Name: ______________________________

HOW IMPORTANT IS IT?

In preparation for reading The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton, you will take a survey that asks you to examine your
beliefs about the importance of certain ideas; some of which are examined in the novel. You will graph your
results using a computer-based graph. We will also find out how the class as a whole ranks the importance of
each statement and then use posters to graph of that too. You will draw some conclusions about your results and
the class results and share some of this information in a class discussion.

DIRECTIONS:
After we finish reading the novel we will take this survey again to see if any of your individual opinions
changed and if any of the class’s rankings changed.
Directions:
1. Write the number that you have been given on each post it note. You will represent yourself by that
number instead of using your name when you rank each statement on the class graph.
2. Write your name, not your number on this survey.
3. Think about each statement and decide how important each one is to you and circle the appropriate
number.
4. Go to and use your data to create a bar graph.
How important is it: Not at all Somewhat Very Most
Important Important Important Important Important
1 2 3 4 5
1. It to be seen wearing expensive clothes 1 2 3 4 5
2. Get good grades 1 2 3 4 5
4. Have a lot of money 1 2 3 4 5
5. Have own a lot of possessions (things) 1 2 3 4 5
6. Know all the latest expressions (slang) …You dig? 1 2 3 4 5
7. To hang out with your own kind. 1 2 3 4 5
8. To be athletic 1 2 3 4 5
9. Hang with people who look good. 1 2 3 4 5
10. To be seen as a person who lives in a nice
neighborhood 1 2 3 4 5
11. To treat your friends well. 1 2 3 4 5
12. To have the same ethnic background as your friends 1 2 3 4 5
13. To have the same interests as your friends 1 2 3 4 5
14. That your friends have the same sense of humor that you 1 2 3 4 5
do.
15. That your friends like to hang out at the same places that 1 2 3 4 5
you do.
List the things that you ranked as “most important”
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List the things that you ranked as “most important”
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Do any of the results surprise you? If so explain what does and why.
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Compare the 3 items on the class graph with your individual ones. How different are they. How do you feel
about these results?
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