Finding Connection: The Outsiders

Lesson 4
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ELA

Unit 4

6th Grade

Lesson 4 of 26

Objective


Explain how specific scenes and lines of text fit into the overall structure of The Outsiders and move the plot forward.

Readings and Materials


  • Book: The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton  — Chapters 1-4

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Target Task


Writing Prompt

Return to page 34 and reread the conclusion of the flashback describing Johnny’s attack. How does this passage relate to the events of Chapter 4? Provide two pieces of evidence to support your answer.

Sample Response

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Key Questions


Close Read Questions

  • Place Chapters 1-4 on a “story mountain” and explain your reasoning for each placement using specific definitions of each part of a story structure. 

  • Which specific line in Chapter 4 below best signifies the moment the rising action of the story begins? Explain your answer. 

    a.   "A red haze filled my mind and I slowly relaxed" (p. 56).

    b.   "I killed him," he said slowly. "I killed that boy" (p. 56).

    c.   "But Johnny didn’t notice. He was asleep, too" (p. 67).

    d.   "But this church gave me a kind of creepy feeling. What do you call it? Premonition?" (p. 67)

  • What is the significance of the line on page 63 when Ponyboy says, “My dream’s come true and I’m in the country”? How does it connect back to earlier sections of the text? Provide evidence to support your answer.

Discussion Questions

  • How has Ponyboy’s perspective of Johnny and of himself changed in this chapter?

    OR

    Do you think that Johnny and Ponyboy have made the right decision to run away?

Exit Ticket

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Vocabulary


Text-based

premonition

n.

(p. 67)

a strong feeling that something (usually something bad) is about to happen

Academic

exposition

n.

the beginning of a story, in which the characters, setting, and context are introduced.

rising action

n.

the section of text that comes after the exposition, when the story begins to get complicated and the central conflict is introduced.

climax

n.

the turning point of a story when the tension and conflict become most intense, and often when a significant change occurs.

falling action

n.

the part of the story that comes directly after the climax when conflicts introduced earlier begin to be resolved.

conclusion/resolution

n.

the way a story ends, when any final plot points and conflicts are (generally) resolved.

foreshadowing

n.

a subtle warning or indication of a future event in a text;  a “hint” the author provides the reader that something (usually bad) is going to happen.

Homework


  • The Outsiders pp. 53-57.
  • Highlight or note down three lines from these pages that are the most vivid—that create the clearest images in your mind of what is happening in the scene.

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Common Core Standards


  • RL.6.5 — Analyze how a particular sentence, chapter, scene, or stanza fits into the overall structure of a text and contributes to the development of the theme, setting, or plot.

Supporting Standards

L.6.6
RL.6.1
RL.6.2
RL.6.4
RL.6.10
SL.6.1
SL.6.6
W.6.1
W.6.1.a
W.6.1.b
W.6.4
W.6.9
W.6.9.a
W.6.10
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Lesson Map

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