Lesson 8: The Outsiders, Evidence-Based Paragraph Writing

Remind students that they have discussed themes or “big ideas” in The Outsiders. Have students volunteer some theme words they remember. Draw attention to any ideas related to belonging, community, or relationships. Review that one major theme of the text is the importance of feeling like you belong to a community.

Turn-and-Talk

Say these Directions: Turn and talk to develop brief, one-to-two-sentence responses to the following question

• Ask: What helps someone feel they belong to a group, family, school, or community? How does this help them feel they belong?

  • I think people feel like they belong to a group if they have something in common with the other group members, such as a shared interest or experience. This helps them feel they belong because they have a topic they can talk about with others and feel understood.

Then lead students in a quick whole-class discussion of the question. Record ideas on the board or in a shared virtual space.

As you take responses, point out ideas that relate to experiences, relationships, and the way people are seen by others. (Ex. spending time with people and living with them, such as with a family, develops relationships; outward signs of belonging, like a sports team uniform, help others see you as a group.)

Transition:

• Say: Today, you will read an informational article about belonging and identity to develop your background knowledge of these topics. As you read, think about what helps you feel like you belong to a group and what helps Ponyboy feel like he belongs to a group. Our goals are to collect evidence that helps us respond to questions about The Outsiders and to use this evidence to write a paragraph answering the questions.

Guide students in expanding a Kernel Sentence by generating and answering questions. Model the process, then support partner and independent practice to develop clearer, more detailed ideas.

Sentence Expansion

Expanding a Kernel Sentence

Display and read aloud the following kernel sentence:

• Groups affect identity.

Say these Directions: Use question words like who, what, when, where, why, and how to create questions about your kernel sentence. Write these questions on the lines below. Then, choose one question to answer. Use your answer to turn your kernel sentence into a longer, more detailed sentence that expresses the idea clearly.

Forming Questions

Model identifying a “who/whose” question.

• Say: One question we could ask is: Whose identities do groups affect?

Present the word what.

• Ask: What could you ask beginning with “What” to learn more about the ideas in the sentence?

  • What kinds of groups affect identity? What effect does a group have on someone’s identity?

Repeat with when, where, why, and/or how until students have identified several questions. As needed, guide students to vary the wording of their questions.

• When does joining a group/not being in a group affect someone’s identity? Where do important groups form? Why is being in a group important to identity? How do groups affect the way people see themselves?

Turning Answers into Expanded Sentences

Select one question and model rewriting the sentence based on its possible answers:

• Say: We could answer “Whose identities do groups affect?” by writing “Groups affect the identities of the people who belong to them.”

Say these Directions: Work with a partner to choose a question from the list and write an expanded sentence that answers the question. Then, choose another question from the list and repeat the activity independently

As time allows, have students share their partner and independent work.

• As needed, remind students that the goal is not to find the “correct” answer but to describe an idea more clearly and specifically. The same question could be used as a basis for multiple expanded sentences that do not provide the exact same “answer.”

  • Being in a group can help people understand more about themselves.

  • A group affects your identity when you feel like you belong.

  • Groups that affect identity can form in schools and other communities.

  • Being in a group affects identity because people want to act like other group members.

Part A: Planning an Evidence-Based Paragraph: Explanatory Writing (RL.7.1, RL.7.2, RL.7.3, RI.7.1, SL.7.1.a) (15 minutes)

Explain to students that they will be reading an opinion article about how groups affect identity. Then, they will use ideas from the article and from their own knowledge of 1960s culture and The Outsiders to write a paragraph about Ponyboy’s feelings of belonging. Encourage them to consider how their expanded sentences apply to the article and to The Outsiders.

Think-Pair-Share

Say these Directions: With a partner, review the article “What Is Social Identity?” Then, discuss the following questions and refine your evidence before a whole-class discussion. Cite specific evidence from the article and The Outsiders in your responses.

• Ask: How does the article help you understand the relationship between identity and belonging?

  • The article explains that people can have social identities based on their relationships to others, such as family members. It helps me understand how the relationships we form with other people affect who we think we are.

• Ask: How do you think Ponyboy would describe his social identities? How do these identities affect the way he acts?

  • I think Ponyboy would describe himself as a greaser, a gang member, and a younger brother. These identities affect his behavior because he looks out for members of his group, such as Johnny, and he believes that many of them look out for him. The support of his group gives him more confidence.

Ask: Consider what you learned about class divisions in the 1960s. How do you think class divisions affected people’s social identities?

• I learned that many people who lived in poverty in the 1960s were from rural areas. People’s social identities may have been affected by where they lived, especially if they lived in a rural area and experienced poverty. They may have felt distant from people who lived in other areas or favored those from their own area.

Say these Directions: Read the following prompt:

• Using Chapters 1–2 and your knowledge of class divisions in the 1960s, what specific experiences help Ponyboy feel he belongs to his group—and what holds him back from feeling that way?

In the informational article, you learned how people can form social identities. For this prompt, think about how Ponyboy forms his social identity.

You will write an evidence-based paragraph in response to the prompt, using examples from the first two chapters of The Outsiders and keeping in mind what you know about class divisions in the 1960s.

• Say: Before you gather evidence, look closely at the prompt and underline the exact words you must answer fully and accurately. Then, in your notes, list three unit words you can use in your paragraph to make your explanation precise, such as belonging, identity, social class, social divide, perspective, or stereotype. These words will help you explain your ideas more clearly than general words like things or stuff.

• Ask: Which words in the prompt tell you exactly what your paragraph needs to explain, and which unit words could help you answer precisely?

  • The words specific experiences, belongs to his group, and holds him back show that I need to explain both why Ponyboy feels belonging and why he feels disconnected. I could use the unit words identity, belonging, and social class to make my answer more exact.

• Ask: What do you think evidence-based means?

  • using details from a text; providing support, or evidence, for a conclusion

Clarify that text evidence strengthens an explanation by providing objective, or fact-based, support for an idea.

Say these Directions: Label the T-chart with the following labels:

• Left-hand column: What experiences help Ponyboy feel he belongs to a group?

• Right-hand column: What experiences keep Ponyboy from feeling he belongs to a group?

Use the chart to list evidence from the text that helps you answer each question in the prompt.

Model providing an example for each column:

• Say: In Chapter 1, Ponyboy explains that “the word ‘greaser’ . . . is used to class all us boys on the East Side” (p. 2). (Explain that here, the author uses the word class as a verb. When you “class” someone, you sort them into a group.) This evidence shows me that greasers are identified with the side of town they live in. Ponyboy feels he belongs to a group, or that others see him as belonging to a group, because of where he lives.

Summarize the evidence in the left-hand column:

• Say: As Ponyboy tells the reader more about Greasers in Chapter 1, he explains how he is different from “most greasers.” He says that many greasers do things like steal or have gang fights, but he clarifies that “I don’t mean I do things like that” (p. 3). He tries to stay out of trouble. This evidence shows me that Ponyboy may feel different from others in his group. I think this might keep him from feeling a sense of belonging.

Summarize the evidence in the right-hand column.

• Say: This example can be used to examine how the author develops themes of belonging and identity in a nuanced way. Clarify that people may have reasons not to pursue experiences that create belonging. Positive traits—such as staying out of legal trouble—may keep someone from feeling similar to others in a group. (Students might connect this example to their own background knowledge about negative effects of peer pressure.)

Have students review their text annotations for Chapters 1 and 2 and briefly confer with a partner to generate their own examples of evidence for each column.

Bring the class back together and ask students to volunteer examples. Add ideas to the chart until you have several in each column.

If time allows, have the class brainstorm a brief list of what students learned about class divisions in the 1960s. Accept general topics and refine suggestions as needed to connect to ideas of identity and belonging. Guide students to make connections to The Outsiders as appropriate.

• Example: In the 1960s, some geographic areas of the country had higher levels of poverty than others. This means that people may have defined themselves based on both their economic class and where they lived.

  • Ask: Does Ponyboy define himself by the neighborhood where he lives? How is this identity related to his social class?

Part B: Write an Evidence-Based Paragraph (RL.7.1, RL.7.2, RL.7.3)

Writing Using Text Evidence

Say these Directions: Look at the following paragraph frame.

• Chapters 1 and 2 of The Outsiders show readers that Ponyboy feels both ______________ and ______________ his group. ______________ help(s) Ponyboy feel he belongs to the group. The text explains that ______________ and ______________. Additionally, ______________ However, ______________ keeps Ponyboy from feeling a sense of belonging. The text explains that ______________ and ______________. Also, ______________.

The first sentence of the paragraph is the topic sentence, where you will explain what the paragraph is about. Since the paragraph is about Ponyboy’s sense of belonging and his sense of not belonging, the topic sentence will address both ideas.

Model completing the first sentence:

• Say: Chapters 1 and 2 of The Outsiders show readers that Ponyboy feels both connected to and disconnected from his group.

• Explain: The words connected and disconnected help express the idea of belonging. Can you think of other words that express the same ideas that could fit in these blanks?

  • similar to/different from

• Say: Before I draft the rest of my paragraph, I return to the prompt and the words I underlined. I want to make sure I use the exact language the question is asking about, like belongs, holds him back, and specific experiences. I also want to use precise vocabulary we have learned in this unit, such as identity, belonging, and social class, when it helps me explain my idea more clearly. If I only use general words like things or problems, my explanation will sound vague. Precise, domain-specific words help my reader understand exactly what kind of experience I mean and how it shapes Ponyboy’s identity.

Model completing the second sentence using an example of evidence from the T-chart.

• Ex. Living on the East Side of Tulsa helps Ponyboy feel he belongs to a group. Chapter 1 of the text explains that people use the word “greaser” to describe “boys on the East Side” and that Ponyboy looks and dresses the same way as other boys in his neighborhood.

Point out and explain the transition word additionally.

• Say: Here, I can add more text-based evidence, or evidence from what I know about 1960s class divisions, to explain how Ponyboy feels a sense of belonging.

  • Ex. Additionally, in the 1960s, many people lived in neighborhoods with those of the same social class.

Point out and explain the transition word however.

• Say: Now I’m going to address the second part of the prompt, about what holds Ponyboy back from belonging or makes him feel disconnected.

Display the following transition’s chart:

Transitions: Addition, Contrast or Cause and effect

Model completing the final three sentences of the paragraph with an example or two from the other side of the T-chart, rewording as appropriate. This time, guide students to help you choose an example and appropriate text evidence.

• Ex: However, Ponyboy’s decision to stay out of legal trouble keeps him from feeling a sense of belonging. Chapter 1 explains that many greasers steal, fight, and commit crimes, but that Ponyboy tries not to do these things because he wants to continue living with his brothers. Also, Ponyboy knows his brother Darry will disapprove.

Say These Directions: Work with a partner to write your own evidence-based paragraph. You may use the paragraph frame, but you can change the wording, use your own transitions, or express ideas in your own way. Whether you use the frame or not, your paragraph should include:

• A topic sentence that addresses both questions in the prompt

• At least two uses of text-based evidence, one to address each question

• At least 2 transitions between sentences to create cohesion (e.g., “For example,” “In addition,” “However,” “As a result”)

Before you draft, look at the prompt again and underline the words you must answer fully and accurately. In your draft notes, list at least three unit vocabulary words you will use to make your explanation precise.

They can use ideas from the class chart or ideas they came up with in their partner work.

• Being a greaser gives Ponyboy in The Outsiders a strong sense of social identity, but in some ways, he feels he does not fully belong in the group. After Ponyboy is attacked by a group of Socs in Chapter 1, the other greasers make sure he is okay. Their support helps him feel protected, like he belongs. Two-Bit says any member of the gang will come with Ponyboy the next time he wants to go to the movies. On the other hand, the text also describes how none of the other members of the gang like movies and books the way Ponyboy does. He claims, “I’m different that way” (p. 2). Ponyboy would rather experience some of his interests by himself, and this difference makes him feel separate from the group.

Lesson 8 Writing Rubric: Evidence-Based Paragraph — Youth Culture & Social Divides

Writing prompt: Write an evidence-based paragraph responding to a question about youth culture, identity, or social divides in The Outsiders. Use a clear topic sentence, textual evidence, and an explanation connecting the evidence to your claim.

Have students briefly write about the importance of using text evidence. Use responses to assess understanding of explanatory writing.

Quick Write

Say these Directions: Write a response to this prompt in two to three sentences:

• When you write to explain an idea about a text, why is it important to include text-based evidence?

  • Text-based evidence makes writing more convincing. Readers can see an example of how the text proves an idea, and this example helps them understand and believe the idea.

Have students finish reading Chapter 3 of The Outsiders. [7.2 Lesson 7 ELA TE]