Lesson 40: Reflective Narrative, Planning and Pre-writing

Students prepare for writing by considering how themes in The Outsiders relate to their own experiences. They use the Think-Pair-Share routine to discuss their ideas with a partner.

Think-Pair-Share

Say these Directions: Throughout this unit, you have analyzed how Ponyboy changes and how themes involving identity, loyalty, and belonging develop over time. Today, you will begin writing your own narrative inspired by one of those themes. Review the writing prompt and identify a key theme you might consider using in your personal narrative.

Display the Prompt: Write a reflective narrative about a time when you felt like an outsider or about a moment when empathy helped you connect across a divide. Use vivid details, dialogue, and reflection to show your story, what you learned, and how you grew. End your narrative with an author's note: a short paragraph connecting your personal experience to The Outsiders and explaining how the novel helped you think differently about belonging, friendship, or family.

• Ask: What theme from The Outsiders has stayed with you the most? Why? Remember that there could be several different ways to respond to the question. Discuss it with a partner and then share your ideas.

  • The theme of belonging and empathy stood out because Ponyboy learns to see past group labels and connect with others, like when he and Cherry talk and realize they both see the same sunset.

Connection to Today’s Learning

• Say: We will think about how our ideas of the theme from the novel The Outsiders can help us start planning and pre-writing our narrative about the topic.

Lead students in an examination of an exemplar essay in preparation for their writing in the next activity of the lesson.

Say these Directions: Let’s look at an example of one way someone might respond to the prompt.

Display and Read Through an Exemplar

Display an exemplar narrative that responds to the prompt. Allow students some time to read it over.

The Decision

The locker room smelled like sweat and disinfectant, and the buzzing fluorescent lights made everything feel sharper than usual. I stood by my locker, pretending to organize my books while watching Marcus shove his math test into his binder. Everyone had seen him glance at his phone during the exam. No one had said anything.

Marcus glanced over at me. “You’re not going to tell, are you?” he asked, forcing a small laugh. His voice didn’t match his smile.

We had been friends since third grade. We had shared snacks, secrets, and enough inside jokes to fill a notebook. Loyalty meant standing by your friends. That’s what I had always believed. But as whispers drifted across the tiled floor, I realized that loyalty wasn’t as simple as I thought.

“Marcus,” I said quietly, “you know that wasn’t right.”

He slammed his locker. “It was one test. It’s not a big deal.”

The sound echoed down the hallway, and my heart thudded in my chest. I wanted to agree with him. I wanted to walk away and pretend I hadn’t noticed anything. It would have been easier. But I remembered how Ponyboy in The Outsiders struggles with what loyalty really means. Sometimes it means telling the truth, even when it hurts.

“I’m not going to tell,” I said slowly. His shoulders relaxed. “But you are.”

He blinked. “What?”

“You’re going to talk to Mr. Jenkins yourself,” I said. “I’ll go with you.”

For a second, he looked angry. Then he looked unsure. The hallway felt strangely quiet as we walked toward the classroom together. I didn’t know how this would end, but I knew that walking beside him was better than staying silent.

That afternoon, I learned something important about loyalty. It isn’t about protecting someone from every consequence. It’s about helping them face those consequences with support. Real loyalty takes courage. It means choosing what is right, even when it would be easier to stay quiet.

Author's Note:

Reading The Outsiders helped me think more deeply about what it means to belong and to be a true friend. When I faced this situation with Marcus, I felt the same pull that Ponyboy feels throughout the novel: the pressure to go along with your group, even when something feels wrong. Ponyboy learns that real loyalty isn't about blind agreement; it's about caring enough to be honest. My experience taught me the same thing. Empathy doesn't always mean making someone feel comfortable in the moment. Sometimes it means walking alongside them as they do something hard. That's what belonging really looks like.

Discuss How the Exemplar Fits the Prompt

Ask students to share their thoughts on how this example fits the prompt.

• Ask: Think about the details of the prompt for this assignment and the features of the exemplar narrative. In what ways does the exemplar respond to the prompt?

• It is a personal narrative about a moment when empathy helped the narrator connect across a conflict with a friend. It includes vivid details and dialogue, and it ends with an author's note that connects the experience to The Outsiders and reflects on what the writer learned about belonging and loyalty.

Call students’ attention to the Performance Task rubric on the second page of the handout.

Discuss How the Exemplar Fits the Rubric

• Ask: Choose one trait from the “Meets” column of the rubric. How does the example meet that criteria?

  • I picked the "Reflection & Author's Note" criterion. The exemplar meets this because it ends with a dedicated author's note paragraph that connects the narrator's personal experience to The Outsiders and explains what the writer learned about empathy and belonging — specifically, that empathy sometimes means walking alongside someone as they do something hard.

• Ask: Now look at the "Narrative & Story Development" criterion. Does the exemplar use details, dialogue, and reflection to show conflict and growth?

  • The narrative shows conflict when Marcus slams his locker and pushes back, and it shows growth in the final reflection paragraph, where the narrator explains what they learned about loyalty. The sensory detail of the fluorescent lights and the sound echoing in the hallway makes the experience feel real.

Connection to Today’s Learning

• Say: Thinking about this example and the ways it fits the prompt and rubric will help you when you are planning your own narratives. You can use the prompt and rubric as checklists to make sure that your plans include all the necessary components.

Review with students the key components that they need to include in their narrative, and the differences between topic, theme, and message. Model how to use a 3-Column Chart to organize ideas. Students then begin planning their narrative using the graphic organizer.

Part A: Pre-writing and Planning (W.7.3.b) (10 minutes)

Say these Directions: As you plan your narrative, make sure to remember that there are differences between topic, theme, and message in literature. Let’s begin by reviewing them.

• Ask: How would you define the word topic?

  • The topic of a book or narrative is what the text is about. The topic of the book, The Outsiders, is belonging.

• Ask: How would you define the word theme?

  • A theme is a big idea about or related to the topic. For example, one theme in The Outsiders is that a sense of belonging can grow when people have empathy for one another.

• Ask: How would you define the word message?

  • The message is the author's advice to readers, or the moral. The message in The Outsiders is that you should always show empathy to others, even if they are not part of your group.

• Say: When planning your narrative, you focus on a similar theme to one found in The Outsiders, even if the topic of your story is very different.

• Say: Although the narrative essay has a different topic than The Outsiders, such as handling a friend’s cheating, both texts share a similar theme of loyalty. The example’s message, that loyalty isn’t always about agreeing with your friend, and that demonstrating loyalty may involve uncomfortable choices, is also reflective of the experiences of the characters in The Outsiders.

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

Introduce the Pre-Writing Process and Set Goals

Explain that students are going to begin the process of pre-writing and planning their narratives. Present the Storyboard graphic organizer and ask students to begin planning their narratives by visualizing the major plot “scenes” in their narratives. and use the example narrative to show students how the chart should be used.

Say these Directions: Use the storyboard boxes to draw or jot down the key moments of your story in order, from the conflict to the turning point to the resolution. In each box, add a word or phrase to capture what is happening and how your character is feeling.

Part B: Outlining (W.7.3.b) (20 minutes)

Introduce the Outlining Process and Set Goals

Say these Directions: You will use this 3-column graphic organizer to help you outline your ideas. An outline can help you get through the writing phase more quickly and easily. Label the three columns: Theme, Characters, and Important Dialogue. Then complete the 3 column organizer. This will help you decide which ideas you want to adjust or change before the writing phase begins.

Instruct students to reflect on what they like the most about their outline so far, discuss it with a partner, and be prepared to share their thoughts with the class. 

Think-Pair-Share

Say these Directions: Take a minute to think about what you like most about your narrative so far, and why. Prepare to share your ideas with a partner, and then with the class.  

• So far, I like the dialogue in my narrative. It’s a good opportunity for me to explain how the characters should treat each other, and to highlight my theme.

Instruct students to reflect on the opening paragraphs of The Outsiders and then write a few sentences in their Journal in response to this prompt:

• How do the opening paragraphs of The Outsiders grab your attention?