Author's Purpose Guided Practice, Valentine's Day Activity, Grades 6-10 FREE

When I look over my students' shoulders during standardized tests, I notice a LOT of questions about author's purpose. They are being asked to read short snippets of text, then identify the main goal of the author. Is it to persuade? inform? entertain? I developed this mini-unit because my students needed explicit, guided practice with this skill. It is not always as easy as it sounds! Some pieces can fall in to more than one category, which is why a guided discussion can help students solidify this skill.

This activity introduces students to the Author's Purpose (persuade, inform, entertain) through guided practice.

Included:
* Handout explaining the key features and genres of persuasive, informative, and entertaining (PIE) texts
* Model/sample writing for each category (3 total). Each writing piece is about Valentine's Day, but the author has a different purpose in each piece. Read and discuss as a class
* Answer Key and critical discussion points

For additional practice, you can purchase the full unit, including 3 more small group practice and 9 more individual practice writing samples here:
Identifying Author's Purpose: Great Test Prep/Reading Comprehension Grades 6-10

Please download and enjoy! Thank you!