Author’s Purpose

1. Author’s Purpose Click to continue for each slide…

2. Required Knowledge • Students must be able to know and understand the following terms and be able to identify them as they appear in text: • To describe • To persuade • To entertain • To explain • To inform

3. Strategies • Each strategy is fully explained with examples. • All strategies should be modeled before students attempt on their own. • It is recommended after modeling a strategy that students practice with a partner before applying it independently.

4. Questioning the Author • Students are given a set of questions that evaluates an author’s effectiveness. Questions could be: What is the author trying to say? What is the author’s message? Does the author explain the information clearly? Does the author tell us why? How does this connect to what the author told us before? • For narrative pieces: How do things look for this character now? What do you think this character is up to now given what the author has told us? How has the author let you know that something has changed? How has the author settled this for us? • It is best to have preplanned the stopping places in the text to question the author. Eventually, students can create their own questions and determine their stopping points.

5. Text Type Poems • Text Type Poems can be used during whole group fluency. Classes are divided into two groups, and students will choral read the title and subheadings together. Then group A and group B will alternate back and forth to read poems. For example, group A will say, “I am Narrative,” then group B will say, “I am Expository.” The students should have a copy of the poems and these poems should be enlarged to use for Walls That Teach. • An example can be found in the curriculum.

6. 4 Text Type/Poster Charts • Located in the curriculum. • Explicitly teach characteristics, structure, and different types of text. • Use these as a visual or have students create their own visuals to display in the room.

7. Sorts • One great example can be found at http://www.mrsruss.comas well as in the curriculum. • This is a sort that should be adapted for partners, small groups, or whole groups. Students can create their own cards after seeing this example.