Lesson 13: The Outsiders, Chapter 4, Part 2

Have students take out their copies of The Outsiders with their annotations.

Lesson 12 Homework: Students finished reading Chapter 4 of The Outsiders and completed annotations in response to the following prompt: How does Ponyboy feel about the events that are unfolding? How do his feelings affect his actions?

Retell and Paraphrase Partner Check

Say these Directions: With a partner, take turns retelling and paraphrasing a section of Chapter 4 using the sentence frames:

• Frame 1 (Partner 1): To find Dally, Ponyboy and Johnny go to . . .

• Frame 2 (Partner 2): After leaving Dally, Ponyboy and Johnny . . .

Then, share one example you noticed of how Ponyboy’s feelings affect his actions. As you share, identify Ponyboy’s feelings and explain how those feelings influence what he does.

• To find Dally, Ponyboy and Johnny go to a party where Dally is and tell him what happened. Dally gives them money, a gun, and warm clothes. He tells them to take a train out of town and directs them to an abandoned church where they can hide. After leaving Dally, Ponyboy and Johnny board the train and ride to the country. They find the church on Jay Mountain and hide out in it while Ponyboy worries about what will happen next. I noticed that Ponyboy’s feelings affect his actions when he decides to comb his hair. He feels that he and Johnny will stand out in the country because of the way they look. He worries they might be caught, so he wants to change his appearance.

Connection to Today’s Learning

• Say: As you read, you may have noticed how Ponyboy’s perspective and his view of the world are changing. You may have observed some clues about Johnny’s perspective, too. Today, we’ll read and annotate Chapter 4 more thoroughly to examine how the author develops the characters’ perspectives.

Context Clues in Action

Target Words: defiance, sheepish

Say these Directions: We’re learning about the words defiance and sheepish today. Let’s explore these words more deeply.

Step 1: Key Sentence

Display page 59 and direct students to read the sentence:

• “Yet in [Dally’s] hard face there was character, pride, and a savage defiance of the world.”

Read the sentence aloud.

• Say: This sentence includes a word we may not fully understand yet. Instead of looking it up, we’re going to use the context—the words and sentences around it—to figure out what it most likely means. Our focus word is defiance.

Step 2: Surrounding Sentences

Display page 59 again and direct students to read the sentences immediately following:

• “He could never love Cherry Valance back. It would be a miracle if Dally loved anything. The fight for self-preservation had hardened him beyond caring.”

• Say: As we reread, listen for words or ideas that help describe the word more clearly.

Step 3: Identify Context Clues 

Say these Directions: After reading the key sentence and surrounding sentence, work with a partner to answer:

• Ask: What is the author describing in this part of the text?

  • Dally’s attitude and behavior

• Ask: Which words or phrases help explain the target word?

  • hardened, savage, beyond caring, fight

• Ask: Do the surrounding sentences:

  • Explain the word?

  • Give an example?

  • Show how a character feels or reacts?

    • The sentences show how Dally would react to someone loving him; he would not love them back. Defiance could relate to rejecting people or not bonding with them.

  • Restate the idea in a different way?

    • The sentences restate the idea that Dally is looking out for himself and that he feels like it’s him against the world. Defiance might relate to protecting yourself from harm.

Cold call pairs to name the exact words they used as clues.

Annotate or underline those clues on the displayed text.

Step 4: Infer a Meaning

• Ask: Based on these clues, what does the word most likely mean in this text?

Accept approximate but text-supported meanings (e.g., anger, rejection).

Refine student language as needed to increase precision (e.g., anger; When someone is angry and has pride, they might rebel against others by refusing to obey them).

Step 5: Test the Meaning in Context

Substitute the inferred meaning back into the key sentence. (e.g., “. . . character, pride, and a savage rebellion against the world.”

• Ask: If we replace the word with our meaning, does the sentence still make sense?

Confirm or revise the inferred meaning together.

Step 6: Quick Application

Thumbs Check: Thumbs up/down:

• Ask: Did the context give us enough information to figure this word out? How might we confirm this meaning if we aren’t sure?

Repeat the routine with sheepish.

Step 1: Key Sentence

Display page 65 and direct students to read the sentence beginning with “Yessir.” and ending with “…headquarters there.” Display the key sentence from the text with the target word highlighted.

• “I managed to look sheepish.”

Read the sentence aloud.

• Say: Our focus word is sheepish. We’re going to use the words and sentences around it to figure out what it most likely means.

Step 2: Surrounding Sentences

Display page 65 and direct students to reread the passage including the word sheepish beginning with “Could you tell me where Jay Mountain is?” and ending with “…headquarters there.”

• “Could you tell me where Jay Mountain is?” I asked as politely as I could. He pointed on down the road.

“Follow this road to that big hill over there. That’s it. Taking a walk?”

“Yessir.” I managed to look sheepish. “We’re playing army and I’m supposed to report to headquarters there.”

Briefly review plot details to provide further context.

• Ask: Why does Ponyboy want to find the mountain?

  • He is looking for the church, so he and Johnny can hide and avoid being caught after Johnny killed Bob.

• Say: As we reread, listen for words or ideas that help explain what is happening or describe the word more clearly.

Step 3: Identify Context Clues 

Say these Directions: After reading the key sentence and surrounding sentence, work with a partner to answer:

• What is the author describing in this part of the text?

  • How Ponyboy wants to look and sound to the man

• Which words or phrases help explain the target word?

  • politely, Yessir, managed

• Do the surrounding sentences:

  • Explain the word?

  • Give an example?

    • Ponyboy says “Yessir” and talks to the man politely. These examples of how he acts show that sheepish could mean polite.

  • Show how a character feels or reacts?

    • The sentences show that Ponyboy wants to act as if he is just playing a game with his friends. He doesn’t want the man to suspect him. Sheepish could mean innocent or playful. He also sounds a little embarrassed to have to ask. Sheepish could mean embarrassed.

Cold call pairs to name the exact words they used as clues.

Annotate or underline those clues on the displayed text.

Step 4: Infer a Meaning

• Ask: Based on these clues, what does the word most likely mean in this text?

Accept approximate but text-supported meanings (e.g., innocent, nice).

Refine student language as needed to increase precision (e.g., nice; Is Ponyboy nice in a way that shows confidence or in a way that shows shyness?).

Step 5: Test the Meaning in Context

Substitute the inferred meaning back into the key sentence. (e.g., “I managed to look innocent.”)

• Ask: If we replace the word with our meaning, does the sentence still make sense?

Confirm or revise the inferred meaning together.

Tell students that this vocabulary will be further analyzed in this lesson's text analysis work.

• Say: Explain to a partner how context clues helped you to understand the meaning of the word.

Connection to Today’s Learning

• Say: These words describe how the characters act toward others and how they want others to see them. In this lesson, we’ll consider how the author develops characters through first-person narration, dialogue, and word choices.

Part A: Analyze How Change Impacts Characters: Text: The Outsiders, Chapter 4 (RL.7.3, RL.7.6) (20 minutes)

Jigsaw Reading, Part 1

Introduce the “jigsaw reading” routine. Remind students they have experience annotating and answering text-dependent questions. They will use that experience in this activity.

Model

Display page 61 and direct students to read the section beginning with “I hated to worry Sodapop…” and ending with “…getting us out of town.” Explain that you will use these text details to answer the question “What does Ponyboy’s reaction tell us about his conflicted relationship to Darry?”

• Say: Remember that we can learn more about Ponyboy by paying attention to how his first-person narration reveals his inner thoughts. Here, Ponyboy says, “I was too tired to convince myself I was being mean and unreasonable.” This shows me that Ponyboy understands it is “mean and unreasonable” to make Darry worry. The traumatic event may have helped Ponyboy consider his importance to Darry. But he talks himself out of letting Darry know what happened. How does he talk himself out of it? (by saying it wouldn’t be fair to Dally) It sounds like he’s torn between two impulses: showing he cares about Darry and keeping his distance from Darry.

Model how to summarize a response by rephrasing the question and including text evidence in the response.

• Say: I could summarize this analysis by saying: Ponyboy’s reaction shows that he knows he’s important to Darry because he feels “I was being mean and unreasonable” to disappear without letting Darry know why. He is conflicted between showing care for Darry and keeping Darry from getting angry.

Say these Directions: With your group, respond to questions about a section of the reading. Then, take turns sharing your questions and answers with other students who analyzed a different section.

Find your assignment and the following text-dependent questions below to analyze. After reading, discuss the questions and summarize your answers.

Section 1: Read page 59 beginning with “He appeared in a few minutes…” until page 62 “...We ran into the darkness.”

Section 2: Read page 62 beginning with “We crouched in the weeds…” until the end of page 62 “...with a gun lying next to my hand.”

Section 3: Read page 63 beginning with “I was hardly awake…” until page 64 ”Maybe I’m just dreaming…”

Section 4: Read page 65 beginning with “It was only last night…” until the end of the chapter.

• Section 1: How does Dally show empathy to Ponyboy and Johnny? How does this impact your understanding of Dally’s character?

  • Dally shows empathy by giving them dry clothes, money, and a plan that makes them feel more secure. He also listens to them and doesn’t judge them. His actions help me understand why members of the gang look up to and admire Dally—because he is loyal to them even at risk to himself.

• Section 2: How do Ponyboy’s thoughts on the train show his perspective of Johnny’s actions? How does the author’s word choice reveal this perspective?

  • Ponyboy reflects on how Johnny’s actions contrast with the person he knows Johnny to be. He still believes that Johnny “wouldn’t hurt a living thing on purpose.” The author chooses the words “on purpose” to show that Ponyboy believes Johnny didn’t plan to kill Bob or wish Bob harm. However, Ponyboy also comes to understand the seriousness of their situation. The author uses the phrases “killed someone” and “taken a human life” to emphasize that Ponyboy is considering the morality of what Johnny did, not just the legal consequences.

• Section 3: How does Ponyboy’s view of his future change? How does this change impact his sense of identity and belonging?

  • Right now, Ponyboy thinks that he and Johnny will have to hide for the rest of their lives. Previously, he understood who he was and what his life might be like; now, the future is unknown and unpredictable. As he considers never seeing his family and community again, he realizes he will lose his sense of belonging, and that this loss will change who he is. The gang has formed an important part of his identity.

• Section 4: Why do you think the author included Ponyboy’s memories of the times he went to church?

  • I think the author included this scene to show more about the bond between Ponyboy and Johnny. Ponyboy mentions that he and Johnny were the only ones who liked going to church. Now that Ponyboy and Johnny have been through a traumatic event together, they may learn more about each other, and their bond may become more important to the story.

Note that Sections 3 and 4 have some overlap; students in each group will analyze different questions.

Circulate and provide support during student discussion.

Part B: Share and Present (RL.7.6) (10 minutes)

Jigsaw Reading, Part 2

Say these Directions: Take turns sharing your response to your section questions with peers. Restate the question before summarizing your answers when you are sharing. Ask questions about the answers you hear shared.

Have other group members listen and record the question and at least one “takeaway” detail they learned from each group member’s answer, using the Jigsaw Worksheet graphic organizer to record the Question and Key Takeaways.

Say these Directions: Respond to this prompt in your group:

• What did you learn from someone else that you wouldn’t have caught? How does this detail affect your understanding of the story?

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

Have students reflect on how a character’s actions reveal their values during a crisis using text evidence. Use responses to assess understanding of character perspective and empathy.

Reflection

Say these Directions: Respond to this reflection prompt in two or three sentences, using what you learned in the class discussion and evidence from the text. Include one explicit value word (e.g., loyalty/safety/family/identity/belonging) in your response.

• Ask: Choose a character in Chapter 4 and explain how they show what matters most to them during a crisis. How does this moment help you understand the character’s perspective or empathize with them?

  • Optional Sentence Starter: “[Character] shows that what matters most to him is ____. He shows that ____ matters by ____. This moment helps me [understand/empathize with]him because . . .”

    • Ponyboy shows that loyalty to Johnny matters most to him because he chooses to leave town with Johnny rather than turning Johnny in or returning to his own family. When he says, “I realized what we were in for,” his use of “we” suggests that he is in as much trouble as Johnny, even though Ponyboy didn’t commit the crime. This moment helps me understand him because it shows his conflicting feelings—he feels guilty, but he also wants to support Johnny.

If time allows, have students share what they wrote with a partner.

Instruct students to respond to the following prompt in their Journal:

• Based on your knowledge of the plot and characters, what do you think will happen next to Ponyboy and Johnny? What do you think they might learn about each other and themselves?