8th Grade Pre-AP English



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 , 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 |Answer |Page number and quote |

|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. | | |

|Chapters 3-4 |Answer |Page number and quote |

|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. | | |

|Chapters 5-6 |Answer |Page number and quote |

|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? | | |

|Chapters 7-9 |Answer |Page number and quote |

|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? | | |

|Chapters 10-12 |Answer |Page number and quote |

|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? | | |

Extra Credit:

Discussion Questions/Short Answer Questions:

Using notebook paper, answer the following questions with a paragraph (5-8 sentences).

1. Discuss the importance of the fire and other symbols in the development of the theme.

2. Explain how the title of the book is appropriate?

3. Explain the meaning of Frost’s, “Nothing Gold Can Stay,” as it relates to The Outsiders.

4. How does Gone with the Wind relate to The Outsider?

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