It is true that the more you practice something, the better you'll get at doing it. Lesson three in a three part series on author's purpose has kids venture out to determine the author's purpose in three different passages. They'll read...

Sixth graders brainstorm the reasons authors write, and they list their responses on the board. Students discuss each purpose they have listed.Students work independently to read the selection  "Tarantulas and Typhoid" by...

A simple activity for young readers, this introduces the idea of author purpose. Learners analyze various types of texts (newspaper articles, magazines, books, advertisements, etc.) and determine if the author's purpose for writing was...

Who knew determining author's purpose could be turned into a game? Four teams compete to correctly identify the author's purpose for writing a series of passages.

Reinforce comprehension of informational text. This is a one-on-one lesson intended to build an internal dialogue the reader can use to boost overall comprehension. They work independently with a tutor or teacher to read a nonfiction...

Learners identify the author's purpose in various poems from the book Words with Wings: A Treasury of African-American Poetry and Art. In order to determine the purpose, pupils first observe as the teacher completes a PIES char...

FDR's December 7, 1941 address to the nation is the focus of a reading comprehension exercise that asks middle schoolers to read an excerpt from the Pearl Harbor speech and determine the president's purpose.

Practice reading strategies using Elizabeti's Doll by Stephanie Stuve-Bodeen. Readers utilize decoding and comprehension strategies before, during, and after reading the story. A detailed list of text features, high frequency words,...

Point of view, purpose, and tone: three concepts readers of primary and secondary source materials must take into account when examining documents. Class members view a PowerPoint presentation and use the SOAPS strategy to identify an...

Middle schoolers identify the key components to determining the author's purpose in literature. They read a short selection and answer four key questions. Student chart the responses. They discuss the responses and identify the author's...

Pupils explore fiction and nonfiction writing. They identify the elements of fiction in a short story and identify the criteria necessary in a nonfiction piece. Students distinguish the author's purpose in an expository text,...

Eighth graders examine a nonfiction selection in a teacher led lesson. They examine the author's purpose for writing the selection and identify the difference between fact and opinion. The compare and contrast expository and narrative...

With the end of the year quickly approaching it's time to find out exactly how much your sixth graders have learned. Specifically designed for the Common Core ELA standards, this practice test gives students five reading passages,...

Second graders make predictions about reading.  For this remedial reading lesson, 2nd graders read a favorite author's story, and read about an animal or favorite hobby or how-to.  Students discuss the various purposes for...

Fourth graders work individually or in a small group to (1) read a nonfictional selection, (2) identify main idea and details, (3) identify the author's purpose, and (4) practice test-taking strategies.

Fourth graders work independently or in a small group to (1) read a nonfiction selection, (2) identify the author's purpose, (3) distinguish informational text from narrative text, (4) skim and scan for facts, and (5) complete a graphic...

Fourth graders read and respond to poetry. They identify the author's purpose and connect the literature to their personal experiences. Students critically analyze the poem and write a poem of their own.

Middle schoolers develop a strategy as they read excerpts from Walk Two Moons. Using question and answer relationship strategies class members bolster their reading comprehension as they appropriately identify and create...

Identifying an author’s choice, especially choices that concern craft and literary devices, is a difficult skill to teach. Here's an activity that will make your job easier. The resource breaks down how to teach the skill to novice,...

How can opinions slant facts? Workshop participants learn how to examine primary and secondary sources and identify the author's point of view. They also examine how visual art impacts the meaning and rhetoric of sources. Full of...

Using a 2002 California Gray David recall vote as an example, young statisticians  identify sources of bias in samples and find ways of reducing and eliminating sampling bias. They consider ways to select random samples from a...

Letter by letter, sound by sound, monitor the growth of your emergent readers with these assessment templates. Adaptable to the needs of individual students, these one-on-one assessments focus on children's ability to identify...

Introduce expository writing to your elementary learners. Young authors write a three-paragraph informational paper using the steps of the writing process. They follow guided lessons to experience each of five steps. Included are tons of...

What other inventions was Thomas Edison responsible for besides the telegraph and lightbulb? Incorporate a set of worksheets into your study of Edison and other inventors. The 48-page packet includes all types of activities from word...