Name: Laurie Shapiro

Date: 4/17/18

Topic/ Subject: Author’s purpose/ Language Arts

Curriculum standards: SOL 4.5- describe how the choice of language, setting, characters, and
information contributes to the author’s purpose

Lesson objectives:

The student will be able to identify the author’s purpose as to entertain, persuade, or inform with
85% accuracy.

The student will be able to identify choices of language within the passage and explain how they
contribute to the author’s purpose.

The student will be able to identify the setting and explain how it contributes to the author’s
purpose.

The student will be able to identify key information in the passage and explain how it contributes
to the author’s purpose.

Assessment of objectives:

The student will identify the language, setting, characters, and key information by verbally
answering QAR questions and taking notes on their graphic organizers with 85% accuracy.

The student will explain how language, setting, and key information contribute to the author’s
purpose through verbal discussion pertaining to the text.

The student will complete the author’s purpose sort with 85% accuracy.

Before (Content, Viewing, or Listening):

1. Introduce the focus of the lesson by explaining author’s purpose is their reason for
writing. Usually authors write to entertain, to persuade, or to inform.
2. Ask students if they can think of examples of when they have read something that has
entertained them, persuaded them to agree with their position, or informed them of
 something. What did those texts look like, and how did they know of the author’s
intentions?
3. Discuss how to identify if an author is writing to entertain, persuade or inform, relating to
the examples given by the students.
4. Explain that we can look at certain words, or language that an author uses, setting,
characters, and information to understand their purpose for writing. As we read our
article, we will think about each of these components, and discuss how they affect our
understanding of the purpose for writing this article.
5. Introduce the graphic organizer and explain that students will identify the purpose for
writing and justify their purpose by giving text- based examples of setting, language,
characters and information.

During (Content, Viewing, or Listening):

1. Have students read the Newsela article “Shelter in Costa Rica is a Heavenly Place for
Stray Dogs”
2. After reading the introductory section, ask students if they can identify the setting that is
discussed in the article. (QAR- right there). Have them take notes in their graphic
organizers before sharing with the group. Direct students to look at the word experience.
Ask them how they think it might support the author’s main idea (QAR- author and you).
3. After reading the section “a million strays” and “a happier life”, ask students what
information they have learned about setting. (QAR- think and search). Have students take
notes in their graphic organizers before sharing with the group.
4. After reading the last section “dogs love visitors”, ask students if they can find anymore
information about the shelter? Have students take notes in their graphic organizers and
share with the group.
5. After reading, ask students to share what they think the author’s purpose was in writing
the article. Guide discussion to explain that the author’s purpose was to provide
information about the dog shelter in Costa Rica.
 6. Give the students a few minutes to reread their article, and circle words that they think
supports the author’s purpose.
7. Discuss what they circled and how it supports the purpose of the article

After:

1. Complete the extension activity: author’s purpose sort

2. Have students read the short paragraphs and sort them by author’s purpose: to entertain,
to persuade, to inform
3. Have students justify their answers

Rationale:

This lesson was organized to engage students in actively comprehending the text through QAR
questioning strategies. The lesson was designed to scaffold students by working intensively as
group to identify and justify the ways in which various literary components serve an author’s
purpose. Their knowledge was assessed through their independent work, where they demonstrate
their understandings by identifying and justifying various author’s purposes in writings.