Determine the author's purpose in writing a memoir. Eighth graders work in groups  to elicit author's purpose in memoirs, taking care to note how subtle the message can be hidden throughout the work. This lesson is a good way to...

Explore writing techniques by analyzing newspapers and magazines with middle schoolers. They will collaborate in small groups to read local news stories and identify the main ideas and author's intent. They also utilize an information...

Students review what author's purpose is by understanding that authors either persuade, inform, describe, or entertain with their story. In this language arts activity, students bring in junk mail and in small groups discuss what the...

Examine the power of persuasion and have learners consider how it influences events in their own lives. After reading and analyzing informational texts to understand the author's purpose, class members take a written test and craft a...

Some write to inform, and others to persuade. Show your class the difference between these two purposes with the instructional activity and sample essays provided here. First, model how you might change a few words in order to present a...

Different types of text are written for very different reasons. Learners discuss the differences in writing to entertain, to inform, and to persuade their audiences. They work on identifying the author's purpose by reading and charting...

Young scholars categorize books into the 3 different kinds of author's purpose. In this author's purpose lesson plan, students categorize them into the categories of entertain, inform, and persuade.

Here is a great lesson on recognizing events and themes in a story. Students read chapters from a chosen book and then fill out a graphic organizer to further explore the purpose of the chapter. They write the events, themes, author's...

Fifth graders analyze pieces of writing to identify the author's purpose of writing. In this writing instructional activity, 5th graders consider a variety of pieces of writing such as, poetry, drama, fiction, and non-fiction. Each...

Fourth graders research authors on the Web each month in based on the themes in their reading book. They create an author booklet which includes a picture and biographical information.

Plan a Parts of a Book scavenger hunt. Begin by giving your young adventurers a book, and asking them to find the title, author, illustrator, and table of contents. After a discussion of the purpose of each of these items, class members...

Fifth graders use technology to research and collect data. They develop awareness and appreciation of authors and genres. They organize information for presentation.

Maya Angelou's first autobiography,  I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, demonstrates both the author's exemplary writing and the themes of gender and racial injustice that perpetuate beyond the limits of the 20th century. Use a...

Class members select a science fiction novel for independent study. To verify they have completed the reading, they write a summary, a critique, and an outline of the plot for a sequel or prequel. They then deliver a five-minute...

While reading the book Summer of the Monkeys by Wilson Rawls, the class ties together the core reading objectives, which are making predictions, comprehending new information, reading for author's purpose, independence in reading,...

Have your class go on picture walks of different books, and identify them as either fiction or non fiction and why. Working in groups, kindergartners state whether the book tells information or comes from the author's imagination. Use...

A talkative old man? A naïve believer in Human Perfectibility? A Sage? Who is this guy, anyway? The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin launches a study of the way Franklin uses structure, style, and purpose, as well as different...

Students examine the writing techniques of professional authors and apply them to their own work. In pairs, they email authors to discover the tricks of the trade. Students create their own Website for their work.

Middle schoolers aren't too young to feel strongly about politics, social issues, consumer rights, or environmental problems. Demonstrate the first steps toward social change with a project about action-oriented writing. Eighth...

Wow! Here is a most-impressive series of lessons and activities that revolve around the classic story, The Tale of Peter Rabbit. The purpose of the lessons are to provide an agricultural theme in the reading, writing, and science...

Analyze the motivation, purpose, and value of letters to the editor by examining letters written in response to the violence at Columbine High School. For homework, middle and high schoolers write their own letters to the editor about an...

Students brainstorm author's purpose, and use their imagination to draw pictures that illustrate what the purpose is. In this literature and writing lesson plan, student's use Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone as a guide from which...

Oh the joys of love! As a special Valentine's Day assignment, budding authors research the life of one of the most romantic poets, Keats. They read the letter, "To Fanny Brawne, 13 October 1819," then compose a love letter of their own....

Introduce your young readers to fiction written by women authors. For each story, they explore the way these daughters discover and claim their own identities. Individually, class members use the literature to examine their role in their...