Author’s Purpose: Group and Individual/Problem Solving and Thinking Tasks

Name:  _____________________ Date:  _____________________

Author’s Purpose:  Group and Individual/Problem Solving and Thinking Tasks

Direction/Discussion:   Participate in a small group discussion about entertaining, information, and persuasive stories to analyze, compare, contrast, draw conclusions/justify solutions, and identify relevant/irrelevant information in order to put entertain,  information, and persuasive stories in the correct categories in lists and a 3-column chart.  During the discussion, evaluate and explain the author’s purpose for students –selected entertaining, informative, and persuasive stories. Make a list of five entertaining, five information, and five persuasive stories on a piece of chart paper. 

Direction:  Respond to each higher order question in your groups.

1. How are all of the stories alike in the entertain list?  Explain your response in complete sentences.
2. How are all of the stories alike in the information list?  Explain your response in complete sentences.
3. How are all the stories alike in the persuade list?  Explain your response in complete sentences.
4. How are the stories in the entertain, information, and persuade lists different?  Explain your response in complete sentences.
5. How will you use what you have learned about the author’s purpose to analyze the books that you select from the library?  Explain your response in complete sentences.

Direction/Group Task: Each group will draw a 3– column chart to analyze previously read stories in order to determine the author’s purpose for three or more stories in the entertain, information, and persuade categories on a piece of chart paper.  Analyze entertaining, informative, and persuasive stories and write the stories titles in the entertain, information, and persuade categories in a 3-column chart.  Select three or more stories to write on the 3 –column chart in the entertain category from the entertain stories list.  Select three or more stories to write on the 3 – column chart in the information category from the information stories list.  Select three or more stories to write on the 3 – column chart in the persuade category from the persuade stories list.  Write a sentence that explains how all the entertain stories are alike.  Write a sentence that explains how all the information stories are alike.   Write a sentence that explains how all the persuasive stories are alike. 

Direction/Individual Task:   Each student will select one story from the  3 – column chart to demonstrate the reason the author wrote one story. Write the title of the story at the top of an index card.  Draw and label one picture on the index card that demonstrates the author’s purpose for the story.   Write a sentence that explains the reason the author wrote the story at the bottom of the index card.