Lesson 17: The Outsiders, Chapter 6, Part 1

Students often focus on surface definitions but may miss how morphology connects to character motivation and action. Explicitly guide students to link word meaning to the text by asking how characters act based on their beliefs or try to persuade others. The goal of this launch is to bridge vocabulary understanding to the theme by showing how character beliefs influence identity and choices.

Morphology and Vocabulary

Present the words convince and conviction to students.

• Say: In the word convince, con- means “completely,” and the -vince comes from Latin vincere, meaning “to conquer or overcome.”

• Ask: Based on these meanings, what do you think convince means?

  • to completely get someone to believe something or overcome their doubts

• Say: In the word conviction -ion can mean “the state, act, or process of.” This word is “related to strong belief.”

Say these Directions: With a partner, use convince and conviction in a sentence to show their relationship.

• • A strong conviction can help you convince others of your ideas.

    • As needed, provide this sentence frame: If I have a strong _______, I may try to ________ others.

• Ask: In The Outsiders, characters often act because of strong convictions about loyalty and protecting their friends. Sometimes those beliefs lead them to try to convince others about what is right. Where have we already seen a character act because of a strong belief?

  • Johnny protecting Ponyboy; Ponyboy defending the Greasers; Johnny and Ponyboy saving the children

Connection to Today’s Learning

• Say: Today, as you closely read and annotate Chapter 6, you may notice when characters act because of a strong conviction or try to convince someone else. Also, the author uses the word conviction to describe a firmly held belief or opinion Johnny holds. Think about the meaning of this word, as well as the author’s other word choices, and what the words indicate about characters’ identities.

Example/Non-example

Target Word: bewilderment

Say these Directions: We’re learning about the word bewilderment today. Let’s explore this word more deeply.

Introduce the Word: Present the word bewilderment to students and pronounce it.

Ask: Have you seen the word bewilderment before? Where?

• Underline the root wild in bewilderment.

Ask: What do you think of when you hear the word wild?

• untamed, outdoors, natural, wilderness, disorder, violence

Explain that bewilderment means the feeling and state of being confused, puzzled, and lost.

If possible, have students confirm the meaning in a digital dictionary.

Ask: How does wild help you understand the meaning of bewilderment?

• When someone’s surroundings are wild, they might feel lost or confused.

Introduce Activity: Present each scenario orally and/or project on a board. 

Say these Directions: With a partner, discuss and determine if each scenario is an example or a non-example of bewilderment. 

Share Student Thinking: Invite partnerships to share their examples and non-examples. As students share their thinking, prompt students to share their rationale and explain their connections. For example: 

• Why does the first example show bewilderment while the second does not?

  • The first example shows bewilderment because someone is confused or puzzled by something they are trying to understand. The second does not show bewilderment because someone has a negative reaction, but they are not confused.

• What makes bewilderment different from the responses to new experiences in the non-examples?

  • Bewilderment indicates that someone is confused, puzzled, and lost. People may feel this way when they have new experiences. The non-examples show people trying new things and sometimes disliking them or wanting to work on them, but they do not show confusion or puzzlement.

Tell students that this vocabulary will be further analyzed in this lesson’s text analysis work. Allow students to share their work.

• Ask: Explain to a partner how identifying examples and non-examples helped you to understand the word.

Connection to Today’s Learning

• Say: As you explore how plot events impact characters, you’ll analyze what might make a character respond with bewilderment and how this response helps readers understand the character’s identity and values.

Part A: Discuss How Story Elements Connect: Text: The Outsiders, Chapter 6 (RL.7.2, RL.7.3) (20 minutes)

Have students take out their annotated copies of The Outsiders. Remind students that for Lesson 16 homework, they annotated Chapter 6 to answer this question: How does Ponyboy and Johnny’s relationship and sense of belonging influence the choices they make? Explain that students will use these annotations to help answer today’s text-dependent questions.

Briefly review key themes in the novel, including belonging, identity, and connection. Remind students of the Essential Question in Investigation 1: How do relationships and communities shape a person’s sense of belonging and identity?

In the novel, gold symbolizes innocence, goodness, and special moments that may not last.

Ask: “What moments in the story feel 'gold' to Ponyboy?”

Think-Pair-Share

Say these Directions: Independently respond to the following questions, using your homework annotations as a starting point and keeping the book’s themes in mind. Then, share and refine responses with a partner before a whole-class discussion.

• Ask: Choose one moment where Ponyboy or Johnny makes a choice shaped by his feeling of belonging. How might he have acted if he didn’t feel a sense of belonging?

  • Johnny explains that one reason he wants to turn himself in is to keep Ponyboy’s brothers from worrying about him. This moment shows that Johnny realizes how much his decisions affect Ponyboy, and he wants to make the best choice for them both as a team. His sense of belonging helps him feel responsible for Ponyboy. If he didn’t feel like he belonged, he might have chosen to stay in hiding and look out for himself first.

• Ask: Choose one relationship that changes in Chapter 6. How does this relationship change, and how does the change impact the plot? How does it connect to themes of identity?

  • Ponyboy and Darry’s relationship changes because Ponyboy realizes that Darry really does love and care about him. The change affects the plot by bringing the brothers back together and giving Ponyboy a reason to return home. It develops themes of identity by showing that both Ponyboy’s and Darry’s identities are shaped by their shared family relationship; their role as each other’s brother becomes important to both.

• Ask: What does the word bewilderment reveal about Johnny (p. 88)? How does his bewilderment in Chapter 6 relate to the themes of belonging and identity?

  • The word "bewilderment" suggests that Johnny is confused and puzzled by his parents' lack of concern for him. This example develops themes of belonging and identity by showing that Johnny’s biological family is still important to his sense of self. He still wants to feel he belongs with his family, even if they ignore him. It reveals that feelings of belonging can be complex.

• Ask: Which character’s sense of identity do you think changed the most in this chapter, and why? Consider both how others see the main characters and how the main characters see themselves.

  • I think Ponyboy’s sense of identity changed the most. After being called a hero for saving the kids in the burning church, he starts to see how actions can define his identity to others as much as his appearance and social group can. He also comes to understand how important he is to his brothers; being a member of the family becomes more significant to his identity.

• Say: Optional (if time permits): Think about what gold symbolizes in the book. Choose one moment or event that you think develops the theme of losing “gold” and explain why.

  • When Dally describes how he changed and grew “hardened” in jail, this develops the theme of losing “gold” by describing how Dally lost his innocence and youth while in jail. Dally notices that Johnny still has something special or “gold” in him, and he worries Johnny will lose this part of himself if he goes to jail.

Students often notice what happens in a story but may struggle to explain why characters act as they do or how those actions develop themes. Explicitly scaffold text-based reasoning by prompting students to cite specific events, explain character motivation, and connect outcomes to the theme.

Part B: Analyze Development of Theme (RL.7.2, RL.7.3, RL.7.6) (10 minutes)

This section supports students in connecting character actions to traits of heroism and overarching themes (RL.7.2, RL.7.3, RL.7.6). Students may identify bravery but need guidance linking actions to identity, belonging, and stereotype challenges.

Graffiti/Table Talk

Say these Directions: Record ideas (in words, phrases, or sentences) in response to this prompt:

• What traits or actions can make an ordinary person a hero?

  • sacrifice; showing bravery in times of danger; helping others before yourself

• Say: Now, think about the ideas we listed about heroism and apply them to the characters in The Outsiders.

Turn and Talk

Say these Directions: Turn and talk with a partner to discuss your responses to these questions, keeping in mind the ideas from Graffiti/Table Talk, before discussing the questions as a class.

• Ask: Think about the traits of heroism you identified. How do they apply to Ponyboy and Johnny? How do these traits connect to themes in the novel, such as belonging and identity?

  • Johnny and Ponyboy show bravery by charging into a dangerous situation to save children. They also act as a team. Their teamwork develops the theme of belonging because it shows that when people work together, they may feel more courageous than they would when acting alone.

• Ask: Consider what you learned about the impact of stereotypes. How do Ponyboy’s, Johnny’s, and Dally’s actions in Chapter 6 challenge stereotypes about Greasers? How does this help develop themes of identity and belonging?

  • The boys seem like heroes to the townspeople, but Ponyboy is surprised because he thinks of himself and his friends as “greasers” and “hoods.” He finds it hard to understand how people in gangs who are facing legal trouble can still be considered heroes. He struggles to understand that others may see him as a hero rather than only as a “greaser.” When these stereotypes are challenged, the author develops themes of identity by showing that others may see you differently from how you see yourself.

• Ask: How might different people view the church's rescue? Consider Ponyboy’s perspective, the townspeople’s perspective, and how the media or adults might describe the event. What does this show about how perspective shapes the way events are interpreted?

  • Ponyboy feels surprised and unsure about being called a hero because he still sees himself as a greaser who is often judged negatively. The townspeople might see the boys as heroes because they saved children from a dangerous fire. The media might describe the rescue as a dramatic, heroic event. These different perspectives show that the same event can be understood differently depending on who is describing it.

Check for Understanding

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

Quick Write

This routine supports students in synthesizing character development, plot, and theme (RL.7.2, RL.7.3, RL.7.6). Students should be able to compare Ponyboy’s behavior before and after the fire, explaining why his changes matter. Model cause-and-effect reasoning and reinforce text-based justification as needed.

Say these Directions: Complete a brief written response to the prompt below.

• Ask: What is the most important way Ponyboy changes from the beginning of Chapter 6 (before the fire) to the end of Chapter 6 (during and after the fire)? Why is this change important?

  • • Optional Sentence Starter:

  • “In the first part of the chapter, Ponyboy ____. In the second part, he _______. This change is important because_________.”

    • Ponyboy begins the chapter mostly worried about himself and Johnny and what will happen to them. By the end of the chapter, he is concerned about saving the children and about how his disappearance has affected Darry and Sodapop. This change shows that Ponyboy is becoming more aware of how his actions affect other people.

Instruct students to take notes in their Journal on the following prompt:

• Consider the church fire scene in Chapter 6 of The Outsiders. How does the author make this scene powerful or effective? Think about elements such as sensory description, dialogue, narration, or pacing. If you think the scene is not effective, explain how the author could improve it.