In this science-themed literacy lesson, students learn how to determine the author's purpose and follow the development of that purpose.

A slideshow with twenty slides with information and examples of four different purposes an author can have for writing a text: to entertain, to persuade, to express, or to inform/explain.

Young scholars will focus on Main Idea, Author's Purpose, Identifying supporting details and Organizing details. Students will read a variety of Informational Text (non-fiction) to understand how stated and implied main idea effect the...

Learn four questions you can ask while reading an informational text to determine the author's point of view. Includes practice worksheet.

Contains plans for two lessons that teach students how to recognize an author's use of style in literature. These plans use "Their Eyes Were Watching God" by Zora Neale Hurston as an example, but the basic ideas can be adapted to other...

Learn the techniques an author uses to share his or her point of view on a subject then practice identifying an author's purpose on your own.

This thematic collection will allow students to read and understand 19th-century non-fiction texts, and support them in identifying key features for a range of genres, audiences, and purposes. Each source is accompanied by original...

This thematic collection will allow students to read and understand 19th-century non-fiction texts, and support them in identifying key features for a range of genres, audiences, and purposes. Each source is accompanied by original...

This thematic collection will allow learners to read and understand 19th-century non-fiction texts, and support them in identifying key features for a range of genres, audiences, and purposes. Each source is accompanied by original...

This thematic collection will allow learners to read and understand 19th-century non-fiction texts, and support them in identifying key features for a range of genres, audiences, and purposes. Each source is accompanied by original...

This unit plan from the Utah Education Network engages students in understanding how authors backgrounds often impact their writing choices. "Human rights" and "discrimination" are the featured topics in the five texts incorporated in...

John F. Kennedy's inaugural speech is one of the most famous speeches in American history. Teachers can use this instructional activity to teach Language Arts standards, as well as Social Studies standards. This lesson plan includes...

In this lesson plan students create digital stories in cooperative groups using multimedia tools to demonstrate comprehension of the elements of grammar, literature, and technology introduced in the lesson plan. Students become actively...

Workshop 2 demonstrates how teachers use authentic sources and topics to prompt students to write about things that matter to them, subjects that relate to their lives, relationships, and communities. The topic may be the students -...

Joseph Bruchac gives a detailed description of his life and also discusses his involvement as a writer of Native American literature. Bruchac discusses his time as a volunteer teacher in West Africa, his memories of growing up with his...

Describes a reading strategy where students must respond to text by supporting their ideas with text-based evidence. Lists different categories of questions the teacher can prepare based on the text chosen, with examples for each.

First graders write many times a day to express their interests - they are writing with a purpose through stories, letters, and lists. In this section, you'll find writing assessment resources, writing strategies, and additional tip...

A fifteen-question quiz in which the reader identifies a type of writing for each situation: argumentation, exposition, narrative, or description. Correct answers are displayed once answers are submitted.

This lesson focuses on rhetorical context including defining it, questions to ask to understand it, and how it can be useful to the reader and responder.