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Students will be able to identify the author's purpose (to inform, persuade, or entertain) in various texts.

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Students will be able to analyze text features and language choices that support the author's purpose.

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Students will be able to explain how specific evidence from the text supports the author's purpose.

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How does identifying an author's purpose help us better understand and analyze a text?

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Introduce the PIE acronym: Persuade, Inform, Entertain. Explain each purpose with examples.

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Teacher's Helper Education - Classroom Videos

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In small groups, students analyze short text excerpts to identify the author's purpose. Use Padlet to share and discuss findings.

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As a class, analyze a news article to identify the author's purpose and supporting evidence.

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DOGO News - Kids news articles! Kids current events; plus kids news on science, sports, and more!

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DOGO News has fun articles for kids on current events, science, sports, and more! There are also lots of stories, pictures, videos, games and the DOGO news map for kids! Add your comments, read reviews of cool websites, and more!

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Students independently analyze a short story, identifying the author's purpose and providing textual evidence.

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Challenge advanced students to find texts with multiple purposes and explain how they work together.

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Students who need extra support can sort pre-written sentences into categories based on author's purpose.

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Observe and assess student understanding during small group discussions and text analysis activities.

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Review student responses posted on Padlet during the guided and independent practice sessions.

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Students will take a quiz with various text excerpts, identifying the author's purpose and providing supporting evidence.

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Author’s Purpose Quiz 2 | Reading Activity

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Looking for another quiz on author’s purpose? Here are fifteen more multiple-choice problems. Students read a description of a text and determine whether it was written to entertain, inform, or persuade the reader.

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Students discuss with a partner: 'Why is it important to understand an author's purpose when reading?'

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Students write a brief response: 'Describe one strategy you can use to determine an author's purpose in a text.'

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Students analyze two short texts, identifying the author's purpose and providing evidence for each.

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The author's purpose is his or her reason for writing a text, paragraph, or line. There are many reasons why people write paragraphs or lines, but when we look at why people write texts, there are three main reasons. These are to entertain, persuade, and inform. Examples of text written to entertain include stories, poems, and dramas. Examples of texts written to persuade include essays and ads. And examples of texts written to inform include encyclopedia entries and text books.

It's important to note that the study of author's purpose is not so much a science as it is an art. In other words, the author's purpose can be to inform and persuade in some cases, or to entertain and inform. In the following worksheets I have tried to include only clear examples. You may want to discuss the more ambiguous ones in your classroom, however. It may make for a great discussion. Click here for to learn more about author's purpose and watch an informational video.

Author's Purpose Scavenger Hunt - Students find texts written to inform, persuade, and entertain in their text books. Activity sheets will work with your text books too.
Author's Purpose Scavenger Hunt RTF
Author's Purpose Scavenger Hunt PDF
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Author's Purpose Lesson - Slide show presentation on author's purpose and modes of writing. Includes a 10 questions review activity after the lesson.
Author's Purpose Lesson PPT

Author's Purpose Lesson 2 - I revised my original presentation to make what I believe is an improved version. This slide show also contains ten practice problems after the lesson.
Author's Purpose Lesson 2 PowerPoint
Answers

Author's Purpose Lesson 3 - Here is yet another PowerPoint presentation teaching author's purpose. This one is concise and well-designed. It includes ten new practice problems after the lesson.
Author's Purpose Lesson 3 PowerPoint

Author's Purpose Quiz - Fifteen questions testing students' ability to identify the author's purpose in a variety of texts.
Author's Purpose Quiz RTF
Author's Purpose Quiz PDF
Preview Author's Purpose Quiz in your web browser
Answers

Author's Purpose Quiz 2 - Here are fifteen more multiple choice problems about author's purpose. Students read a description of a text and determine whether it was written to entertain, inform, or persuade the reader.
Author's Purpose Quiz 2 | RTF
Author's Purpose Quiz 2 | PDF
Author's Purpose Quiz 2 | Preview
Author's Purpose Quiz 2 | Answers

Common Core State Standards Related to Author's Purpose

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.R.6 - Assess how point of view or purpose shapes the content and style of a text.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.W.4 - Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.SL.4 - Present information, findings, and supporting evidence such that listeners can follow the line of reasoning and the organization, development, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.

Expand to View All Common Core State Standards Related to Author's Purpose

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.2.6 - Identify the main purpose of a text, including what the author wants to answer, explain, or describe.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.6.6 - Determine an author's point of view or purpose in a text and explain how it is conveyed in the text.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.7.6 - Determine an author's point of view or purpose in a text and analyze how the author distinguishes his or her position from that of others.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.8.6 - Determine an author's point of view or purpose in a text and analyze how the author acknowledges and responds to conflicting evidence or viewpoints.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.9-10.6 - Determine an author's point of view or purpose in a text and analyze how an author uses rhetoric to advance that point of view or purpose.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.11-12.6 - Determine an author's point of view or purpose in a text in which the rhetoric is particularly effective, analyzing how style and content contribute to the power, persuasiveness or beauty of the text.

Looking For More Reading Worksheets?
Point of View Worksheets
Text Structure Worksheets
All Reading Worksheets

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The author's purpose is his or her reason for writing a text, paragraph, or line. There are many reasons why people write paragraphs or lines, but when we look at why people write texts, there are three main reasons. These are to entertain, persuade, and inform.

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Students play an online game to practice identifying author's purpose in various scenarios.

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Students find an example of a text (article, advertisement, story) outside of class and explain its purpose, sharing their findings on a class Padlet board.