The Outsiders Study Guide Packet for Honors ELA 8
Every Friday will be a workday after we go over SAT: You may either read or work on your packets at that
time.
Packet is due with the following completed on
and we will test on that day as well
Comprehension Questions must be answered on a piece of lined paper, written neatly, and in complete
sentence.
Packet Pages:
Anticipation Guide
10
Characterization Chart
10
Simile's and Metaphors
10
Comprehension Questions
20
Quotation Activity
10
Chicago Shooting Article
10
Tic Tac Toe Assignment
30
Final Grade will consist of 100 points for Notebook/ Packet and 100 points for Exam
Notebook Grade (100 Points)
Exam (100 points)
= Final Grade/ Comments (200 Points)
The Outsiders: Ant icipation Guide
Directions: Below is a series of statements. Circle the response that most closely indicates how you
feel about the statement, then explain you r answer using complete sentences.
1. You can tell a lot about a person by the clothes he/she wears.
Strongly Disagree
Disagree
Agree
Strongly Agree
Explain:
2. Being street smart is more important than being book smart.
Strongly Disagree
Disagree
Agree
Strongly Agree
Explain:
3. In spite of outward differences, people want the same things: love, acceptance, and respect.
Strongly Disagree
Disagree
Agree
Strongly Agree
Explain:
4. Sometimes murder is justifiable (necessary, defensible).
Strongly Disagree
Disagree
Agree
Strongly Agree
5. You can recognize Intelligent people by the way they look.
Strongly Disagree
Disagree
Agree
Strongly Agree
Explain:
Explain:
6. Teenagers everywhere face the same problems.
Strongly Disagree
Disag ree
Agree
Strongly Agree
Explain:
7. It's easy to form opinions about people without getting to know them.
Strongly Disagree
Explain:
Disagree
Agree
Strongly Agree
8. Most people pick friends who have similar interests and backgrounds.
Disagree
Agree
Strongly Agree
Strongly Disagree
Explain:
9. People from different groups/ backgrounds are treated different in society (in school, while in
public, by the police, etc.).
Agree
Strongly Agree
10. Loyalty is extremely important between or among friends.
Agree
Strongly Disagree
Disagree
Strongly Agree
Strongly Disagree
Disagree
Explain:
Explain:
11. You can tell a lot about a person by the friends he/she has.
Disagree
Agree
Strongly Disagree
Strongly Agree
Explain:
12. Everyone has felt like an outsider at one time or another.
Disagree
Agree
Strongly Disagree
Explain:
Write about a time that you felt like an "outsider."
Strongly Agree
CHARACTERIZATION CHART
Definition: Characterization is the method an author uses to acquaint the reader with the characters. Authors
typically reveal the personality traits of their characters in the following ways:
• Narrator's statements- descriptions of the character's physical traits and personality (telling)
Methods
of
character
-ization
Johnny
Darry
Sodapop
Ponyboy
Name
•
•
•
•
Character's own actions- what the character does (showing)
Character's own speech & thoughts -what the character says (showing)
Other characters' actions & reactions to the character (showing)
Other characters' speech about or in response to the character (showing)
Physical Description
Personality Traits
Social/Environmental
Influences
Characterization Method
Marcia
Cherry Valance
Steve
Two-Bit
Dally
Name
Physical Description
Personality Traits
Social/Environmental
Influences
Characterization Method
Greasers
The Socs
Name
Physical Description
Personality Traits
Social Environmental
Influences
Characterization Method
Similes and Metaphors in The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
Identify a simile or metaphor and fill in the chart completely
Phrase/ Page No.
Literal Meaning
Figurative Meaning
Quotation Activity
Directions: Use the quotes below to help you interpret deeper meaning. Explain each quote completely
based on your background knowledge and information collected while reading. What does each quote
say about the character? IS this character interaction normal? (RL. 8.3)
1. Ponyboy: "I lie to myself all the time. But I never believe me."- pg 18
2. Johnny to Pony: "Stay gold Ponyboy"- page 148
3. Pony to Cherry:" It's Okay... We aren't in the same class. Just don't forget that some of us watch the
sunsets too." Pg 46
4. Ponyboy: "What kind of world is it where all Ihave to be proud of is a reputation for being a hood and
greasy hair? I don't want to be a hood..." pg 132- read the rest of the quote before writing about it.
5. Ponyboy: "It wasn't only jealousy- Darry had a right to be jealous; he was ashamed to be on our
side ..." pg 143-make sure you read the entire quote before responding.
Now find 5 significant quotes of your own and explain why you think they were significant. Did they
change the story? Did they move the action along? Did they provoke a decision? Don't forget your MLA
citations.
Significance: ------------------------------
Quote Two:
_
Significance: ------------------------------
Quote Three:
Significance:
Quote Four:
Significance:
Quote Five:
_
_
_
_
_
Significance: ------------------------------
The Outsider's Questions by Chapter
Directions: Read the story closely to determine what the text says explicitly. Make logical
inferences from it and support specific evidence that supports your conclusions. There are not a
lot of questions for each chapter, so make sure your answers are detailed. (RL. 8.1)
Chs. 1-2
1. Why do you think Ponyboy loves going to the movies? What do the movies do for him?
2. What are the dynamics of Ponyboy's family? Specify Darry and Soda.
3. What do the Greasers give Johnny that he doesn't get at home?
4. What is the conflict between the Greasers and the Socs?
5. Give me one line that would accurately characterize the Greasers on a whole. Do the same
for the Soc's.
Chs. 3-4
1. Why does Ponyboy feel bad when he talks about his homelife to Johnny?
2. Why is Cherry attracted to a Greaser? What qualities stand out to her over her own Soc's?
Cite the specific example stating the difference-use your MLA format I
3. According to Bob what is the difference between the two groups?
Chs. 5-6
1. Why do the boys do upon arrival at the church and why?
2. Why can't Ponyboy confide in anyone about the "sunrise and clouds" and stuff?
3. How does Johnny feel when he finds out his parents aren't looking for him?
4. Why doesn't Dallas want to go see Johnny in the hospital?
Chs. 7-8
1.Why do you think most of the adults are unaware of the separation between the groups of
people in their town?
2. Why is Soda so worried when Ponyboy tells him of his dream the other night?
3. What does Pony realize when he listens to Randy and Cherry talk about Bob?
4. Why isn't Randy showing up at the rumble that night?
Chs. 9-10
1. Why does Randy come to visit Pony before the hearing?
2. What is significant about Ponyboy threatening the Socs with a broken bottle?
3. What is the subject of Ponyboy's theme for ELA class? How do you know? What literary
technique is featured here?
4. Why can't Dally accept Johnny's death and what is the result of that?
5. Why does Ponyboy collapse the night of the rumble?
6. What does the nurse give Ponyboy from Johnny and what is the significance behind it?
7. What does Ponyboy do with the broken glass bottle that shows Two-Bit that he won't get
tough- why is that important?
8. What is the subject of Ponyboy’s theme for English class? How do you know? What literary
technique is featured there?
Outsiders -Chapters 5,6, and 7
In Chapter Five, Ponyboy recites a poem by Robert Frost. What is the significance of
this poem and how does it relate to the novel? Use specific words and lines from the
poem to analyze.
Why was Ponyboy nervous at church?
Why did Johnny compare Dally to the southern gentlemen in Gone With the Wind?
After reading Chapter Seven, respond to the following prompt in your Journal.
What is the definition of a hero? Are Ponyboy and/or Johnny heroes? Why or why not?
Shooting of 13 at park puts Chicago back in spotlight
By Peter Nickeas and Jeremy Gorner, Chicago Tribune
Sep. 23, 2013 1:05 AM
A shooting victim being ta ken from the Cornell Square Park's basket ball cou rts, near the i ntersection of 50th
and Wood i n Chicago, Sept. 19, 2013. A gunman opened fi re du ri ng a pickup basket ba ll game, wounding 13
people.
CHICAGO-A gunman with a military-grade assault rifle opened fire on a pickup basketball game
in a Chicago neighborhood late Thursday, injuring 13 people and pulling the city back into the
spotlight for its epidemic of gun violence.
The mass shooting-which counted a 3-year-old boy among its victims-prompted Mayor Rahm
Emanuel to cut short an East Coast fundraising trip and fly back to Chicago on Friday. Before
the mayor's plane had landed, both international and local press accounts already were questioning
whether the city had reached a new level of lawlessness given the type of gun used and the number
of people wounded.
Shell casings found around the blood-soaked basketball courts at Cornell Square Park in the city's
Back of the Yards neighborhood were the kind typically fired from AK-47 rifles and rarely found in
gang attacks on the city's South and West sides. Though gun violence long has plagued impoverished
neighborhoods here, offenders almost never use military-style weapons.
"It's a miracle there has been no fatality," Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy said at a news
conference Friday. "Illegal guns, illegal guns, illegal guns drive violence . . . . A military-grade weapon
1
on the streets of Chicago is simply unacceptable."
The park is in a gang-infested area, but not in a so-called impact zone flooded by officers to deter
crime, McCarthy said. The nearest zones arc three blocks to the north and three blocks to the
south, leaving Cornell Square as a no man's land protected only by occasional patrols and an 11
p.m. curfew.
About 45 minutes before the park's closing time, at least one gunman walked to the basketball
court on West 51st Street and opened fire, police said. The 13 people hit included both the pick-up
game's players and spectators, all of whom are expected to survive.
Kevin Gordon, 31, said he was talking to his cousin when he was shot in the buttocks and fell to
the ground.
"It was the longest seconds of my life. It felt like forever," Gordon said. "I was about to run but I
couldn't. I could feel 'em whizzing by me. Then it stopped. I looked up and everything was over
with. I'm like I'm hit. ' I looked around; it was like everybody was hit."
Three-year-old Deonta Howard was shot near the ear and the bullet exited through his cheek,
according to police and relatives. His family said the boy will need plastic surgery.
"They shot my baby with a gun that's bigger than him," said his mother Shamarah Leggett. "It's
out of control."
Relatives said the boy's uncle, Jerome wood, was fatally shot in Chicago's Woodlawn neighborhood
over the Labor Day weekend.
"This gun violence has to stop," Leggett said. "It has to. My baby is only 3. How is he shot in the
face with an army gun? Where are they getting army guns from?"
Police believe the shooting stemmed from an ongoing dispute between the Black P. Stones and
Gangster Disciples, though neither claims the park as turf, a source said. It was not known if
any of the victims were the intended targets. Authorities do not have anyone in custody and are
currently reviewing police cameras mounted nearby. There could be as many as three offenders,
officials said.
The first paramedics on the scene found more than a dozen people lying across the rust-colored
court. One person lay near a bicycle that was on its side. A pair of white gym shoes were left near
an out-of-bounds line. Ambulances continued to arrive for nearly a half hour after the shootings as
wounded people-including a 15-year-old boy and a 17-ycar-old girl-were carried out on stretchers.
About 60 police officers converged on the park and crime lab investigators combed the scene.
Mario Campbell, who was shot three times in the abdomen, had been worried about gang conflicts
2
in the past week, his mother Diane Cade said. The 25-year-old aspiring cook stayed inside most of
the week but went to the park with friends to watch the basketball game.
"Out here it's hard for a boy, no matter what you try to do with your life, no matter how you try
to change . . . it's hard," Cade said.
McCarthy repeatedly refused to address whether the shooting blemishes the city's reputation or
the toll on his department's efforts to curb gun violence.
"Every time somebody is shot in this city, it's a setback," McCarthy said. "But this is not a problem
particular to the city of Chicago."
The incident appeared problematic enough for Emanuel to cancel a meeting with Obama administration Cabinet secretaries Friday and fly back to Chicago. The mayor had traveled to D.C. on
Thursday to raise money for his campaign fund at an event that evening.
Upon his return, Emanuel spent 40 minutes at Mount Sinai Hospital, where he spoke with Deonta's
mother. The boy, who remains in critical condition, was sedated and being prepared for surgery
during the visit. The mayor did not speak with reporters, but later attended a prayer vigil where
he urged residents to live by a "moral code."
"The parks in the city of Chicago belong to the families of the city of Chicago. The streets of the
city of Chicago belong to the families of Chicago. The front stoops of our homes belong to the
families of the city of Chicago," he told the crowd. "You go out there and you enjoy our city."
The shooting came just days after the FBI released crime data showing that Chicago had more
murders than New York in 2012. McCarthy argued Friday that the statistics had been known
publicly for more than nine months and did not reflect the progress made in the city, where the
murder rate has dropped by 20 percent over the past year.
But Alderman Willie Cochran, a retired police sergeant whose redrawn ward will include Cornell
Square in 2015, acknowledged the shootings landed a damaging blow against the city's crime-fighting
efforts.
"It's a setback because we've been focusing so much attention on suppressing crime," he said. "If
you look at where we were last year and where we are this year, it shows that. But the perception
of crime is greater than the crime itself."
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Honors: The Outsiders Assessment Tic Tac Toe
Directions: Choose 3 assignments to complete. You must create a tic tac
toe u s i n g t h e c e n t e r s q u a r e !
Create a movie
Create a brochure,
soundtrack.
Book of Poetry- Write at PowerPoint, blog, or web
Pick 4 important scenes
least 4 poems about
page on the themes,
and choose songs from
how you view the world. characters, setting, and plot that era to include in the
Use multiple
of The Outsiders.
movie version. For each,
examples of figurative
describe the scene, the
language.
characters involved, and
why the song is
appropriate.
Create a cause and
effect diagram,
explaining how each
event of the book
caused other events to
occur. What might have
happened had one of the
events not occurred?
Choose an event to
change, and rewrite the
events that occurred
because of that change.
Stay in the character
and general direction of
the movie.
SAT Book. Reviewmust include 10 SAT
words and have textual
evidence to back up your
claims.
Compare and Contrast
Venn with summer
reading. Write a well
written comparison
between the two as well.
Make sure to mention the
theme, plot, conclusion
and your feelings about the
novels.
Design a Wanted Poster
for Pony or Johnny.
Include: photo, crime
committed, physical
description, contact info,
known associates and
reward
Create a movie poster for a
modern day remake of The
Outsiders.
Place celebrities of today in
the roles of Ponyboy, Dally,
Soda, Darry, Johnny, Cherry,
Marcia, Bob and Randy.
On the back of your poster,
explain how these actors you
chose fit the characters for
which you placed them.
Include showtimes and dates.
Be creative, neat and
colorful.
Pretend you are a costume
designer for a theatrical
production of The Outsiders.
Draw accurate costumes for
Ponyboy, Darry, Johnny,
Dally, Soda, Cherry and Bob.
Each drawing must be on an
8 ½ by 11 page and colored.
On the back of each drawing
explain why you choose that
outfit and in which scene the
character would wear it.