I get it. We all want easy ways for our students to remember things, and PIE or (PIES) is a simple acronym for some common reasons that authors write a text. The problem is, author’s purpose is not “as easy as pie.” Those cute anchor charts are fine to use as an introduction if we go further with our instruction, exclude the word “easy,” and forgo the urge to list genres underneath these purposes. We can’t just slap up anchor charts and think our students are going to understand author’s purpose at all. We also can’t teach our students that you can determine an author’s purpose based on genre alone. It’s just not that simple.

All fiction texts were not written simply to entertain. Stories with strong themes such as fables and folktales are often written to teach or express a life lesson. Some fiction stories are designed to persuade us to think or care about something. The Great Kapok Tree by Lynne Cherry and The Lorax by Dr. Seuss are great examples.

We also want our students to deepen their analysis of nonfiction texts. Rather than labeling all nonfiction as “to inform,” encourage them to ask, is the author describing? Comparing? Explaining? Showing the causes and effects of events?

Leading students to believe that we can easily categorize texts into three or four purposes causes a lack of depth in their analysis. I’m not saying that we can’t ever introduce PIE (or PIES) as common purposes, I just think we need to encourage our students to go beyond the surface.

So, how do we go about teaching author’s purpose?

We want our readers to determine the author’s main idea (or theme), examine the way he/she went about expressing and supporting that main idea, and analyze why he/she chose to write about it. One way to do this is to compare authors to architects. An architect builds a school for the purpose of educating students, a hospital for the purpose of healing the sick and wounded, and a house for the purpose of providing shelter and comfort for a family. These buildings are designed in very different ways because they all have different purposes. Authors do the same thing when they write. They are architects designing their stories and texts. They start with the purpose of the text and make choices about the genre, structure, text, word choice, and features to help him/her achieve that purpose. The anchor chart below is from my Interactive Reading Notebook.

You can then use this model to analyze and discuss the author’s purpose of a text, and how he/she “built it”. The example below is from an activity included in an interactive notebook for an article I found on Readworks.org. Both the anchor chart and the graphic organizer below can be found in my Interactive Reading Notebook.

Discussion is key. Hold class discussions over texts read together. Have small group discussions about the texts read in guided reading or book clubs. Use task cards or other short texts to have groups or partners discuss the author’s purpose.

Once students have a good understanding of author’s purpose, practice can be extended through reader’s response for independent reading or book clubs. The class could also create a “skyline” of texts using the graphic organizer buildings for author’s purpose.

Solidify their understanding of author’s purpose by connecting it to their writing. Have students complete a graphic organizer as a part of their prewriting that helps them identify their purpose and make choices about their writing based on that purpose.

By using complex examples and teaching your readers to think critically about the choices the author makes in order to achieve his/her purpose, you are teaching them to be analytical readers and empowering them to draw their own conclusions.

I don’t know about you, but February always has me stressed. Pouring over benchmark scores and counting the number of weeks left before the state test has a way of doing that to me. On top of that, I am supposed to use class time for a party? Don’t get me wrong, I have always loved celebrating with my littles. However, anyone that knows me can attest to my disdain for wasted time in the classroom. That’s why I sneak in reading instruction and practice into every second of Valentine’s Day, including the party. The best part? The kids just see it all as a part of our Valentine’s Day celebration.

Here Are 5 Activities to Keep Valentine’s Day Fun and Focused:

Valentine’s Themed BINGO

You can turn literally any BINGO game into a Valentine’s themed game by using Hershey’s Kisses or other candies as your “markers”. So, dust off that old reading strategy BINGO game you have in the cabinet and start playing. This makes for a great game during the party and has your students reviewing strategies and concepts. This Valentine’s Day Synonym and Antonym BINGO game can be purchased here.

Read and follow a procedural text to create a Valentine’s Day Craft!

Kids love origami and Pinterest is full of How-Tos for making Valentine’s Crafts, so you’ll have plenty of options for this. I found a procedural text for creating heart-shaped bookmarks online that I love by DIY Candy. I did need to do a bit of copying and pasting to create the format that I wanted to present to the students. Use the procedural text to gather your materials and make your own bookmarks/crafts, all the while discussing how each part of the procedural text helps you understand the procedure. The students end up with a super cute new craft and have fun reading along the way! The kids have so much fun creating their bookmarks that this could even be done as a party activity!

Use a SCOOT Activity to Review

I am a sucker for using scoots to review! I love that it gets the kids up and moving, and they love it too! Turn this into Valentine’s Day fun by finding some cute Valentine’s themed task cards. There are plenty of moderately priced task cards on Teachers Pay Teachers. The Valentine’s Day Context Clues Task Cards pictured below can be purchased here.

“We Love…” Writing

I love creating bulletin boards and displays with my students’ work, ideas, and creations. As a reading teacher, I go with the “We Love Books” theme. Students chose a book that they love and write about why they love it inside a heart. This can go as in-depth as you want. I like to have them include quotes, character descriptions, connections, and themes. Once they complete their writing, they are invited to add a heart background and decorations. These are then added to a display outside the classroom. The parents love seeing all the book recommendations when they come for the class Valentine’s party and it gives the kids great ideas for what to read next. This may be the easiest one to implement. All it takes is some construction paper, a pencil, and some markers/crayons. The Teacher Studio has also created a bulletin board set if you’d like to have it all ready to go for you.

Reader’s Theater

Reader’s theater is a great way to help students practice their reading fluency. Plus, parents love watching the performances during the party! You can write a reader’s theater script from any Valentine’s Day read aloud. One of my favorites for the younger grades is Arthur’s Valentine by Marc Brown. It’s a pretty easy one to create a script from as well.

You already set the foundation by sharing your passion for reading with your students throughout the year. Now you just need to add that extra little push to extend that passion through the holidays. A simple, stress-free way to do this is to hold “book talk lunch parties” when you come back in January. Eating lunch in the classroom with you is always exciting. Use that excitement to get your students pumped up about reading by creating a buzz about upcoming book talk parties. This gives kids an extra incentive and helps them see that reading and talking about text is rewarding and fun.

First, make sure they have access to quality texts over the break.

It can be a little bit scary to let your students bring home the books from your classroom library, but it is worth the risk. If this is something that you are uncomfortable with doing on a regular basis, try making an exception for winter break. You can keep track of which students have which books by having them fill out a check-out form. 

Consider including information about the local public library in your newsletter or send home a separate flyer about it.

Create  your book talk groups.

I suggest splitting your class into groups of four or five for these talks. That way you can each spend a good deal of time talking about your reading. However, if you have a large number of students, you may want to consider making larger groups to avoid spending every day eating lunch in the classroom rather than the lounge. Think about the amount of time you are willing to commit and adjust accordingly. Assign a day for each group to eat with you in the classroom when you come back to school in January. Be sure to mark down which students are invited to which day because the invites are sure to get lost over the break.

Invite your students!

This isn’t a bribe and students shouldn’t need to meet any requirements in order to join in the fun. Everyone wins when everyone is included. Students who did read over the break will get to share their opinions about what they read with their friends. Students who did not read will get to hear their excited peers share great books and may be inspired to read a few themselves. Click on the image to download your FREE invitations!

Make sure the students understand your expectations for the “book talk parties”.

Let the students know what you would like to talk about during these book talk parties when you invite them, but be sure to keep it light and fun. This can be as simple as saying, “I’m so excited to hear about your favorite parts of the story!” or, “I can’t wait to hear what types of connections you make to your reading!” The goal is to get the kids to understand the purpose of the “parties” without making it sound like work.

Host the book talk parties!

Now’s the fun part! Your students are already so excited to see you again and will be thrilled to eat with you. They will want to tell you about everything they did over the break, including their reading. Let them talk about their reading AND their lives. Add a little something special to the “party” by bringing cookies or another sweet treat.