Lesson 7: The Outsiders, Chapter 2

Have students take out The Outsiders with their annotations.

• Lesson 6 Homework: Students were instructed to write their initial thoughts about this prompt: How do characters in Chapter 2 challenge the stereotypes that others have about them?

Turn-and-Talk

Say these Directions: Briefly return to the Character Chart to gather more information about characters. Point out and define the words roguishly (used to describe Dally’s actions, p. 22) and scatterbrained (used to describe Two-Bit, p. 27). Add these words or variations (for example, roguish) to the Character Chart as descriptive adjectives.

• Ask: How do these vocabulary words help you learn more about the characters?

  • They help explain how Dally is confident in a way that might bother others and why Two-Bit may act in careless or thoughtless ways.

Say these Directions: Turn and talk with a partner to share your responses to the homework prompt.

• Ask: How do characters in Chapter 2 challenge the stereotypes that others have about them?

  • Cherry challenges Ponyboy’s stereotypes about Socs because she spends time at the drive-in and she enjoys talking to Ponyboy and Johnny. Ponyboy believes most Socs prefer to hang out elsewhere so they can avoid greasers, but Cherry seems interested in getting to know him.

Connection to Today’s Learning

• Say: Today, you’ll return to Chapter 2 and take a closer look at how characters confront the stereotypes they hold about each other, and how they connect in unexpected ways. You’ll explore how the author develops different characters’ points of view and builds themes about belonging and connection.

Morphology & Vocabulary

Target Words: incredulous, nonchalantly

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

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

• Ask: Have you seen the word incredulous before? Where?

Identify the Root: Underline the root cred in incredulous. Explain that cred comes from Latin credere, meaning “to believe” or “to trust.”

• Ask: Do you know any other word with the root cred? (incredible, credit)

Language Connection: In Spanish, creer means “to believe,” creencia means “belief,” and the root cred- connects to “belief” or “trust.” Similarly, crer in Portuguese means “to believe,” and crenca means “belief.” Noticing the shared root can help students remember that incredulous relates to belief.

Identify Affixes: Circle in- and -ous in incredulous. Review that the prefix in- can mean “not” or “opposite of.” (Ex. incorrect, invisible) The suffix -ous means “full of or having the quality of.” (Ex. dangerous, “full of danger”; famous, “having the quality of fame”)

• Ask: How does in- (not/opposite of) help you make sense of incredulous?

  • Not believing or trusting something; the opposite of believing/trusting

• Ask: How does -ous (full of/having the quality of) help you make sense of incredulous?

  • The quality of not believing something

Determine Meaning:

• Ask: Using what we know about in-/cred/-ulous, what do you think incredulous means?

  • Not being able to believe something

Review Textual Context: Remind students that the upcoming text excerpt comes from Chapter 2, p. 24. Dally comes to sit and watch the movie next to the girls. He hands them a Coke, telling them it might help them cool off.

Show the Text Excerpt: Read page 24 beginning with "She gave him an incredulous look;” until end of the sentence. (Chapter 2)

Verify Meaning Using Context Clues: Have students turn and quickly talk to a partner.

• Ask: What context clues, including your knowledge of the characters, help you confirm what incredulous might mean? 

  • Cherry is not able to believe that Dally is giving her a Coke after she’s already refused his offer; her action confirms this.

Build Word Relationships: Present incredulity next to incredulous.

• Ask: What is the relationship between incredulous and incredulity?

  • Incredulous is an adjective describing someone who does not believe something; incredulity is a noun describing the state of not believing something.)

Repeat the routine with nonchalantly.

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

• Ask: Have you seen the word nonchalantly before? Where?

Identify the Roots: Underline the root chalant in nonchalantly. Explain that chalant comes from Old French chaloir, meaning “to be concerned with” or “to care about.”

1. Ask: What does the word become if we remove the suffix?

   • nonchalant

Language Connection: The adjective nonchalant(e) is used in modern French with the same meaning. The English word is a loanword borrowed from French. Noting the French origin may help students understand the word’s pronunciation.

Identify Affixes: Circle non- and -ly in nonchalantly.

• Ask: Have you seen the prefix non- before? Do you know what it means? (not, opposite of) Do you know any other words with this prefix?

  • nonsense, nonfiction

• Explain or review that the suffix -ly means “like” or “having qualities of.” It is often used to turn an adjective into an adverb, as in nonchalant → nonchalantly.

• Ask: How does non- (not/opposite of) help you make sense of nonchalantly?

  • Not being concerned with something; not caring about something

Determine Meaning:

• Ask: Using what we know about non-/chalant/-ly, what do you think nonchalantly means?

  • In a way that shows you are not concerned or do not care

Show the Text Excerpt: “Marcia grinned at us. . . . ‘Y’all sit up here with us. You can protect us.’ . . . ‘Okay,’ I said nonchalantly, ‘might as well’” (Chapter 2, p. 25).

Verify Meaning Using Context Clues: Have students turn and quickly talk to a partner.

• Ask: What context clues, including your knowledge of the characters, help you confirm what nonchalantly might mean? 

  • Ponyboy is trying to sound like he doesn’t really care if he sits with the girls or not; he wants to appear relaxed and casual.

Build Word Relationships: Write nonchalance next to nonchalantly.

• Ask: What is the relationship between nonchalance and nonchalantly?

  • Nonchalance is a noun describing the state of acting casual and uncaring; nonchalantly is an adverb describing the action.)

Allow students to share their work. Once sharing is complete, affirm the connection.

Connection to Today’s Learning

• Say: We examined how the author uses the words incredulous and nonchalantly to express what the characters think and how they feel. The Outsiders is narrated from Ponyboy’s point of view, but we can learn about other characters’ points of view through their dialogue and actions. We can observe how their perspectives change. And we can use what we learn about the characters to understand big ideas the author is trying to communicate, or themes.

Transition the students into partnerships to engage with Chapter 2 of The Outsiders.

Part A: Analyze Point of View (RL.7.6) (20 minutes)

• Say: In fiction, a point of view is the perspective through which a story is told. It is how a narrator tells the story. The Outsiders is told from Ponyboy’s point of view. He tells readers his thoughts and feelings. But there are limitations to Ponyboy’s perspective. For instance, he holds stereotypes about Socs that are not always true. Events in the story challenge what he believes. The author uses dialogue to show other characters’ perspectives, and she uses narration to show how Ponyboy’s point of view changes as he interacts with others.

Model examining how point of view shows the author’s craft, or writing techniques, by reading aloud the Chapter 2 passage where Cherry and Ponyboy meet, beginning with “The girl looked at me” and ending with “‘That’s an original and lovely name.’” Pause periodically to annotate for point of view.

• Ask: From Ponyboy’s point of view, Cherry has no reason to like or trust him. He tells the reader he’s “half-scared of her,” based on what he knows about her. And he’s even more nervous when she asks his name. How does he expect Cherry to respond when he tells her? (by mocking him)

  • Ask: How does Cherry actually respond? (She compliments his name.)

Confirm with the class that the reader might be surprised by this, too. This is because Cherry’s reaction is not what the reader or Ponyboy expects. Explain that the author uses a combination of narration and dialogue to show how Ponyboy’s point of view shifts. Readers sense that although these characters are from different backgrounds, they may be growing comfortable with each other.

Think-Pair-Share

Say these Directions: With your partner, annotate two passages of dialogue from Chapter 2:

• First passage: beginning with “Cherry sighed in relief” and ending when Two-Bit enters and says, “Okay, greasers, you’ve had it” (pp. 25–27).

• Second passage: from “I had nearly forgotten that Cherry was listening to me” (p.34) until the end of Chapter 2

Annotate in response to the following questions. After you think independently about the questions, share and refine your ideas with a partner.

• Ask: How does the author show that Cherry and Ponyboy have different points of view?

  • During Ponyboy and Cherry’s dialogue, the author shows that they disagree about Dally: Cherry calls him “trash” and is rude to him, and Ponyboy and Johnny later defend him. This shows that Ponyboy’s point of view is shaped by his loyalty to the gang, and Cherry’s point of view is shaped by her negative experience with greasers.

• Ask: Which moments show characters from different backgrounds understanding one another or finding common ground?

  • Cherry is able to understand many things about Ponyboy and Johnny without being told; she knows that they both want to be seen as older than they are (sixteen), and she senses that although they’ve experienced violence, they are sensitive and kind. Cherry and Ponyboy are both aware that Johnny has been hurt and scared in the past.

• Ask: What surprises Ponyboy about Cherry? Why?

  • Ponyboy is surprised that Cherry doesn’t seem to mind being seen with him. He mentions that people stare at them because “you didn’t see a kid grease and a Socy cheerleader together often,” but Cherry barely notices. He discovers that she doesn’t care about their class differences as much as he thought she did.

• Ask: How does talking to Cherry begin to change Ponyboy’s ideas about Socs?

  • Before talking to Cherry, Ponyboy believed most Socs despised greasers and would attack them, given the chance. He calls them “a snarling, distrustful, bickering pack.” But Cherry is shocked to hear about how viciously the Socs attacked Johnny, and she seems compassionate toward Johnny, the way Ponyboy is. Ponyboy begins to think that some Socs may dislike violence and trouble as much as he does.

Part B: Identify Theme (RL.7.2) (10 minutes)

Keep students in pairs and remind them that Ponyboy’s changing perspective helps develop larger ideas in the text. Explain that themes are implied messages readers infer by analyzing details. Guide students to use their annotations in a Graffiti/Table Talk routine to identify emerging themes. Display a shared chart or digital board. Provide markers or writing utensils as needed.

Label the chart “Ideas Connected to Theme.”

Graffiti/Table Talk

Say these Directions: Write words that you think are connected to the “big ideas” or themes of the book. You can use your annotations about the events in Chapter 2 from Part A to help you find text evidence that supports these potential themes.

Model identifying a phrase connected to theme:

• Say: From exploring Cherry’s and Ponyboy’s different points of view and how they build a connection, I think connection to others might be an important theme.

Record “Connection” on the board. Then present more text evidence, and have students use it to identify a theme-related word:

• Ask: I remember that Johnny and Ponyboy defend Dally to Cherry and Marcia, and Ponyboy says, “You take up for your buddies, no matter what they do” (p. 26). This statement helped me understand that Ponyboy’s point of view is shaped by his feelings toward his friends. What big idea or theme do you think the author might be communicating here?

  • friendship, loyalty, belonging

Record students’ ideas and give pairs a few minutes to think of words, phrases, or sentences related to theme in the same way you modeled.

• Say: Discuss your ideas with your partner and then silently record them on the board.

After several ideas have been recorded, review and summarize the list. Model identifying a pattern:

• Say: I notice many of these ideas are related to overcoming stereotypes/learning new things about people.

Have students point out ideas that show this pattern and to summarize those patterns.

• Ask: Which ideas appeared most often? What text evidence supports these ideas?

Guide students in analyzing how characters’ perspectives change by selecting and discussing key quotes. Facilitate structured partner discussions to deepen understanding of character development using text evidence.

Think-Pair-Share

Say these Directions: Choose and discuss a quote from Chapter 2 that shows one character seeing another in a new, unexpected way. The quote can be in narration or dialogue.

Choose your own quote and share it with a partner using this sentence frame:

• “This quote shows that [character’s] perspective changes because ______. It helps me understand [character] better by ______.”

Then, your partner will respond by saying:

• “I agree/disagree that[ character] ______ because ______.”

Use specific evidence from the text in your response.

• “Things are rough all over.” This quote shows that Ponyboy’s perspective changes because he never thought wealthier people had it “rough.” It helps me understand Ponyboy better because I see how his life might have made him think he had it worse than others; I think that Ponyboy might learn more about other people’s lives because he seems to be curious about Cherry.

Model the process using this Chapter 2 quote: “I’ll bet you think the Socs have it made. The rich kids, the West-side Socs. I’ll tell you something, Ponyboy, and it may come as a surprise. We have troubles you’ve never even heard of.” (p.34)

• Say: When Cherry says this to Ponyboy, his perspective changes. Even though Socs have advantages he doesn’t, they might also have problems that he doesn’t have to deal with. He’s never considered this before. This helps me understand how Ponyboy’s view of the world is limited; he may believe that wealth takes away all of someone’s problems.

Have students read the first half of Chapter 3. Instruct students to take notes in their Journal on the following prompt:

As you read, annotate the text for the following:

• How do the greasers act as a family or community?