Author's Purpose | Review Lesson
Students will review the idea that authors write for different reasons by listening to, discussing, and sorting familiar texts into three simple categories: to teach, to tell a story, and to entertain. The lesson uses read-alouds, movement, drawing, and shared writing to keep it developmentally appropriate for kindergarten learners.
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| author | The person who writes a book or story. |
| purpose | The reason the author wrote the text. |
| teach | To give information or help someone learn. |
| tell a story | To share what happened in a made-up or real story. |
| entertain | To make readers enjoy, laugh, or have fun. |
Show the anchor chart and ask, 'Why do authors write?' Review the three purposes using simple examples and gestures.
Chorally repeat the three purposes and act them out with the teacher.
Read a familiar picture book or short text and stop to model thinking: 'I think the author wrote this to entertain because it is funny.'
Turn and talk with a partner about what the author’s purpose might be using sentence frames.
Place text cards or book covers one at a time and guide students to sort them under Teach, Tell a Story, or Entertain. Ask students to explain their choices with support.
Come up to place a card, point to the category, and say one reason using a sentence frame.
Call out a purpose and have students move to a labeled corner or gesture that matches the category.
Move to the correct area and say the category aloud.
Write a class sentence such as 'The author wrote this book to entertain.' Model sounding out simple words and drawing a matching picture.
Help generate the sentence, suggest words, and add drawings or labels.
Give students a simple response page with three boxes. Support students as they draw a picture for one purpose or match a book to a category.
Draw, color, or match a text to an author’s purpose with teacher help.
Invite a few students to share their work and restate the three purposes one last time.
Share one drawing or answer and repeat the vocabulary with the class.
End by pointing to the anchor chart and having the class say: 'Authors write to teach, tell a story, and entertain.' Ask students to show with fingers or a gesture which purpose they remember best and remind them that readers can think about why an author wrote a text.
Send home a simple author’s purpose search sheet. Students and a family member look at one book or magazine at home, draw the cover or a favorite page, and tell whether the author wrote it to teach, tell a story, or entertain.