Author's Purpose: Easy as PIE

Lesson Plan - Get It!

Audio:

Authors write to Persuade, Inform, and Entertain their readers.

As you watch the video below, consider the purpose of Aesop's fable, "The Boy Who Cried Wolf." The purpose of this story is to entertain you!

The purpose of this lesson is to teach you about the three purposes for writing.

Authors write to persuade. Persuade means to change the reader's mind.

Perhaps an author wants you to consider another point of view. Think about advertisements in the newspaper or on television. The authors of those advertisements want to persuade you to buy their product, vote for their candidate, or even visit their town.

Read the excerpt on why people should visit Punxsutawny, Pennsylvania. The author's purpose is to persuade.

Have you ever heard of Groundhog Day? It is fun holiday where a groundhog predicts if spring will come early or if there will be six more weeks of winter. What sort of groundhog can do that? Punxsutawney Phil is his name!

Phil lives in the adorable little town of Punxsutawney in Western Pennsylvania. This quaint town is surrounded by beautiful rolling hills and farms. Every February 2nd, Phil pokes his head out of his home in Punxksutawney and looks for his shadow. You absolutley need to travel to Punxsutawny at least once in your life to watch this groundhog predict the weather!

And that's not all there is to do in Punxsutawney! There is a huge party on Gobbler's Knob, where Phil lives. There is music and dancing and food. The town fair takes place on Main Street with ice and wood sculpting. The town also has a Weather Center with fun exhibits. You will have the best time visiting Punxsutawny!

Consider the following questions.

• What is the author trying to persuade her readers to do?
• What is the author's point of view?
• Does the author have a message?

This author's purpose is to persuade.

Authors can also write to inform.

Think about when you leave a note for your mom or text your friend. Your purpose is usually to inform. For example, you might tell your mom that you're going to a friend's house or that you cleaned your room.

Authors of writings such as newspapers, websites, magazines, and books, often write to inform. Typically, these are non-fiction pieces, because they are informing you about facts.

Read this informational text about the history of Punxsutawney and Groundhog Day. The author's purpose is to inform.

The first Groundhog Day was celebrated in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania on 2 February 1887. At the time just a small group of men, known as The Groundhog Club's Inner Circle, watched. Today when Punxsutawny Phil looks for his shaodw on Gobbler's Knob, he does so to a crowd of nearly 30,000 people.

Since his first predicationin 1887, Punxsutawney Phil has seen his shadow 108 times (as of 2023) predicting a long witner. He has only ever predicted 20 early springs. According to meterologists, that makes this groundhog's weather predictions accurate about 39% of the time.

Consider the following questions.

• What did you learn in this text?
• Are there facts present?
• Is this passage true?

This author's purpose is to inform.

Authors also write to entertain.

These texts are meant to make you feel various emotions. Perhaps you'll laugh or cry because you connect with the characters or the content. Texts that entertain can be fictional novels, knock-knock jokes, comic strips, and picture books.

Read this excerpt from Substitute Groundhog, by Pat Miller. Its purpose is to entertain.

Groundhog felt so awful . . . But Groundhog Day was tomorrow! Groundhog couldn't let everyone down because he was too sick to do his job. He tried to think of something.

On his way home to bed, Groundhog passed the Hidey Hole Diner. He saw want ads from all the neighborhood animals tacked to a nearby tree. . . .

"I know what I'll do!" Groundhog thought. "I'll advertise for a substitute groundhog."

By ten o'clock, a line of animals waited to try out. "Great!" said Groundhog with a sneeze. "Surely one of you can do Groundhog Day for me."

Consider the following questions.

• How did this passage make you feel?
• Did you connect with the narrator?
• Have you ever felt too sick before?

This author's purpose is to entertain.

You've learned that authors have a purpose when they write. They're writing to Persuade, Inform, or Entertain.

Now, move on to the Got It! section to discover how to discover the author's purpose.