Coding the Author’s Purpose

Author's Purpose | Independent Practice

Grade 3 Coding Author's Purpose Independent Practice Challenging Professional 5 Views

Professional Lesson Plan

Coding the Author’s Purpose

Author's Purpose | Independent Practice

GradeGrade 3

SubjectCoding

TopicAuthor's Purpose

Duration15 Minutes

Lesson TypeIndependent Practice

DifficultyChallenging

Lesson Overview

Students independently practice identifying an author’s purpose by following and creating simple code-style directions. They read short passages, decide whether the author’s purpose is to persuade, inform, or entertain, and then justify their choice using evidence from the text.

Learning Objectives

Identify whether a short text is meant to persuade, inform, or entertain.
Use text evidence to explain an author's purpose.
Apply coding-style problem solving to sort and label examples independently.

Materials Needed

Short passage cards or worksheet with 6-8 brief texts
Pencil or crayons
Three labeled response boxes or columns: Persuade, Inform, Entertain
Optional highlighters
Exit ticket

Vocabulary

Term	Definition
author's purpose	The reason an author writes a text.
persuade	To convince the reader to do or believe something.
inform	To teach or give facts.
entertain	To make the reader enjoy or laugh.
evidence	Words or details from the text that support an answer.
code	A set of steps or directions used to solve a problem.

Lesson Sequence

Warm-Up: Code the Rule2 minutes

Teacher Actions

Show three icons or labels: persuade, inform, entertain. Remind students that today they will 'decode' each passage to find the author's purpose.

Student Actions

Listen, point to the label they think matches, and get materials ready.

Independent Practice: Read and Sort8 minutes

Teacher Actions

Provide 6-8 short passages. Model one example quickly, then release students to work independently. Circulate and prompt with questions like, 'What clue tells you that?'

Student Actions

Read each passage, choose the author’s purpose, and record one clue or sentence from the text that proves their answer.

Challenge Step: Explain the Code3 minutes

Teacher Actions

Ask students to revisit two passages and write a short reason using the sentence frame: 'I think the author’s purpose is ___ because ___.''

Student Actions

Write evidence-based explanations for two answers.

Check and Share2 minutes

Teacher Actions

Review answers with the class or a small group. Highlight one strong example of evidence.

Student Actions

Compare answers, correct mistakes, and share one passage with a partner or aloud if time allows.

Support

Use passages with bolded clue words for struggling readers.
Provide a word bank with signal words like buy, facts, funny, and learn.
Allow students to circle clues before writing.
Offer sentence frames: 'The author wants to ___.' and 'I know because ___.''

Challenge

Include passages with mixed clues so students must think carefully.
Ask students to write which clue word was most helpful and why.
Have students create one new mini-passage and label its purpose.

Checks for Understanding

Observe student choices during independent practice.
Review written evidence on the worksheet.
Use an exit ticket: students identify the purpose of one new short text and give one clue from the text.

Closure

Ask students to complete the exit ticket and say one clue that helped them decode an author’s purpose today.

Assessment

Formative assessment through the independent practice worksheet and exit ticket responses, scored for correct purpose identification and supporting evidence.