Author's Purpose Fun

What?!  Author's Purpose is fun?!  You bet!  I have had the privilege of stepping back into my old classroom to teach the 28 third graders while their teacher gave them the mid-year reading assessments.  I love being there because I feel right at home on so many levels.

One of the hardest things for students to understand is author's purpose.  I always thought it seems easy, but the students really struggle. My favorite comment came from a student I don't normally work with.  When I asked for the reasons that authors write, he said, "Because sometimes they are bored, and they just want to write!"  So honest!  


Before Christmas break, I worked with my "Fab 5" to look at different books and passages to teach author's purpose, much of what I got from ReadWorks.org.  Have you seen that site?  Wow!  It is full of goodies for teachers, with lessons, mentor texts, passages, and ideas.  Best of all ~ it is FREE!!!!  All of it!!  Can't beat that!

Anyway, after reading each type of book, here are our anchor charts:



This week I used these anchor charts to help review with the rest of the third graders as we read different books and talked about why author's write specific books.  The "Fab 5" were so excited that we were using their charts!  It really made those struggling readers feel like leaders.  The look of joy on their faces meant the world to me!

Anyway,  I started off with entertain as I read the book I won from A Year of Reading ~ The Fantastic Flying Books of Morris Lessemore.  My first book review will be on this book, but if you have not read it, you must.  It is really an intriguing book with a great message!


 After we read the book, we looked at Scholastic book orders, and they had to choose different books that they would like to read and tell why that would be interesting to them.  Here is an example.

The next purpose we focused on was to persuade.  I read One Little Ant to the class, which they loved.  The book focuses on a boy who wants to step on an ant, but the ant tries to convince him not to step on it.  Quite an interesting concept.  


After we read that, the students had to convince their teacher to do something for them.  Most of them said no recess or less homework.  They had to give three convincing reasons and an opinion.  My favorite {and most convincing}  reason for more recess was so the teacher could get more papers graded!  Love it!

Today we finished off with to inform.  I read parts of an informative text, focusing on the text features.  I then gave groups informative texts and had them copy a circle map with the text features in it.  They had to look for the text features and cross out any that were not present in the books.  Most of the books had all of the features, and I wasn't even trying to find books with them all.  Here are some examples.



 This was fun, and I really enjoyed teaching in my old room with a bunch of fun students!  I do miss my small groups, but it was so much fun to see them all engaged and learning.  I just hope it sticks with them forever!

Just a couple more days to enter my Fabulous 400 Follower Giveaway!

And don't forget to go to Teacher's Notebook to win a tablet!


Until next time!

2 comments

  1. Thank you so much for this post! I was just looking at my plans for the next few weeks, and I wanted to squeeze in a little bit of author's purpose with my fourthies. How perfect I saw this post this morning! I will definitely be using your ideas :)

    Thank you!

    Amelia
    thewildthingslearn.blogspot.com

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  2. So glad it was helpful! Author's purpose seems so easy, yet it is so hard for students. Enjoy teaching it with your students!

    Andrea
    Reading Toward the Stars

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