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Read Chapter 7: “The Outsider:” - Chapter 9: “Culture Shock;” Complete Student Packet Worksheets for Chapter 7: “The Outsider:” - Chapter 9: “Culture Shock”

Share the following story with the class:

"As I looked in my rearview mirror, I saw a blaze of flashing lights. It’s important to pull over when a police car, fire truck, or ambulance is behind you with lights and sirens because it could be an emergency. So, I pulled to the side and waited as the officer pulled up behind me. When he came to my window, he asked, 'Do you know why I stopped you?' It’s always best to be truthful when talking with an officer of the law. 'Because I was talking on my cell phone,' I replied. Using a cell phone while driving is illegal and carries a hefty fine. The officer looked surprised. 'Or because I turned right without putting on my signal? Or was it because my inspection has inspired? Oh, wait, it must have been because I was doing 50 in a 25-mile-per-hour zone. I was speeding, that’s why you stopped me.' The officer stared at me blankly. 'No,' he said as he flipped open his citation book, 'Your brake lights aren’t working.'"

Ask, "Why would I tell you this story?" Encourage the class to discuss.

will explain that autobiographies, such as the one I shared with the class, have a purpose. The story was meant to share my personal experience with you, make you laugh, and to persuade you to pull over and tell the truth to a police officer. My story had multiple purposes. I will explain that just like one story can have multiple purposes, one book can also have multiple purposes. An autobiographer has one or more purposes for including specific people and events in his or her life story. As a reader, it’s important to figure out the author’s purpose for including these events because it helps you understand the author’s life.

I will explain that there are four main reasons why an author would tell a story, and it can be summed up with the word “PIES.” “P” is for Persuade: the author wants to persuade you to do something. In my story, I wanted to persuade you to be respectful and truthful regarding the law. “I” is for Inform: the author wants to give you information about something. My story gave you information about what’s illegal while driving, such as talking on your cell phone. “E” stands for Entertain: the author wants to entertain the reader. I wanted to make you laugh because I confessed to all the things that I did that the officer never noticed. “S” is for Share: the author wants to share a personal experience with the class, like I wanted to share my experience.

I will examine Chapter 6: “Chinatown” in The Lost Garden to determine why the author wanted to include Chinatown in his book. I will ask myself: "Why would the author include this event—in this case, Chinatown—in the story?" I will use PIES Chart 1 to record the author’s purpose. Note: See PIES Chart 1 for sample responses.

I will start with the Persuade section on PIES Chart 1. "Did the author try to persuade me? No, he did not describe Chinatown in a way that would persuade me to like or dislike it, visit there, or move to Chinatown. Was the author trying to inform me about something? I think the author was trying to add to my knowledge about what Chinatown was like. He provided me with information about the area, the Chinese people, and tourists." I will write this in the “I” section of PIES Chart 1. "Did the author try to entertain me? Yes, some of the events the author talked about that happened in Chinatown were entertaining, such as on page 65. The author talked about his friend, Paul, who lived in Chinatown. The story about Paul and his eyes and the author’s description about Paul as “an Ostrich with long arms” made me laugh. So, I can say he tried to entertain the reader." I will write these details under the “E” section of PIES Chart 1. Finally, I will move to the share section. "Did the author share something with me? Yes, I could say the author shared his experiences in Chinatown so that the reader gets a deeper understanding of the author’s life." I will write this under the “S” section of PIES Chart 1. The completed PIES Chart 1 shows the author’s multiple purposes for including Chinatown in his book.

Ask: "How can I figure out multiple author purposes in an autobiography?" Students should respond that you can use a PIES Chart to figure out an author’s purpose for including an event or person in a book. By looking at the details included in the text, students can draw a conclusion about why each event is included in a book.

will use a PIES Chart to identify the author’s purpose for including his experiences as an altar boy in Chapter 7: “The Outsider.” We will read aloud pages 70 to 73, where the author talks about being an altar boy. After we read, we will fill out PIES Chart 2 to identify why the author would include this event in the book. Note: See PIES Chart 2 for sample responses.

We will ask ourselves: Did the author try to persuade us? (Encourage discussion with your class before coming to the conclusion and recording details on PIES Chart 2.) No, the words the author used don’t particularly try to persuade us to go to church, to be Catholic, or take any action. Did the author try to inform us? Yes, we could say the author included facts or information about being an altar boy to add to our knowledge. For example, he included the names of items in a church and what procedure altar boys have to follow. We can write this under the “Inform” section on PIES Chart 2. Did the author try to entertain us? Yes, we could say the author tried to entertain us because we laughed when the author talked about buffing and shining the priest’s head and when he told us that he set the altar on fire. We will record this under the “Entertain” section on PIES Chart 2. Finally, did the author share a personal experience with us? Yes, we could say that the author included his experiences as an altar boy to share this aspect of his life with the reader. We will record this under the “Share” section on PIES Chart 2.

will choose one of the following events from Chapter 8: “Puzzle Solving” in order to identify the author’s purposes for including these events. You may choose from: the author’s experiences with racism in his high school, the author’s experiences in chemistry class, or his experiences as a writer. You will complete the PIES Chart Worksheet by including details in each section that you believe explains the author’s purpose. You will prepare to share your PIES Chart Worksheet with the class. (See page 15 in the Student Packet.)

will come together to talk about the author’s purpose for including these three events in the book. We will address the following questions: Using these multiple purposes, what is the author’s overall purpose for writing this book? Is it to Persuade, Inform, Entertain, or Share?