LANGUAGE ARTS

THE THREE MAIN AUTHOR'S PURPOSE

GRADES: 4-8

In this lesson, students will identify and use unique characteristics of texts to determine an author’s purpose as, persuade, inform, or entertain.

MATERIALS:

Author’s Purpose Worksheets
Author’s Purpose Quiz
a variety of texts for examples: newspapers, story books, science books, advertisements, recipes, magazines, a phone book, social studies books, a dictionary, an atlas
one sheet of paper with 'inform' typed in huge font
one sheet of paper with 'persuade' typed in huge font
one sheet of paper with 'entertain' typed in huge font
white board and markers
student writing materials

METHOD:

Write only what is in quotations on the white board, in this order:
- Inform the students, “The time is 12:15 pm.”
- Entertain the students, “What happens when it rains cats and dogs?” Answer with, “You have to be careful not to step in a poodle.”
- Persuade the students, “I think wearing yellow is way better than wearing green and you should think that too. You should stop wearing green, and start wearing yellow.”
Tell students, "Authors usually write for one of three purposes." Point to the first statement on the white board, repeat the statement, then ask students, "Why did I write this?" Respond, "Yes, that's correct, to tell someone the time. Time is a fact and a piece of information, like an address, your birthday, or a definition. That is also the first purpose authors write."
Point to the joke on the white board, repeat it, and ask students, "Why do author's write jokes?" Respond, "Good thinking, to make people laugh and have fun, which are both ways people entertain." Ask, "Are jokes facts?" Respond with, "That's correct, jokes are not facts, but you are right jokes do entertain, which is the second of the three main author's purposes."
Read the last statement on the white board, Ask students, "Why would an author write this?" Respond, "Great, that's correct, to try to get someone to change teams, which means they would have to like different stuff, and change their opinions or beliefs about the original team. Is this a purpose for writing?" Respond, "You're right, it is a purpose for writing."
Purpose : Tell students, “Today we're going to look at texts with three different purposes . You will learn how the text of each purpose is unique. Then, using what is unique, you will determine if an author's purpose is to, inform, persuade , or entertain."
Rationale : Tell students, "When you identify, and use unique characteristics of texts to determine an author’s purpose, you understand how and why authors write. When you categorize texts by the author’s purpose, you can evaluate and prioritize the relevance of the text to your life and the world around you. You need to know how to identify and use unique characteristics of texts to determine an author’s purpose as inform, persuade , or entertain , so students can think critically, and make informed decisions about, what you can read, what you are required to read, and what you want to read."
Place the three, large print, authors’ purposes printouts, in a row in the middle of the table. Have students make charts with the headings of inform, persuade, and entertain; subheadings of characteristics, purpose synonyms, and types of books and have students fill in the large Explain, “When an author’s purpose is to inform, the author will explain, direct, or teach something to the reader using non-fiction. Characteristics of texts that identify when the author’s purpose is to inform are; the texts may be packed with facts, or give directions, the texts will contain few or no opinions, and may use language highly specified to the topic. The author’s purpose of phone books, reference books, text books, all non-fiction books, historical documents, current events, and how-to books will always be to inform.”
Hold up the dictionary, while explaining, point to, and show the students what is being explained about the text, “The dictionary contains factual definitions that inform. You can hear the facts when I read a few of them (read a few definitions aloud to the students). The dictionary is not full of opinions, it is a reference book, and dictionaries do not try to persuade us to buy anything or change our minds. Dictionaries do not try to get us to take any action, and we can clearly observe that by skimming over the pages before the definitions.”
Place the dictionary in the inform pile; ask students, “Does everyone agree? Show me by holding your thumb up, down, or to the side for yes, no, or not sure.”
Explain, “When an author’s purpose is to persuade, the author tries to reason with and convince the reader to believe or not believe something. Persuasive texts try very hard, using pleading, to get the reader to do something or not do something. Characteristics of texts that identify when the author’s purpose is to persuade are; they often use text in all capitals when not necessary, repeated words or phrases like many questions, texts that focus on selling you something, the text could have actual number prices included in the text, texts that present a strong opinion or emotional one-sided arguments. All commercials and advertisements are persuasive texts as well as editorials and political speeches”
Hold up an advertisement from a magazine, while explaining, point to and show the students what is being explained about the text, “Notice this here the text is using all capitals, here they plead with us to buy these shoes, and here the text wants me to believe that the shoes will make me run faster.
Place the advertisement from a magazine in the persuade pile; ask students, “Does everyone agree? Show me by holding your thumb up, down, or to the side for yes, no, or not sure.”
Explain, “When an author’s purpose is to entertain, the author wants to provide the reader with an enjoyable, interesting reading experience or tell a story that affects emotions. Characteristics of texts that identify when the author’s purpose is to entertain are; a variety of details that paint a picture in the readers’ imagination, some have large portion of dialogue, but most do not try to teach or explain information, few or none have high pressure persuasion, they may contain some facts but the majority of the text is a fabrication by the author in the form of fiction. Types of texts that entertain are; comic books, children’s books, novels, poetry, plays, short stories, most fiction, fantasy books, joke books, graphic novels, and comic books or comic strips.”
Hold up a children’s book, while explaining, point to and show the students what is being explained about the text, “Notice how the words vividly describe a magical place but they don’t try to convince you that it really exists, notice there are no definitions or facts, and the book is fiction.
Place the children’s book in the entertain pile; ask students, “Does everyone agree? Show me by holding your thumb up, down, or to the side for yes, no, or not sure.”
Take the next text in the stack, pass the text around the table, instruct, and “Determine for yourself what the author’s purpose is.” After a few minutes hold the text up and ask the students to show a number of fingers for what they have determined the purpose of the text is, one finger for inform, two for persuade, and three for entertain.
Put the text in the middle of the table and call on each student, "Defend your answer by pointing at and explaining one of characteristics in the text you used to determine the author's purpose." Repeat this for all students and the rest of the stack of texts.
End with a non-example, picking up a thank you card, explain, "This thank you card does not fit into any of the three categories, so remember, these are just the three main author’s purposes we will learn about more later."
Give each student a book or a type of text. Instruct the students, "Look at what I gave you for a minute."“Tell us the author's purpose. Show us, and explain to us which characteristics of the text you used to determine the author's purpose.""Why is it important to be able to identify an author's purpose?"

Submitted by,
ELIJAH KANE
TEXAS STATE UNIVERSITY
SAN MARCOS, TX
elijahkane@txstate.edu

WRITE YOUR OWN EPITAPH

GRADES: 4-9

This lesson can be used throughout the year, or you can file it away for next Halloween.

MATERIALS:

black marker
picture of a tombstone large enough to write inside

METHOD:

Prior to assigning this creative writing activity, you should first discuss with the class what couplets and limericks are and how to write them.
Have the students practice writing limericks on plain paper, one that tells of how they died.
Then have them transfer the limerick to the picture of the tombstone.
Make a bulletin board to look like a cemetery and post their tombstones for everyone to read.

 Example: Here lies Jordan

 Who died while kneeboardin'

 He hit a big wave

 And flew into a cave

 And didn't wake up in the mornin'

Submitted by,

ROCHELLE WAGGENSPACK LAKE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL ST. AMANT, LA wagger@apsb.org

ALLISON'S IDEA--A MONSTER'S BIOGRAPHY

GRADES: 1-6

I was looking for a simple and different idea to get a beginning of the year writing sample. My nine year old daughter thought this one up for me. Fun for the kids too!

MATERIALS:

pencils
paper
crayons

METHOD:

Have each child draw and color a large picture (on 8 1/2 by 11 paper) of a monster. Encourage lots of creativity. It helps to not let children look at each others' papers while the drawing is going on. If your class seems hesitant at first, read or display some picture books with monsters in them. Don't allow children to look at these for long to discourage copying. Do not let the students put their names on the papers.
Collect all of drawings. Mix them up and have children draw a page from the stack. The writing task is to then write the monster's biography. This writing is to include a physical description of the monster. (For younger children, the writing assignment can be just the description.)
For a Back to School bulletin board, you can have students rewrite the stories. Post the second copies with the monster pictures. Retain the original ones for your files.

submitted by

SHELLEY BOWEN
MITCHELL K-6 SCHOOL
WINTON, CA
fambowen@cyberlynk.com

THE EVILS OF BOOK REPORTS

GRADES 4-12

This is one of the most controversial lessons I'll ever write...but also one of the most important.

I never give book reports to my students. Never.

There are some basic premises to my position:

A MAJOR GOAL OF MOST TEACHERS IS TO GET STUDENTS TO ENJOY READING.
ALMOST EVERY TIME A BOOK IS ASSIGNED, THE STUDENTS ARE REQUIRED TO WRITE A REPORT
STUDENTS HATE BOOK REPORTS
STUDENTS ASSOCIATE BOOK REPORTS WITH READING
STUDENTS DO NOT VOLUNTARILY READ

This may sound simplistic...and it is. But it's also basic psychology--the students associate a negative experience (reports) with an action (reading books), and therefore, hate the action!

Think about it...how often, when you assign a book, do the students immediately inquire whether or not they have to do a report! And when they find out that a report IS required, how excited are they to now read?

So how do we get the students to read? Or, as many teachers may ask, how do we check up on whether or not they are reading? Here are a number of random ideas:

Require the students to keep a reading book with them at all times, as part of their supplies. They read the book during their free time. When a book is easily accessible, they will naturally read.
Assign genres of books as usual. However, instead of a report to check up on them, sit down and talk to the student, one-on-one. It's easy--you'll get all of the information you need, and you'll also develop a closer relationship with the student. This one-on-one only has to take a few minutes and can occur over a couple of weeks, during students' work time.
Participate in book clubs (i.e. Scholastic, Troll). The students are picking their own books, and paying for them, and therefore, are more apt to read them.
Start a classroom "card catalogue". After each student reads a book, he/she makes a card with a short summary for other students in the class to read. This is an easy way to check on the students reading!
If you MUST give a project, use a type of book "project"--anything but a "written report". This can be a diorama, book poster, book cover, etc.

I have found that my students continuously read. They are always purchasing book club books, and their parents often relate back to me that the students get upset because they don't have enough time to read (when I give them too much homework). Reading has become a pleasurable experience--not one associated with a dreaded "book report"!

submitted by

DR. SCOTT MANDEL
PACOIMA MIDDLE SCHOOL
LOS ANGELES, CA
mandel@pacificnet.net

POEMS BY YOU ABOUT YOU

GRADES 5-12

This is an excellent activity the first week of school. It helps to get students involved immediately in the curricula, get to know each other, and it gives the teacher some examples of student work to post for Back to School Night.

Hand out the two poems entitled I AM, (see below--feel free to print them out and reproduce them for your class).
Hand out the I AM MODEL, (see below); put a copy on an overhead projector, if available, for the entire class.
Using the model, create an original poem as a class, incorporating ideas from the students.
Assign I AM to the class.
Optional: Each student does an art project (collage, diorama, anything that shows WHO they are) to accompany the poem.
Students orally present their personal I AM poem to the class.

I AM

I am a carefree girl who loves horses.
I wonder if there ever was a horse that could fly.
I hear the stomping of a hundred mustangs on the desert in Arabia.
I see a horse with golden wings soaring into the sunset.
I want to ride swiftly over a green meadow.
I am a carefree girl who loves horses.
I pretend to be an Olympic jumper.
I feel the sky pressing down on me as I ride along a sandy shore.
I touch the clouds on a winged horse.
I worry that I'll fall off and become paralyzed.
I cry when a colt dies.
I am a carefree girl who loves horses.
I understand that I will not be able to ride every day of my life.
I say, let all horses roam free.
I dream about the day when I have a horse of my own.
I try to be the best rider in the world.
I hope to ride all my life.
I am a carefree girl who loves horses.
--ELLY TATUM

I AM

I am a nutty guy who likes dolphins.
I wonder what I, and the world, will be like in the year 2000.
I hear silence pulsing in the middle of the night.
I see a dolphin flying up to the sky.
I want the adventure of life before it passes me by.
I am a nutty guy who likes dolphins.
I pretend that I'm the ruler of the world.
I feel the weight of the world on my shoulders.
I touch the sky, the stars, the moon, and all the planets as representatives of mankind.
I worry about the devastation of a nuclear holocaust.
I cry for all the death and poverty in the world
I am a nutty guy who likes dolphins.
I understand the frustration of mot being able to do something easily.
I say that we are all equal.
I dream of traveling to other points on the earth.
I try to reach out to poor and starving children.
I hope that mankind will be at peace and not die out.
I am a nutty guy who likes dolphins.
--SANDY MAAS

I AM--MODEL

FIRST STANZA
I am (two special characteristics you have)
I wonder (something you are actually curious about)
I hear (an imaginary sound)
I see (an imaginary sight)
I want (an actual desire)
I am (the first line of the poem repeated)

SECOND STANZA
I pretend (something you actually pretend to do)
I feel (a feeling about something imaginary)
I touch (an imaginary touch)
I worry (something that really bothers you)
I cry (something that makes you very sad)
I am (the first line of the poem repeated)

THIRD STANZA
I understand (something you know is true)
I say (something you believe in)
I dream (something you actually dream about)
I try (something you really make an effort about)
I hope (something you actually hope for)
I am (the first line of the poem repeated)

submitted by

STEVE JACOBSON
LA MESA JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL
SANTA CLARITA, CA

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