2nd - 4th Grade Common Core Author's Purpose Resources

Authors persuade, inform, and entertain through various types of writing! Students set out to identify the author’s purpose.

Learners will practice identifying the author's purpose in eight sample paragraphs, using text evidence to support their choice.

Use this high-interest text with your students to practice recognizing the author’s point of view. Students will determine the author’s viewpoint on the subject of the Titanic as they establish their own points of view.

Learners will categorize 12 different types of text according to why the author would write them, using the acronym PIE as a mnemonic device.

Use this science-themed resource with your students to practice recognizing the author’s point of view in a text about life cycles. Students will determine the author’s viewpoint on the subject as they establish their own points of view.

Identifying the author’s purpose is as easy as P-I-E with the right mnemonic device!

This short nonfiction text will teach students about the ocean, and includes questions to help students identify the author’s point of view and purpose for writing the text by focusing on important vocabulary words that support the main idea.

Children will practice bringing excitement to their writing in this fun language and vocabulary worksheet.

All authors write for a reason, be it to explain, entertain, or persuade their readers. In this activity, your students will consider the author’s purpose of a book of their choosing, then justify their answer.

This short fictional text can be used to help students determine words and phrases the author uses to help the reader figure out the central message of the story.

Similes are all around us—sometimes you just need a little context to know how to decipher them! This lighthearted story about a twisted ankle contains two hidden similes. Can your students find them?

Your students will love reading this classic fable as they seek to determine the author’s purpose and differentiate fiction from nonfiction.

Learn about Eleanor Roosevelt, the groundbreaking first lady known for her humanitarian work and for being the first U.S.delegate to the United Nations in 1942.

Students are asked to distinguish between first and third person narration as well as fiction or nonfiction writing.

Learners will review a definition for each type of author's purpose, then sort nine sentences according to these criteria.

Differentiating between facts and opinions is a key fourth grade skill to master and is helpful in identifying the author’s purpose in a text. Use this activity to give your students extra practice differentiating between these two kinds of sentences.

Students will read an adaptation of the classic story "The Princess and the Pea" by Hans Christian Andersen. Then they'll seek to determine the author’s purpose and explain their reasoning.

From the topic of roller coasters to the topic of spinach, this kid-friendly worksheet guides a student in comparing their opinion to the opinions of the fictional character named “Jimmy.”

Authors use sensory language to make their writing more descriptive. Have your students consider the words authors use to create specific moods in this fun pumpkin-themed worksheet!

Use this resource to give your students practice reading a short nonfiction passage and recognizing the author’s viewpoint about the topic. Then, they will pick out the text evidence that supports the author’s viewpoint.

Use this resource with your students to practice recognizing the author’s point of view in a text about a major historical event. Students will read a passage about the Tsunami of 2004 and determine the author’s viewpoint as they establish their own point

Students will rewrite the narration and point of view of various texts.

This graphic organizer helps students work through a nonfiction text to help organize information about the author’s point, and the reasons and evidence used to support it.

Use this glossary with the EL Support Lesson Plan: The Purpose of Fiction Texts.

Help your second grade students identify the author’s purpose as they answer questions about a nonfiction text.

Ideal for fourth and fifth graders, this worksheet includes figurative language examples and definitions on the first page, and a second full page of questions and tasks that can be used to check for understanding.

Use this worksheet to help students identify personified nouns and their respective verbs.

Use this glossary with the EL Support Lesson: Identifying the Author's Purpose.

Use these vocabulary cards with the EL Support Lesson: Who Is Telling the Story?

Help your second grade students identify the evidence behind the author’s purpose.