Discovering Why Authors Write Stories
Understanding Author's Purpose Grade 6 English Language Arts Inform • Persuade • Entertain
Think About It
Why do you think authors write stories and articles? Share your ideas with a partner! What reasons can you think of?
Author's Purpose: The Big Three
INFORM: To teach or give facts and information PERSUADE: To convince the reader to believe or do something ENTERTAIN: To amuse or engage the reader with a story
Text Detective Time
Read three short text examples Use your 'I Notice, I Wonder' organizer What clues help you identify the author's purpose? Be ready to share your detective work!
Spotting the Clues
{"left":"Words that INFORM: facts, explains, describes, teaches, shows\nWords that PERSUADE: should, must, best, convince, believe, buy","right":"Words that ENTERTAIN: once upon a time, suddenly, exciting, funny, adventure"}
Group Investigation Challenge
Work in groups of 5 students Analyze your assigned text excerpt Decide: Inform, Persuade, or Entertain? Write your reasoning on sticky notes Prepare to share your evidence!
Share Your Discoveries
Each group presents their findings What was the author's purpose? What evidence supports your conclusion? Did any groups disagree? Let's discuss!
Remember This
Every author has a PURPOSE behind their writing Good readers ask: 'Why did the author write this?' Look for CLUES in the text to discover the purpose