• Students identify and explain when a text is written to entertain.

• Students use clues to identify if a text is written to entertain.

• Students locate key details that support the author’s purpose to entertain.

• Students identify and explain when a text is written to inform.

• Students use clues to identify if a text is written to inform.

• Students locate key details that support the author’s purpose to inform. 

• Students identify and explain when a text is written to persuade.

• Students use clues to identify if a text is written to persuade. 

• Students locate key details that support the author’s purpose to persuade. 

• Teachers review types of author’s purpose.

• Teachers review the characteristics of texts written to entertain.

• Teachers expand student knowledge of determining the author's purpose by identifying key details. 

• Teachers review the genre of fiction being used when an author wants to entertain. 

• Teachers explicitly model locating key details in a text.

• Teachers explain how the details in the text are meant to entertain, emphasizing details do not have to be funny in order for the purpose to be entertain.

• Teachers provide opportunities for students to identify key details that support the author’s purpose of entertain. 

• Teachers review the characteristics of texts written to inform.

• Teachers expand student knowledge of determining the author’s purpose of informing by locating key details.

• Teachers review the genre of nonfiction for the purpose of writing to inform. 

• Teachers model looking for clues in the text features and checking the content for facts.

• Teachers demonstrate asking questions while reading to determine if the purpose is to inform; Is the text nonfiction? Does it contain facts or opinions?

• Teachers demonstrate explaining how the details in the text are meant to inform; the details provide the reader with information about what?

• Teachers provide opportunities for students to identify and explain if a text is written to inform.

• Teachers review the characteristics of texts written to persuade.

• Teachers expand student knowledge of determining the author’s purpose of persuade to include key details.

• Teachers review the differences between the author’s purpose of inform and persuade.

• Teachers review genres of nonfiction and fiction with writing to persuade, emphasizing that it occurs most often in nonfiction text.

• Teachers model looking for clues within the content of the text using key words (i.e., should, must, and have).

• Teachers demonstrate asking questions while reading to determine if the author is writing to persuade: Does the text make arguments? Does the author try to get me to believe something? Is the author trying to convince me to do something? 

• Teachers demonstrate explaining how the details are meant to persuade; authors have stated and implied purposes. What is the author’s main point? How does the author feel about something?

• Teachers provide opportunities for students to identify and explain if a text is written to persuade. 

• Teachers provide opportunities for students to receive feedback on identifying if an author’s purpose is to entertain, inform, or persuade.

When students struggle to determine the author’s purpose, teachers can...

• utilize anchor charts highlighting similarities and differences between the three purposes. 

• demonstrate looking for clues in mentor texts to determine the author's purpose.

• incorporate strategies such as close reads, sorts, and graphic organizers.

When students struggle to explain the author’s purpose, teachers can...

• use think alouds to model comprehension checking.

• have students model writing for each purpose (i.e., writing a joke to entertain, writing a recipe to inform, or writing a review of a book to persuade someone to read it).

• highlight specific details in a text and prompt students to connect the details to the purpose.

• provide students feedback on identifying the purpose.

• Author’s Purpose: the objective, goal, or intended effect a writer wishes to achieve. 

• 4.7.R: Explore multimodal content

• 4.8.W: Independent writing