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“Inside Out” begins with Jimenez embarking on his first day of school. Roberto warns him that first grade is a struggle. Neither of the boys speak much English, and Roberto tells Jimenez that he will likely not understand the teacher's instructions. Roberto enrolls Jimenez in school because their mother is at home with the baby and their father is busy looking for work in the fields. Jimenez feels at home in the classroom because it has electricity and heat, unlike the tent where his family sleeps.

Jimenez does struggle in school. He understands nothing the teacher, Mrs. Scalapino, says during the day, and often leaves with a headache. He struggles to make friends because only one boy, Arthur, speaks a little Spanish, and the other kids avoid him because he can't talk to them. Jimenez is drawn to the caterpillar in a jar that Mrs. Scalapino keeps in the classroom. He enjoys art classes and imagining his own stories from the picture books Mrs. Scalapino reads to the class. One day, the principal sees Jimenez shivering in the recess yard and offers Jimenez a coat from the lost and found to wear.