“The Lesson” begins with a presumably older Sylvia looking back on her childhood, and how, from her perspective, everyone else is wrong, and she and her best friend and cousin Sugar are “the only ones just right.” The story focuses on a woman named Miss Moore who moves into a home on their block and is quite different from the other neighbors. She has very dark skin and natural hair, wears no makeup, speaks with more formal grammar, and won’t let the children call her by her first name, and marked distinction from the other adults in Sylvia’s life. Sylvia and Sugar make fun of Miss Moore, just as they do the other outliers in the neighborhood, such as the junk collector who walks around gathering useless items with his horse. Sylvia says she hates the woman just like she hates the homeless alcoholics who live in her neighborhood because they urinate on the playground equipment and in the apartment hallways.
 
Miss Moore often takes Sylvia, Sugar, and the other neighborhood children on educational trips that the children find boring. Miss Moore always dresses up even though she does not attend church, so the adults in the neighborhood gossip about her. Sylvia thinks it’s unfair and hypocritical that even though the adults mock Miss Moore, they force their children to go on trips with her, and that they dress them up in uncomfortable clothing so they won’t look out of place. Sylvia presents her Aunt Gretchen as an example of an adult who can be tricked into doing anything. According to Sylvia, Aunt Gretchen allows Miss Moore to take the kids on these trips because she is a pushover. Further proof that Aunt Gretchen is a pushover is the fact that she agrees to watch Sylvia, Sugar, and Junior while their mothers are off having fun.
 
Miss Moore gathers the neighborhood children one very hot morning. She talks about math and money while most of the kids look in their bags for snacks. Sylvia and Sugar give Miss Moore dirty looks as she speaks. Sylvia complains about how uncomfortable her starched clothes feel and wishes they could spend their summers at the pool instead of on these trips. She feels like Miss Moore thinks the neighborhood kids are dumb because of the questions she asks about basic things like money. Sylvia finds the questions insulting. She tells Miss Moore she is tired of hearing about math, and she would rather steal it from other kids. Sylvia suggests they go to the subway because it is cooler there.  She says Sugar stole her mother's lipstick and they are hoping to see cute boys on the trip.
 
Miss Moore talks about income inequality as the kids walk down the street. She describes the group as being comprised of poor kids who live in the slums. Sylvia, offended, is about to say something in response, but Miss Moore walks away to hail two cabs before Sylvia has a chance. Half of the kids go in a cab with Miss Moore. Sylvia and the other kids go in another cab and misbehave on the ride. Miss Moore has given Sylvia five dollars and told her to pay the fare and give the driver a ten percent tip, but Sylvia has difficulty figuring out how much this is. Sugar tells her to tip him a dime, but Sylvia decides to keep the tip for herself. There is some confusion getting out of the car, and the kids yell at the cab driver. Then they notice everyone around them is dressed elegantly as they are in a ritzy section of town. 

Miss Moore tells the kids they will first look through the windows of a toy store, and the kids begin looking and pointing out toys they want. Ronald (“Big Butt”) says he wants to buy a microscope, and Miss Moore takes the opportunity to tell the kids about bacteria, which annoys Sylvia. Miss Moore asks the kids how long they would have to save their allowance to buy a $300 microscope. Sylvia and Sugar decide it would take too long without doing the math. Next, the kids look at an expensive paperweight and discuss its purpose. Miss Moore explains that the paperweight can be used to keep your homework area tidy. The kids point out that most of them don't have desks and don't get any homework. Mercedes talks about the desk and stationery her godmother bought for her and the other kids pick on her for it.
 
Next, the kids look at a small sailboat that costs more than a thousand dollars. Sylvia is shocked at the price and begins to feel angry, though she cannot explain why. She suggests no one would pay that price for something they could make themselves for under a dollar. The kids talk about the cheap sailboats they've had, and how they sunk or broke when put into water. A small boy named Little Q.T. stares at the sailboat longingly. Sylvia points out someone bigger would just steal it from him if he did get it. The children decide that only rich people must shop at the store. Sylvia asks Miss Moore how much an actual boat costs, thinking that a yacht costs about a thousand dollars. Miss Moore tells her to research it and report her findings back to the group, which annoys Sylvia. 

Miss Moore directs the kids to enter the store, but as they approach the door, Sylvia hesitates. She describes an odd sense of shame that won't allow her to open the door even though she knows she has every right to go inside. The other kids have a similar reaction. Finally, Mercedes opens the door and goes in and the rest follow. Once inside, Sylvia is reminded of a time when she and Sugar sneaked into a Catholic church to cause a scene on a dare. But in the reverent atmosphere of the church, Sylvia couldn't bring herself to misbehave. Sugar later made fun of Sylvia for chickening out. The toy store gives Sylvia the same feeling as the church. The kids walk around the store, but they are afraid to touch the toys. Miss Moore watches the kids closely. Sylvia and Sugar bump into each other because they are distracted by looking at the sailboat. Sugar touches the boat which makes Sylvia jealous; she feels like punching someone. Sylvia asks Miss Moore why she brought them there. Miss Moore smiles and asks why Sylvia is angry, watching her closely. Sylvia pretends to be bored and says she wants to leave. 
 
On the way back to their neighborhood on the train, Sylvia thinks about a clown toy in the store that cost $35. She could never ask her mother for a gift that expensive. Her mother would punish her for asking. She thinks of all of the practical things $35 could buy and wonders who can afford to buy such expensive toys when it is so economically out of reach for everyone she knows. Sylvia also wonders what Miss Moore wanted them to learn. She then realizes she still has four dollars in her pocket from the cab ride and decides she’ll keep it. Miss Moore takes the kids back home and asks what they thought of the store. Sugar surprises Sylvia by saying she thinks all the kids' groceries for a year don't cost as much as the sailboat. Sylvia stands on Sugar’s toes to get her to stop speaking, but Sugar finally pushes her off. Miss Moore asks Sugar to go on, but Sylvia steps on her foot again. Sugar doesn't say anything else. Miss Moore asks if anybody else learned anything and stares intently at Sylvia. Sylvia just walks away. Sugar catches up with Sylvia and begins to talk excitedly about all they can do with Miss Moore’s four dollars. She tells Sylvia to race her to the bakery and runs ahead. Sylvia says she doesn't care if Sugar runs ahead because she needs to think about what she learned today. Sylvia concludes one thing for certain: nobody will ever beat her at anything.

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