Author's Purpose That Makes Sense

It seems so easy ~ author's purpose! How can students NOT understand such a simple concept? We all wonder it as we think about how they can miss such important details to see why the author wrote something. But we can make it more engaging and fun.
Using book orders can help students better understand that tough skill of author's purpose!
This anchor chart is perfect for helping students see author's purpose.

Of course, the best way for students to really understand author's purpose, students should be reading and reading a lot. How do we do that? We encourage and motivate them to read widely and a LOT! What better way than with a Scholastic book order?
Using book orders can help students better understand that tough skill of author's purpose!

That's right, this catalog of books many of us send home each month are perfect for helping students get a grasp on what author's purpose is all about.

I used them with a group of 4th graders as we worked through this important skill.  We reviewed the reasons that authors write with the anchor chart above. A lot of times authors describe something within a passage, so the students decided that describe should go in the middle. Then I handed out the magical book orders. Guess what ~ those kids had fun looking at books and deciding what to read.
Using book orders can help students better understand that tough skill of author's purpose!

Then I had to get them to work. They read the information about the different books and decided why the author may have written the books. As they figured it out, they cut the pictures out and put them onto a tree map, sorting them into different categories.
Using book orders can help students better understand that tough skill of author's purpose!

Here is a finished product! 
Using book orders can help students better understand that tough skill of author's purpose!

By doing this activity, students had to analyze the simple summary and think about what the book was saying to decide where it fit in the tree map. AND, I motivated them to find books they would actually enjoy reading. Double whammy!

Of course, there is so much more that goes with author's purpose, but we can help students as they look at books and decide WHY the author wrote it.

What are some ways you help students understand author's purpose in your classroom?





2 comments

  1. I love this idea! What genius!! I could see doing this in partners. You have the book covers there to cut and glue. This is a keeper. Thank you.

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    1. I'm so glad you can use this simple idea! I love watching students as they look at the books and start deciding what they want to read too. So motivating!
      Andrea

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