the questions below, and then rotate and collect responses from partners using the Give One/Get One routine. Continue rotations until you have collected at least one new idea in response to each question.

• Ask: Choose a character: Ponyboy, Johnny, or Dally. How does the movie portray this character’s traits, feelings, and actions? How does this portrayal compare to the book, and does it change how you feel about the character? If so, why? If not, why not? Think about how the movie uses dialogue and camera angles to develop points of view.

  • The camera focuses on the moments when Johnny makes decisions, such as when he runs into the burning house. The dialogue in the film shows that Johnny’s tone is determined when he speaks. This view of his character helps me see Johnny as confident and decisive, more than Ponyboy’s narration does. It helps me understand how Johnny demonstrates selflessness and courage.

• Ask: Choose a theme—either (1) the importance of community and belonging or (2) the ways people form identities and understand who they are. How does the movie develop this theme?

  • The movie develops the theme of community and belonging by showing Ponyboy’s, Johnny’s, and Dally’s reactions and facial expressions when members of their gang are in danger. They look concerned, and they also look like they are struggling with whether or not, or how, to help their friends. These interactions show that when you are in a community, your first priority may be protecting other community members.

• Ask: Which version do you think creates more tension and provokes a stronger emotional response—the movie or the book? Why? Think about how the movie uses visuals and sound effects, how the book uses narration, and how both versions use pacing.

  • I think the book creates more tension because it reveals details more slowly than the movie. In the movie, you can immediately see the fire and the extent of the damage. In the book, you have to wait to find out some of the details. The experience of waiting makes me respond more strongly as a reader because I worry what will happen.

• Ask: Does the film show any character perspectives that are sidelined in or left out of the book? Does the book show any character perspectives that are sidelined in or left out of the film? What is the impact of these choices?

  • The film shows the perspective of the people waiting outside, including the other children, by focusing on their faces. The book shows Ponyboy’s inner thoughts, which the film does not. In the film, I can see how the dangerous situation makes everyone afraid, while the film focuses mostly on Ponyboy’s fear.

• Ask: Choose one technique—either (1) pacing a narrative to keep readers interested, (2) using dialogue effectively to develop characters, or (3) using vivid images to set a scene. What can you learn from the book and film scene about how to improve this technique in your own writing? Think about how the technique is used in both mediums.

  • I can learn about pacing a narrative by letting scenes with tension or uncertainty in them last longer instead of rushing to the end of the narrative and resolving the tension too quickly. In the book and the film, I was anxious to find out what happened, so I was more invested in the characters than I would have been if the scenes were over quickly. This pacing helped the stories have more emotional impact.

3–2–1 Summary

Support students in synthesizing their analysis of multiple media and articulating an evidence-based opinion (RL.7.7, SL.7.2). Students often identify differences between the book and film but may struggle to connect these differences to meaning, theme, or emotional impact. Explicitly guide students to use the structured 3–2–1 routine to organize observations into key details, reasoning, and a concluding statement.

Say these Directions: Do you find the scene in the book or the film more powerful? Write a 3–2–1 summary explaining your choice. Record your response in the chart.

Label each column to include:

• 3 key details they noticed from the book or film

• 2 reasons these details support their choice

• 1 sentence summarizing why the book or film is more powerful

Invite students to share their work with a partner if time allows.

Instruct students to write a brief response in their Journal to the following prompt:

• Which character in The Outsiders do you think is most strongly affected by their economic situation or economic class? How? Why do you think this character might be more affected than others?