Reading With Purpose

Overview

In this second lesson of Stories, Skills, and Voice, students learn to preview a short story and set a purpose for reading. Building on prior work with story features, they use the title, visuals, and a brief discussion to make a prediction and choose a reason for reading.

Learning intentions

• Students will be able to identify the title and key visual details of a story.
• Students will be able to make a prediction using evidence from the preview.
• Students will be able to state one clear purpose for reading.
• Students will be able to discuss ideas with a partner and refer to evidence from the text or visuals.

Success criteria

• I can identify the title of the story.
• I can make a prediction using a detail from the visuals.
• I can write or say one purpose for reading.
• I can listen, take turns, and build on a partner’s idea.

Curriculum links

• Reading informational text — determine a central idea, notice how details convey meaning, and summarize without personal judgments.
• Collaborative discussion — participate effectively with diverse partners and express ideas clearly.
• Prepared discussion — refer to evidence from a text or topic when explaining or probing ideas.
• Writing — introduce and organize ideas clearly using an appropriate structure.

Lesson structure (55 minutes)

1. 0–5 min · Welcome and focus. Open with the hook and learning-target slides and explain that strong readers preview a text before reading so they know what to notice. Students read the “I can” statements aloud, silently, or with a partner and show a 1–5 readiness rating with their fingers.

2. 5–13 min · Teach previewing. Use the previewing strategy slides to model a three-step preview: notice the title, study the visuals, and predict what the story may be about. Think aloud with a short teacher-created example, distinguishing an observation (“I notice a locked door”) from a prediction (“The character may be trying to solve a mystery”). Students identify which statements are observations and which are predictions using thumbs up/down.

3. 13–23 min · Guided visual prediction. Display the story’s title and two or three relevant visuals in the visual prediction slides. Play quiet, instrumental background music for two minutes while students independently record two things they notice and one prediction on the story preview worksheet. Pause the music, then have students compare responses with a partner using the frame: “I predict ___ because I noticed ___.” Invite each pair to share one evidence-based prediction.

4. 23–35 min · Set a reading purpose. Reveal the short, high-interest story in the story preview and purpose slides and briefly preteach three to five essential words with simple definitions, visuals, and gestures. Model turning a prediction into a purpose: “As I read, I will look for how the character responds to the problem.” Students choose or write one purpose on the worksheet using one of these frames: “I will read to find out ___,” “I will pay attention to how ___,” or “I want to learn why ___.”

5. 35–47 min · First read and partner discussion. Provide the story in print or open the accessible story and purpose page. Read the story aloud while students follow, or allow text-to-speech; pause once or twice for students to mark a detail that connects to their purpose. In pairs, students discuss: “What detail supports or changes your prediction?” and “Did your purpose help you read?” Students must refer to one story detail, while the teacher circulates and prompts, “What makes you think that?”

6. 47–55 min · Share and exit check. Return to the discussion and closing slides and invite two pairs to share a prediction, evidence, and reading purpose. Students complete the Success Criteria exit ticket by checking the criteria they met and briefly explaining one purpose they used. Collect the tickets and preview that the next lesson will examine how details develop a story’s meaning.

Resources

• the reading-purpose slide deck
• the story preview worksheet
• Short, high-interest narrative appropriate for grade 6
• Student-accessible digital text with text-to-speech
• Projector or interactive display
• Soft instrumental background music and timer
• Pencils, highlighters, or annotation tools
• the Success Criteria exit ticket

Assessment

• Listen for predictions that include a specific visual or title detail during partner sharing.
• Check each worksheet for a clear purpose and evidence-based prediction; conference briefly with students whose responses are vague.
• Use the exit ticket to identify students who can state a purpose independently and those who need another modeled example.

Differentiation

• Support students with attention or behavior needs through the visible agenda, a countdown timer, brief directions delivered one step at a time, choice of writing or speaking, and a quiet working spot or movement break.
• Preteach vocabulary with visuals, gestures, student-friendly definitions, and repeated oral practice. Provide sentence frames, a word bank, partner rehearsal, and teacher scribing when needed.
• Offer a dyslexia-friendly previewed digital text with adjustable spacing, clear sans-serif font, reduced visual clutter, and teacher or audio reading. Do not require students to read aloud.
• For advanced learners, require two purposeful questions before reading, then ask them to explain which question would lead to the strongest evidence-based reading and why.

Extension

• Students create two purposeful questions for the story and exchange them with a partner.
• Students write a brief response explaining whether the first read confirmed or changed their prediction, using two story details.