Identifying the Author's Purpose

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Middle School

Learning Objectives

• Find the author's reason for writing a text.

• Decide if the author wants to persuade, inform, or entertain.

• Use text evidence from the story to explain your choice.

Learning Objectives

• Find the author's reason for writing a text.

• Decide if the author wants to persuade, inform, or entertain.

• Use text evidence from the story to explain your choice.

What is Author's Purpose?

• An author's purpose is the main reason why they write something.

• The purpose is to persuade, inform, or entertain the reader.

• Knowing the purpose helps you understand the text's message and tone.

• Find clues in word choice, facts, opinions, and story elements.

• Use this skill when reading books, articles, ads, or posts.

• Always ask yourself the question: "Why did the author write this?"

I Do: Example 1

• Read this text: "You should join our school garden club! Sign up today!"

• I see action words like "should" and a call to action "Sign up today!".

• These words try to convince the reader to take an action.

• I ask: Is the author trying to persuade, inform, or entertain?

• The author's purpose is to persuade you to join the club.

I Do: Example 2

• Let's read the text: "The bald eagle has a wingspan of eight feet."

• Step 1: I see facts and numbers that teach me new information.

• Step 2: The tone is informative, with no opinions or jokes inside.

• Step 3: I ask which purpose best matches a text full of facts.

• Answer: The author’s purpose is to inform you about the bald eagle.

Open Ended

Question type isnt fixed, we do question

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