8th Grade Pre-AP English
Summer Reading Assignment
Each incoming Pre-AP 8th grader in the WFISD is required to complete a summer reading assignment in
order to better prepare for the upcoming school year.
You will need to purchase the novel, The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton. Please purchase the novel as soon
as possible, so it is easy to find. You can find the novel at Hastings, Books-A-Million, online at
Amazon.com, online at Barnes and Noble or at Barnes and Noble in the DFW area.
Attached to this letter is 1) a set of charts containing questions to guide you through the reading of the
novel. You must answer four questions for each set of charts, for a total of twenty answered questions.
2) Also attached is a list of extra credit questions. Answering these questions is optional, but should
you chose to complete them, they are due on the first day of class. 3) Attached is a list of AP terms
you must learn over the summer. Using 3 x 5 note cards, you must make a flashcard for each word on
the list. Punch a hole in the upper left-hand corner of each card and connect them with a metal binder
ring. You will be tested over these words as well as the novel itself within the first two weeks of school.
In summation,
on the first day of class, you will turn in:

reading guide charts

flashcards

extra credit work (should you opt to complete it)
Be ready for a quiz over the terms and a test over the book within
the first two weeks of school.
Have a great summer!
The Outsiders Reading Guide Questions
Choose 4 questions to answer for each chart. You must include a quote and page number in support of each
answer.
Chapters 1-2
Describe Darry, Soda, and
Ponyboy.
How are Greasers different
from Socs?
List and describe the members
of Ponyboy’s gang?
Describe happened to Pony on
his way home from the movies?
Who did Dally, Johnny, and
Ponyboy meet at the Nighly
Double? Describe these
characters.
Contrast Dally’s approach to
Cherry and Marcia with
Pony’s. Then contrast
Cherry’s response to Dally
with her response to Pony.
Why were Cherry and Marcia
alone at the drive-in?
Pony was somewhat surprised
that he was getting along
with Cherry and Marcia.
Explain why.
Describe what had happened to
Johnny prior to the time of
this story.
Answer
Page number and quote
Chapters 3-4
After talking with Cherry, what
reason does Pony finally give
from the separation between
Greasers and Socs?
Describe Cherry and Marcia’s
boyfriends.
Discuss why the Socs and
Greasers didn’t fight during
their first encounter after the
movie?
Why was Pony late coming home
from the Nightly Double?
Discuss what caused Pony to
“run away”?
Describe what happened to Johnny
and Ponyboy at the park?
To whom do Johnny and Pony turn
for help after Johnny killed
Bob? Why?
Explain why Johnny and Pony go
to Jay’s Mountain.
Answer
Page number and quote
Chapters 5-6
Explain why Pony was upset
about getting a haircut.
What was Johnny’s favorite
part of Gone with the Wind? Of
whom did it remind him?
When Dally finally arrives at
the church, what news does he
bring?
What did Johnny announce after
his fifth barbecue sandwich?
What was his reasoning for this
decision?
Describe Johnny’s relationship
with his parents.
What happened when Johnny,
Pony, and Dally returned to the
church from the restaurant?
Answer
Page number and quote
Chapters 7-9
What problems did the three
brothers face after Pony’s
return?
Why did Randy want to talk to
Pony?
When Johnny’s mother came to
visit him at the hospital, what
was Johnny’s reaction?
Why wouldn’t Cherry go visit
Johnny?
Compare and contrast the boys’
reasons for fighting (Darry,
Steve, Soda, and Two-Bit)
What did Pony say was the
difference between Tim’s gang
and his?
Identify Paul Holden.
Who “won” the rumble?
Explain why this group only
partly won.
Where did Dally take Pony after
the rumble?
What were Johnny’s last words
to Ponyboy? What does he mean?
Answer
Page number and quote
Chapters 10-12
Of what did Pony try to convince
himself on the way home from the
hospital? Why?
What did Pony decide was the
reason Dally couldn’t take
Johnny’s death?
Why did Dally rob the grocery
store and then raise his
unloaded gun to the police?
Why would Pony have thought he
was in Windrixville while he was
delirious?
What was Pony’s reaction when
Randy talked about Johnny?
What was the result of the court
hearing?
Describe how Pony reacted to the
three Socs who bullied him about
killing Bob?
Johnny’s note made several
points. What were they?
How do we know Ponyboy will be
all right?
Answer
Page number and quote
Extra Credit:
Discussion Questions/Short Answer Questions:
Using notebook paper, answer the following questions with a paragraph (5-8 sentences).
1.
2.
3.
4.
Discuss the importance of the fire and other symbols in the development of the theme.
Explain how the title of the book is appropriate?
Explain the meaning of Frost’s, “Nothing Gold Can Stay,” as it relates to The Outsiders.
How does Gone with the Wind relate to The Outsider?