Name ____________________________________________ # __________ Date________________________
Literature Circle:
The Outsiders
Group Members’ Names:
1.
3.
5.
2.
4.
6.
Week # 1
Read pages # 1 – 67
Complete the following pages from your Literary Elements Packet:
o Setting
o Character
o Conflict
Discussion Day- ____________________________________
Week # 2
Read pages 68-130
Complete the following pages from your Literary Elements Packet:
o Point of View
o Cause/Effect
o Create a Cover (Quiz grade)
Discussion Day – __________________________________
Week # 3
Read pages 131- 180
Complete the following pages from you Literary Elements Packet:
o Climax
o Resolution
o Theme
Discussion Day- ___________________________________
Name__________________________________________ # _________ Date____________________________
Literature Circle:
The Outsiders
Read the following poem. Then answer the questions based on the poem.
Nature’s first green is gold,
Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leaf’s a flower,
But on so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day,
Nothing gold can stay.
Jot down some ideas about what you think the author of this poem is trying to
express to the reader.
What is the poet’s MESSAGE?
Think about how this message could apply to the novel and the characters.
The setting of a story is the TIME and PLACE in which it occurs. In order to
identify the setting of a novel sometimes you need to look for clues. Other times
it will be more descriptive. So while it is important to recognize words that
directly describe the setting, you should also pay attention to other more subtle
clues like: clothing, transportation, dialect/ slang and the characters’ lifestyles.
Use these clues to help you answer the following questions.
What is the setting of The Outsiders (time and place)?
List three clues that helped you to identify the setting. Write the specific text as
well as explain your thinking.
SETTING
1.
2.
3.
TEXT
THINKING
Name_____________________________________________________#__________ Date____________________
The Outsiders
Character Chart
CHARACTER
TRAIT
TRAIT
NAME
(Physical)
(Personality)
GANG
RELATIONSHIP TO
OTHERS
Character Chart
CHARACTER
TRAIT
TRAIT
NAME
(Physical)
(Personality)
GANG
RELATIONSHIP TO
OTHERS
The conflict of a story is introduced in the beginning of a novel. There are many
different types of conflict. There may also be several smaller conflicts within a
story. Identifying the MAJOR conflict of a novel is most important.
The four basic types of conflict are:
o Person vs. Person- the main character goes up against another character
(“good guy” vs. “bad guy”)
o Person vs. Nature- the main character must go up against a force of
nature (storm, earthquake, etc.)
o Person vs. Society- the main character goes up against a commonly held
rule or law (discrimination, committing a crime)
o Person vs. Self- this is an internal conflict where the character is
struggling with his or herself (making decisions, growing up, etc.)
What is the major CONFLICT in The Outsiders? Include the type of conflict as
well as specific examples from the text that shows this struggle.
________________________________________ Vs. _______________________________________________
Give 2 examples from the text that shows this conflict:


The point of view of a story tells us whether the story is being told by one of the
characters (1st person) or by a narrator that is not a part of the story (3rd
person).
o 1st Person P.O.V.= the main character is the narrator for the story. You
will see the pronouns I, me, we, us, etc.
o 3nd Person P.O.V.= the narrator is not a character in the story. Look for
the pronouns he, she., they, etc.
Through which point of view is the novel The Outsiders told?
Write a sentence from the novel that shows this P.O.V.
How does this affect the story? How does it affect what you know and what
you do not know about the other characters?
In a novel, one EVENT is the reason another EVENT happens. The event that happens
first is the CAUSE. The EFFECT is what happens as a result of that event. Fill in the
causes and effects in the chart below to show how some of the events in the Outsiders
chapters are connected. Try to do these in sequential order (the order in which they
occurred in the novel.)
CAUSE
EFFECT
Darry hits Ponyboy for coming home late
Ponyboy and Johnny run away to the park
o Design a new cover for the novel, The Outsiders.
o Be sure to include the title and the author.
o The cover needs to have at least 3 images/ symbols that
represent the novel.
o Make it colorful and neat.
o This can be completed by hand or on the computer.
o This will be graded as a QUIZ!
Every novel has a turning point or CLIMAX. It is the moment in the novel when the
main character makes a decision that impacts the rest of the events in the novel. In
fact if this climax did not happen, the book would be significantly different. This is also
the moment that causes the main character to learn something or change in some
way—usually for the better. The climax also directly relates to the main problem in the
novel. Use that problem to help you find the climax.
What ONE event is the climax for The Outsiders? Think about the moment when life
changed for Ponyboy. This is the moment that really changes who he is as a person—or
who he thinks he is.
How would the story be different if this event never happened? What other events
happened as a direct result of the climax? Think about what this event did for the main
character. Would the main character have learned the same lesson? Would it have
been as powerful? Explain why or why not.
The RESOLUTION is when the major conflict of the novel is resolved. This
is not the CONCLUSION, or the ending of the novel. This is where the character
comes to a decision about the problem. Remember: the resolution of the
problem is not always a happy one. Sometimes the character learns more when
the resolution is not a “happy” one.
The CONFLICT in The Outsiders was: _________________________________________________
This was a _______________________________ vs. ___________________________________ conflict.
How was this specific conflict resolved? Was it resolved??? Use examples from the
novel to support your answer.
The THEME of a story is the underlying opinion of the author. It is a message about life
or human nature that the author wants you to know. Often books have more than one
theme/message. These ideas are usually not directly stated, so you must infer to figure
out what the author is trying to say. You can often infer the theme(s) of a novel by
analyzing how the main character changes in some way, or what he or she learned
throughout the story.
There are MANY themes in The Outsiders. Ponyboy changes a lot and learns a lot
throughout this novel. Pick one theme and find three places in the text where this
theme is evident.
One THEME in the Outsiders is ________________________________________________________ (one
word).
I think the author wants me to know (theme statement) about this topic:
The places in the novel where this THEME is evident are:
Page #
Evidence of Theme: