RW LESSON 04.11.24

HISD 3rd Grade

Read Write

Teacher Facing
April 11, 2024

HISD 3rd Grade

Read Write

Informational
April 11, 2024

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TEKS: 3.10A Explain the author’s purpose and message within a text.
TEKS: 3.10C Explain the author’s use of print and graphic features to achieve specific purposes.

LO: SWBAT explain the author’s purpose
and message within an informational text.

DOL: Given a text, SW correctly explain
the author’s purpose and message in at
least 4 out of 5 questions.

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Do Now

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All About Ants

Living Together

Under the anthill lies an ant nest, which is the name for the ants’ home. Many ants live
in a single nest in a group called a colony. Each ant in the colony has a job.

The queen ant is a very special ant in a colony. Most colonies have only one queen
ant, but some have more than one. A queen ant is born with wings, unlike most of the
other ants in the colony. The queen’s job is to lay eggs. Without the queen, there
would not be enough ants to keep the colony healthy.

What is the most likely reason the author includes the information in

paragraph 2?

A.

To describe the appearance of the queen ant.

B.

To explain the importance of the queen ant in the colony.

C.

To compare the queen ant to other ants in the colony.

D.

To discuss the behavior of ants in the nest.

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Eating Together

A growing ant colony needs a lot of food! Ants eat many different things,
including sweet pieces of fruit and bugs. Another one of the worker ants’
jobs is to search for food and bring it back to the colony. As they search,
their bodies give off a scent, or smell, that makes a trail they can follow
back home. Other ants in the colony can follow the trail to get more food.
Sometimes they keep the food in rooms in the nest.

What is the most likely reason the author includes this information?

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Eating Together

A growing ant colony needs a lot of food! Ants eat many different things,
including sweet pieces of fruit and bugs. Another one of the worker ants’
jobs is to search for food and bring it back to the colony. As they search,
their bodies give off a scent, or smell, that makes a trail they can follow
back home. Other ants in the colony can follow the trail to get more food.
Sometimes they keep the food in rooms in the nest.

What is the most likely reason the author includes this information?

The most likely reason the author includes this information is to
highlight the importance of worker ants in finding food.

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Author’s
Purpose

Author’s
Message

vs.

After reading a text, a reader can explain the

author’s purpose for writing the text and author’s

message.

A specific
idea explored
in the writing

The reason
intended for
writing something

15

What is the

author’s

purpose for

writing this text?

What is the
main message
of the text?
All About

Ants

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What is the

author’s

purpose for

writing this text?

What is the
main message
of the text?

The author’s
purpose for writing
this text is to
inform the reader
about the different
types of ants that
live in a colony.

Teamwork and
collaboration are
important for a
group’s success.

All About

Ants

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Author’s Purpose

An author’s purpose is his or her reason for writing a text.

Persuade

Inform

Entertain

What other purposes do
authors have besides P.I.E?

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Why did the author include this paragraph, section, or text?

tell/state

to provide with information

describe/illustrate

to tell or write about; create a picture using
words

show/convey

to make clear by example

explain

to make clear in writing

emphasize/highlight

to give particular attention to

compare

to describe the similarities or differences of

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Apply To Text

We will examine today’s

text by identifying the
author’s purpose and

message to gain a deeper
understanding of the text.

What’s for Dinner After Dark?

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What’s for Dinner After Dark?

Text

After reading this information, what

did you learn?

What is the

author’s purpose
for including this

information?

Raccoons’ front paws
have more nerves than
most animals’ paws.
The nerves make their
fingers sensitive. They
can feel crayfish hiding
in muck or acorns
tucked under leaves.
Raccoons often use
touch instead of sight
to hunt. They don’t
need daylight to find
food. (paragraph 4)

I learned…
●

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What’s for Dinner After Dark?

Text

After reading this information, what

did you learn?

What is the

author’s purpose
for including this

information?

To explain how
raccoons use
their sensitive
paws to find
food in the dark

Raccoons’ front paws
have more nerves than
most animals’ paws.
The nerves make their
fingers sensitive. They
can feel crayfish hiding
in muck or acorns
tucked under leaves.
Raccoons often use
touch instead of sight
to hunt. They don’t
need daylight to find
food. (paragraph 4)

I learned…
●raccoons have sensitive front
paws

●the sensitivity allows them to
detect objects hidden in the
environment

●raccoons rely on their senses to
hunt food

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A.

To describe how bats
compete with birds for
insects

B.

To explain how bats use
sound to locate their prey in
the dark

C.

To compare the hunting
abilities of bats and
raccoons

D.

To persuade readers to
appreciate bats for their
unique abilities

What is the mostly likely reason the author included paragraph
7 in the selection?

7 Bats find their prey
through echolocation. This
means they send out
high-pitched sounds, like
screams that people can’t
hear. Bat screams bounce
off bugs. When bats hear
the echoes, they know
where to find dinner. Bats
can hunt in complete
darkness.

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What’s for Dinner After Dark?

Text

After reading this information, what

did you learn?

What is the

author’s purpose
for including this

information?

Opossums have
long, sensitive
noses. They can find
their food by
smelling it. One
night, an opossum
raided my trash can.
Opossum noses
sniff out smelly
things like garbage
and animals.
(Paragraph 8)

I learned that …

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Read the sentence.

Opossums eat almost anything they find, including fruit, eggs, and
bugs.

What is the most likely reason the author includes this
information?

A. To explain why opossums are considered scavengers.
B. To describe the diet and eating habits of opossums.
C. To encourage readers to keep opossums as pets.
D. To illustrate the challenges faced by opossums in urban

environments.

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What is the most likely reason the
author includes this information?

A. To explain how owls' physical

adaptations help them hunt in
the dark

B. To describe how owls digest their

prey

C. To compare owls' hunting

abilities to those of other
nocturnal animals

D. To persuade readers to protect

owls and their habitats

Owls have great
eyesight. Their big
eyeballs are
shaped like tubes.
The long shape
lets in more light.

Read the sentences.

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SCR: What is the author’s main purpose in writing this selection?
Use text evidence to support your answer.

The author’s main purpose in writing this
selection is…

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What is the main message of the text?

A. Raccoons are the most

successful nocturnal hunters
due to their flexible fingers.

B. Many nocturnal animals
find their prey using their

sense of smell.

C. Owls are the most

skilled nighttime hunters
because of their eyesight.

D. Nocturnal animals use
their senses to hunt for

food in the dark.

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Informational text has a
different structure and
organization. Authors include

❏ Text features
❏ Graphic features

to help to reader comprehend
the information.

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What is the highlighted feature
on the text?

Bold Word

Subheading

Caption

The author uses _____________ to

_____________________________________

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What is the highlighted feature
on the text?

Bold Word

Subheading

Caption

The author uses _____________ to

_____________________________________

subheadings

name the topic of each section of text.

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The author most likely includes this photographs to…

What is the most likely reason the author includes the
photograph next to paragraph 8 and 9?

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A. Owls have large eyes to help them see in the

dark.

B. Owls have sharp eyes for catching their prey.
C. Owls have soft feathers to help them fly silently.
D. Owls have long beaks for tearing apart their

food.

E. Owls have sharp talons for catching their prey.

Which idea from the selection does the author best
support by including the photograph next to
paragraph 12? Select TWO correct answers

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DOL: Given a text,
SW correctly explain
the author’s purpose
and message in at
least 4 out of 5
questions.