MOCK
MSA
DAY
Gwynn Park Middle School
Author’s Point of View

Today’s lesson will discuss the author’s purpose and math selected response questions (looking for distracters).

What is
Author’s Purpose
?
The reason an author writes something is called the author’s purpose.
Authors write for one of three reasons:
 To entertain ,
 To explain or inform , or
 To persuade

The author’s purpose is to explain or inform if a reading text…
• Provides facts about a particular subject.
or
• Tells readers how to do something.

The author’s purpose is to explain or inform if a reading text…
• Provides facts about a particular subject.
or
• Tells readers how to do something.

The author’s purpose is to persuade if the reading text contains…
• many opinions;
• tries to convince readers to do something; or
• believe something.

When reading a text, determining the author’s purpose helps you to figure out information in that text.
As you begin reading…
– Look at the title of the text for a clue to the author’s purpose (sometimes clues to the author’s purpose are in the title).
– While you are reading, ask yourself why the text was written and look to see if it has lots of facts , lots of opinions , or the elements of a story to help you figure out the purpose.

I Do
Determine the Author’s Purpose
“Teacher Read Aloud”
A Great Day
It was Monday morning, and Ms. Stockton was a little late for work again.
Upon getting off the elevator, she noticed something very strange. Everyone was wearing red and gold football jerseys. Not only were the students wearing them, but so were the teachers. When she looked closer, she noticed something else, they weren’t teachers; but substitutes, and they were the biggest substitutes she had ever seen. She walked up to the man standing in front of Mr. Young’s door and asked, “What’s going on here? Where’s Mr.
Young?”
The substitute responded, “I’m not sure what you mean. This is my class.
I work here at Gwynn Park Middle School. Why are you here?” Stunned, Ms.
Stockton continued to focus on the other teachers down the corridor. “Are you okay ma’am?” Asked the gentleman eyeing her quizzically. “I’m not sure, Ms.
Stockton stammered.”
Confused, Ms. Stockton turned to walk away, but suddenly stopped in her tracks. “Wait a minute, aren’t you Jason Campbell, the Redskins football player?” She exclaimed excitedly.
“Ma’am, you must be mistaken.” He replied as he greeted the students entering his class. Pausing, Mr. Campbell, pointed to the door sign leading into his room. “As I said, my name is Mr. Campbell, and over there are my friends and colleagues, Mr. London Fletcher and Mr. Fred Smoot.” Ms. Stockton quickly attempted to snap a picture with her camera phone when suddenly; the alarm went off loudly jolting her from her sleep.
“Ah man, it was just a dream!” Ms. Stockton hit the snooze on her clock and rolled over. “What a great dream!

I Do: Author’s Purpose:
“Great Day”
Review the following checklist…
 Did the author inform you of something?
 Were you being persuaded to do something or to think a certain way?
 Was the author trying to entertain you through a story?

Think
Time!!!
What was the author’s purpose for writing this selection?
a. To inform b. To entertain c. To persuade

TEST TAKING TIPS!!!!
How to tell when a question is asking you about the author’s purpose:
 A test question may ask you why an author probably wrote a particular reading text. This kind of question is asking about the purpose of the entire reading text.
 A test question may ask you why a particular paragraph was written. This kind of question is asking about one part of the reading text.
 A test question may ask you what you think the author wants readers to know. To help you answer this type of test question, think about why the author probably wrote the reading text.

LET’S
PRACTICE

Be sure to read the problems carefully, is: you have been taught in class. Do not quickly guess because…chances are…your guess will be there and you will be wrong.