Jessica Pulido- Standards-Based SDAIE Curriculum Unit

Subject Matter: English Language Arts & Author’s Purpose

Topic: Author’s Purpose
Grade Level: 2nd grade
English acquisition level of target student: expanding (formerly called intermediate) level of
English language acquisition.
Lesson One
Step One: Identify Desired Results
California Department of Education Common Core or Content Standard(s) addressed in this
Lesson: (Give the subject, # and written text of the standard)
 CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.2.6
Identify the main purpose of a text, including what the author wants to answer, explain,
or describe.
 CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.2.8
Describe how reasons support specific points the author makes in a text.

California Department of Education ELD Standard addressed in this Lesson:

Expanding level (Intermediate) English learner
 Adjust language choices (e.g., vocabulary, use of dialogue, etc.) according to purpose
(e.g., persuading, entertaining), task, and audience (e.g., peers versus adults) with
moderate support from peers or adults.

Content Learning Goals & Objectives:

 Students will be able to identify the author’s purpose for writing the story.

English language development Goals & Objectives

 Students will be able to orally explain the author’s purpose and demonstrate
comprehension using simple sentences key content based vocabulary.

Step 2 – Determine Acceptable Evidence

Authentic Assessment that will demonstrate that students have achieved desired results.
(Note: Only two authentic assessments are required in the three lessons)
 Please see Lesson 2 and Lesson 3

Rubric that will be used to evaluate Authentic Assessment (only one required in the unit)
 Please see Lesson 3

Step 3 – Plan Learning Experiences and Instruction

Specific SDAIE Strategies employed in the lesson:
 Anticipatory Guide - Students are shown a series of videos or clips and are asked to
indicate the purpose of each clip. After the information has been presented, students
check to see if they were correct.
 Think-Pair-Share - When asked to consider an idea or answer a question, students write
their ideas on paper (think). Each student turns to another student nearby and reads or
tells his or her own responses (pair, share). This is an oral exchange, not a reading of
each other's papers.
  Inside-Outside Circle - Students are arranged into two equal circles, one inside the
other. Students from the smaller inside circle face those in the outer larger circle and
vice versa. Students ask each other questions about a review topic. These may be either
teacher or student generated. Students from one of the circles rotate to either the left or
right. The teacher determines how many steps and in which direction. Another question
is asked and answered.

Materials and Resources:

 Author’s Purpose Anchor Chart

 Author’s Purpose Checklist
 Smartboard
 Author’s Purpose Commercials Video (YouTube)
 PIE cards

Procedures/ Guided Practice: (This is the most important section of the lesson. All steps
must be fully explained and time required stated.)
 Connection (10 minutes)
o Yesterday, I was watching television and came across three videos that made me
think, “What was the purpose of each commercial?”

o Explain to the class that they are going to watch three different commercials.
 Oxi Clean Infomercial
 Kia dancing Hamster Commercials
 Weather Broadcast Clip

o As the students view each segment, ask them to think about the author’s purpose
by posing the following questions:
 Did it make you laugh?
 Did you learn something or give you facts?
 Did it try to make you believe something?

o After playing the three commercials, review the purpose of each segment.
 Oxi Clean Infomercial- One of the students is likely to say that they made
the commercial because they want you to buy their product. Reframe their
thinking and say that they want to PERSUADE you into buying it.
 Kia dancing Hamster Commercials- A student is likely to say this clip
makes you laugh. Reframe their thinking and say the purpose is to
ENTERTAIN you.
 Weather Broadcast Clip- A student is likely to say this clip tells you know
what’s going on in the world. Reframe their thinking and say the purpose is
to INFORM you with what’s happening around you.

o I explain, “Just like creators of television and film, every author has a specific
purpose or reason for writing. For example, an author might write to inform or
explain something to the reader about a topic, to persuade someone to think about
an idea or convince them to do something, or simply to tell an entertaining story.
 Teaching Point: (5 minutes)
o This week, we will be focusing on Author’s Purpose, which is the reason an author
writes a text. It is important to understand the Author’s Purpose of a text so that
they can read with purpose and have greater comprehension.

o Teacher reviews the content (identify author’s purpose) and language objective
(orally explain the author’s purpose and demonstrate comprehension using simple
sentences key vocabulary) that are taken from the state or national standards.

o Teacher will identify a possible misconception the students might have about the
words “demonstrate and comprehension.” By previewing vocabulary or using the
preload strategy, the teacher helps students comprehend and understand the
overall goal of the lesson.

o Students can recall the three main purposes by remembering the acronym PIE—
Persuade, Inform, Entertain.

o Display a copy of the Author’s Purpose PIE chart on an interactive whiteboard, or

copy it onto chart paper. Read each section of the pie aloud, reviewing the
different clues that are included in each section. Point out that readers can look
for illustrations, text features or text evidence to help identify the author’s
purpose.
 Active Engagement: (15 minutes)
o With the Author’s Purpose anchor chart displayed on the board, I explain to the
students that we will use what we learned to determine the author’s purpose by
looking at the front cover and title of the three texts:
 The True Story of the Three Little Pigs
 National Geographic: Panda
 Amelia Bedlia

o Read the title of each type of text aloud. Have students identify the author’s
purpose and support their answers by referring to the PIE chart during Think-
Pair-Share.

o Teacher will ask the following questions for each text:

 ”What do you notice about the front cover?”
 What do you think the title means?”
 “What was the reason this piece was written?”
 “The text was written mainly to…”
 Entertain
 Did the author try to make me laugh?
 Did the author tell me a story?

 Inform
 Did the author give me facts?
 Did the author try to teach me something?
  Persuade
 Did the author try to convince me to believe something?
 Did the author try to change my opinion about something?
 Did the author describe real or fictional characters?

 Group Work (20 minutes)

o Now that I’ve introduced Author’s Purpose, I tell them that when they are
reading today, their job is just to notice the Author’s Purpose of the books in their
browsing boxes by only looking at the title and front cover.

o Students will use Author’s Purpose Checklist sheet to identify the three books
provided to the group.

(Title of Text)
o Students will use sentence starter, “I believe the author for ___________________,
persuade, entertain or inform
is trying to _________________________________, because the text is
(giving me facts, telling a story or changing my opinion.)
_______________________________________________________.

o Cooperative Groups are assigned different roles for this task:

 Recorder- Writes response on the post-it for the group to read during
presentation or share. (Expanding English Learners)
 Presenter- Presents the groups’ finished work or findings written on the
post-it. (Bridging English Learners)
 Leader- Makes sure that every voice is heard (Bridging English
Learners)
 Errand Monitor- Briefly leaves the group to get supplies (books, post-its)
or to request help from the teacher when group members agree that they do
not have the resources to solve the problem. (Emerging English
Learners)

o At the end of Group Work the class will return back to the rug to Think-Pair-
Share.

Independent Practice:
 Once the students in all the groups have completed the group work, they will each
receive PIE book title and front cover cards.
 Emerging, Expanding and Bridging English Learners will receive PIE cards that are on
appropriate student reading/learning level.
 Instruct students to focus on the title and front cover on the PIE cards to determine the
purpose (persuade, inform, or entertain) of each card. Students can use the Author’s
Purpose Checklist as a reference.
 Have students sort the three PIE cards into the appropriate category (placing a P-
Persuade, E- Entertain, or I- Inform on the back of the card), and underline any clues
that led them to that decision.

Closure/Concluding Activity:
 Once the students in all the groups have completed the independent work, they will
gather at the rug again with assigned partners.
 Students will use their PIE passage cards for an activity called “Inside Outside Circle.”
  Students form two concentric circles and exchange information with a partner until the
teacher signals the outer circle to move in one direction, giving each student a new peer
to talk to.
 The teacher explains that the outside circle will read one of their PIE cards to the inside
circle. Each student will take turns reading their book titles and identify and explain if
card is meant to persuade, inform or entertain the reader. Students use “Author’s
Purpose” anchor chart as a visual to explain why card is meant to persuade, entertain or
inform. (The use of this anchor chart, allows the students to visually organize their
learning and provided a demonstration on what the students are expected to do.)

Lesson Two

Step One: Identify Desired Results

California Department of Education Common Core or Content Standard(s) addressed in this

Lesson: (Give the subject, # and written text of the standard)
 CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.2.6
Identify the main purpose of a text, including what the author wants to answer, explain,
or describe.
 CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.2.8
Describe how reasons support specific points the author makes in a text.

California Department of Education ELD Standard addressed in this Lesson:

(Select either a reading, writing, listening or speaking standard for the emerging level)
Expanding level (Intermediate) English learner
 Adjust language choices (e.g., vocabulary, use of dialogue, etc.) according to purpose
(e.g., persuading, entertaining), task, and audience (e.g., peers versus adults) with
moderate support from peers or adults.

Content Learning Goals & Objectives:

 Students will be able to identify the author’s purpose for writing the story.

English language development Goals & Objectives

 Students will be able to orally explain the author’s purpose and demonstrate
comprehension using simple sentences key content based vocabulary.

Step 2 – Determine Acceptable Evidence

Authentic Assessment that will demonstrate that students have achieved desired results.

Students will be divided into groups of 3-4 and use the school library to locate the Author
Purpose of three texts (1- Persuade, 1- Entertain and 1- Inform). The groups will be chosen by
me and ELL students will be divided amongst groups so that they can work with students that
could help them with the exercise. Students will work together to locate, identify and provide
examples of the author’s purpose of three texts. Also, they present the three texts and their
findings as a group to the class to explain why each text was written to persuade, inform or
entertain the reader.
Step 3 – Plan Learning Experiences and Instruction
Specific SDAIE Strategies employed in the lesson:.
 Co-op Co-op - Students work in teams to complete a project. Students are assigned a
task and divided in homogenous groups. Students will use team building skills to locate,
identify and provide examples of the author’s purpose of three texts. Groups will then
conduct a mini team presentation to the class as an evaluation.
 Think-Pair-Share - When asked to consider an idea or answer a question, students write
their ideas on paper (think). Each student turns to another student nearby and reads or
tells his or her own responses (pair, share). This is an oral exchange, not a reading of
each other's papers.
 Inside-Outside Circle - Students are arranged into two equal circles, one inside the
other. Students from the smaller inside circle face those in the outer larger circle and
vice versa. Students ask each other questions about a review topic. These may be either
teacher or student generated. Students from one of the circles rotate to either the left or
right. The teacher determines how many steps and in which direction. Another question
is asked and answered.

Materials and Resources:

 Author’s Purpose Anchor Chart
 Author’s Purpose Checklist
 Smartboard
 The True Story of the Three Little Pigs or Persuade Text
 National Geographic: Panda or Informative Text
 Amelia Bedlia or Entertain Text

Procedures/ Guided Practice: (This is the most important section of the lesson. All steps must
be fully explained and time required stated.)
 Connection (10 minutes)
o Yesterday, we watched television commercials and read titles of books to
determine, “What was the purpose of each commercial/book?”
 Entertain
 Did the author try to make me laugh?
 Did the author tell me a story?
 Inform
 Did the author give me facts?
 Did the author try to teach me something?
 Persuade
 Did the author try to convince me to believe something?
 Did the author try to change my opinion about something?
 Did the author describe real or fictional characters?
 Teaching Point: (5 minutes)
o Today, we will be focusing on finding examples in the text to support the reason
or Author’s Purpose (Persuade, Infor or Entertain) for writing the text.

o Teacher reviews the content (identify author’s purpose) and language objective
(orally explain the author’s purpose and demonstrate comprehension using simple
sentences key vocabulary) that are taken from the state or national standards.
 o Teacher will identify a possible misconception the students might have about the
words “demonstrate and comprehension.” By previewing vocabulary or using the
preload strategy, the teacher helps students comprehend and understand the
overall goal of the lesson.

o Read each section of the pie aloud, reviewing the different clues that are included
in each section. Point out that readers can look for illustrations, text features or
text evidence to help identify the author’s purpose.

 Active Engagement: (15 minutes)

o With the Author’s Purpose anchor chart displayed on the board, I explain to the
students that we will use what we learned yesterday to find examples in the text
to support the author’s purpose of the following:
 The True Story of the Three Little Pigs
 National Geographic: Panda
 Amelia Bedlia

o Read a short selection of each type of text aloud. Have students identify examples
to support the author’s purpose by referring to the PIE chart during Think-Pair-
Share.

o Teacher will explain that authors don't usually state a purpose, so you need to
pay close attention to the details that are given in the text in order to be able to
determine the author's purpose for writing.

o Teacher will ask the following questions for each text:

 Entertain
 Where in the text did the author try to make me laugh?
 Where in the text did the author tell me a story?

 Inform
 Where in the text did the author give me facts?
 Where in the text did the author try to teach me something?

 Persuade
 Where in the text did the author try to convince me to believe
something?
 Where in the text did the author try to change my opinion about
something?
 Where in the text did the author describe real or fictional characters?

o Teacher will model by placing a post-it on the page to indicate where the author
gave an example of persuading, informing or entertaining the reader.

 Group Work (20 minutes)

o Now that I’ve introduced how to find examples to support the Author’s Purpose, I
tell them that when they are reading today, their job is to find examples to
 support the Author’s Purpose by placing a post-it on the page of where the reader
was (P) persuaded, (I) informed or (E) entertained.

o Students will use Author’s Purpose Checklist sheet to find examples to support
the Author’s Purpose for three books provided to each group.

o Students will use sentence starter and write the following on the post it , “I
Title of Text
believe the author for ___________________, is trying to
persuade, entertain or inform page #
_________________________________, because on page _______________is
________________________________________________________
(giving me facts, telling a story or changing my opinion.) ”

o Cooperative Groups are assigned different roles for this task:

 Recorder- Writes response on the post-it for the group to read during
presentation or share. (Expanding English Learners)
 Presenter- Presents the groups’ finished work or findings written on the
post-it. (Bridging English Learners)
 Leader- Makes sure that every voice is heard (Bridging English
Learners)
 Errand Monitor- Briefly leaves the group to get supplies (books, post-its)
or to request help from the teacher when group members agree that they do
not have the resources to solve the problem. (Emerging English
Learners)

o At the end of Group Work the class will return back to the rug to Think-Pair-
Share.

Independent Practice:

 Once the students in all the groups have completed the group work, they will each
receive PIE passage cards.
 Emerging, Expanding and Bridging English Learners will receive PIE passage cards
that are on appropriate student reading/learning level.
 Instruct students to read the PIE cards and determine which of the three purposes
(persuade, inform, or entertain) by using the Author’s Purpose Checklist as a reference.
 Have students sort the three PIE reading passage cards into the appropriate category
(placing a P- Persuade, E- Entertain, or I- Inform on the back of the card), and underline
any clues in the text that led them to that decision.

Closure/Concluding Activity:
 Once the students in all the groups have completed the independent work, they will
gather at the rug again with assigned partners.
 Students will use their PIE passage cards for an activity called “Inside Outside Circle.”
 Students form two concentric circles and exchange information with a partner until the
teacher signals the outer circle to move in one direction, giving each student a new peer
to talk to.
 The teacher explains that the outside circle will read one of their PIE cards to the inside
circle. Each student will take turns reading their statements and identify and explain if
card is meant to persuade, inform or entertain the reader. Students use “Author’s
 Purpose” anchor chart as a visual to explain why card is meant to persuade, entertain or
inform. (The use of this anchor chart, allows the students to visually organize their
learning and provided a demonstration on what the students are expected to do.)

Lesson Three
Step One: Identify Desired Results

California Department of Education Common Core or Content Standard(s) addressed in this

Lesson: (Give the subject, # and written text of the standard)
 CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.2.6
Identify the main purpose of a text, including what the author wants to answer, explain,
or describe.
 CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.2.8
Describe how reasons support specific points the author makes in a text.

California Department of Education ELD Standard addressed in this Lesson:

Expanding level (Intermediate) English learner

 Adjust language choices (e.g., vocabulary, use of dialogue, etc.) according to purpose
(e.g., persuading, entertaining), task, and audience (e.g., peers versus adults) with
moderate support from peers or adults.

Content Learning Goals & Objectives:

 Students will be able to identify the author’s purpose for writing the story.

English language development Goals & Objectives

 Students will be able to orally explain the author’s purpose and demonstrate
comprehension using simple sentences key content based vocabulary.
Step 2 – Determine Acceptable Evidence
Authentic Assessment that will demonstrate that students have achieved desired results.
(Note: Only two authentic assessments are required in the three lessons)

Each student will receive a Scholastic Book Order catalog filled with a wide variety of books
appropriate for the student’s age and reading level. The students must cut the tiny book covers
that are featured in the monthly catalog and determine if the book was written to persuade,
inform or entertain. Once the students identify the author’s purpose from the Scholastic Book
Order, the students will create a flip book to sort the tiny Students must cut the tiny book
covers that are featured in the monthly catalog and determine if the book was written to
persuade, inform or entertain. Once the students identify the author’s purpose from the
Scholastic Book Order, the students will create a flip book to sort the tiny book covers (1 book-
Persuade, 1 book- Inform and 1 book- Entertain) into the appropriate category. Next, the
students will explain by using sentence starter format from the Group Work activity, “I believe
the author for (Title of Book), is trying to (persuade, entertain or inform) because the text is
(giving me facts, telling a story or changing my opinion).” Lastly, students will use the Author’s
Purpose Rubric to evaluate themselves and partner’s flipbook. The rubric will serve as a
communication tool among teachers and students when examining specific strengths and
weaknesses of each student performance.

Rubric that will be used to evaluate Authentic Assessment (only one required in the unit)

Score Identify Authors Explain Quality

Purpose
4 Identifies all 3 correct Explains the best reason Flipbook includes all requested
author's purpose’s for author's purpose in a information. All
(persuade, inform clear way using details included information is
and entertain). from the text to support accurate.
answer.
3 Identifies all 2 Explains the author's Flipbook includes
correct author's purpose but not requested information.
purpose’s (persuade, enough details to Information is mostly
inform and support from the text. complete and accurate.
entertain).
2 Identifies all 1 Explains author's Flipbook does not include all
correct author's purpose, but not requested information and/or
purpose’s (persuade, clearly. some information may not be
inform and accurate.
entertain).
1 Does not correctly States an idea, but it is Flipbook does not include
identify the author's not the correct author's requested information and/or
purpose's. purpose. contains inaccurate
information.

Step 3 – Plan Learning Experiences and Instruction

Specific SDAIE Strategies employed in the lesson:
 Anticipatory Guide - Students are given a series of statements that relate to a reading
selection. Students indicate AGREE or DISAGREE if statement were written to
persuade, entertain or inform the reader. After the information has been presented,
students check to see if they were correct.
 Co-op Co-op - Students work in teams to complete a project. Students are assigned a
task and divided in homogenous groups. Students will use team building skills to locate,
identify and provide examples of the author’s purpose of three texts. Groups will then
conduct a mini team presentation to the class as an evaluation.
 Brainstorming- Students work together as a whole group with the teacher to record
different ways students can create visual representations of explaining Author’s Purpose
to a student or classmate that was absent.
 Think-Pair-Share - When asked to consider an idea or answer a question, students write
their ideas on paper (think). Each student turns to another student nearby and reads or
tells his or her own responses (pair, share). This is an oral exchange, not a reading of
each other's papers.
Materials and Resources:

 Author’s Purpose Rubric

 Scholastic Book Orders

Procedures/ Guided Practice: (This is the most important section of the lesson. All steps must
be fully explained and time required stated.)
 Connection (5 minutes)
o Yesterday, we focused on finding examples to support the reason or Author’s
Purpose (Persuade, Infor or Entertain) for writing the text. Display the
following texts on Smartboard:
 The True Story of the Three Little Pigs
 National Geographic: Panda
 Amelia Bedlia

o Explain to the class that they are going to listen three different sentences or
examples and decide if they AGREE or DISAGREE if each sentence or
example was written to persuade, entertain or inform the reader. After the
information has been presented, students check to see if they were correct.

o Read aloud the following statements to students:

o Inform- In my opinion, pizza tastes better than hamburgers.
 Answer- Disagree (Persuade- author is stating opinion)
o Persuade- Sarah and her sister started to argue. “It’s mine!” Sarah said.
 Answer- Disagree (Entertain- author is telling a story)
o Inform- Arctic foxes can live in dens under the snow. They also often
make their dens under logs.
 Answer- Agree (Inform- author is giving information or facts)

o After reading the three sentences or examples, review the purpose of each
sentence.

 Teaching Point: (5 minutes)

o Today, they will use what learned about Author’s Purpose to create a visual
representation of how they would explain Author’s Purpose to another student
or classmate that was absent.

o Students can recall the three main purposes by remembering the

acronym PIE—Persuade, Inform, Entertain.

o Display a copy of the Author’s Purpose PIE chart on an interactive

whiteboard, or copy it onto chart paper. Review each section of the pie
aloud, reviewing the different clues that are included in each section.
Point out that readers can look for illustrations, text features or text
evidence to help identify the author’s purpose.
 Active Engagement: (10 minutes)
o With the Author’s Purpose anchor chart displayed on the board, I explain to
the students that we will use what we learned to brainstorm different ways
students can create visual representations of explaining Author’s Purpose to a
student or classmate that was absent.
o Students are asked to Turn-and-Talk to their partners to brainstorm different
ways students can create visual representations of explaining Author’s
Purpose

o As a class, the teacher records student responses:

o Tree Map

o Author’s Purpose PIE

o Author’s Purpose Checklist

o Teacher will ask the following question to the class:

o What type of information do you think you need to include?
 Visuals?
 Definition?
 Examples?

 Group Work (20 minutes)

o Now that we have brainstormed, I tell them that when they are working
today, their job is just to use everything they learned to create a visual
representation of explaining Author’s Purpose.
o Cooperative Groups are assigned different roles for this task:
 Recorder- Writes meaning or definition of each purpose
(Expanding English Learners)
  Presenter- Presents the groups’ finished work or findings written
on the poster. (General Education Learners)
 Leader- Makes sure that every voice is heard (Bridging English
Learners)
 Errand Monitor- Briefly leaves the group to get supplies (books,
post-its) or to request help from the teacher when group members
agree that they do not have the resources to solve the problem.
(Emerging English Learners)
 Illustrator- Draws illustrations of each purpose (Bridging
English Learners)

o At the end of Group Work the class will return back to the rug to Think-Pair-
Share.
Independent Practice: (20 mintues)
The independent practice is the authentic assessment itself. Students will demonstrate
complete understanding of Author’s Purpose by identifying three books in the Scholastic Book
Order catalog and creating a flip book to sort and explain using sentence starter format from
the Group Work activity, “I believe the author for (Title of Book), is trying to (persuade,
entertain or inform) because the text is (giving me facts about________, telling a story about
_________ or changing my opinion about ____________).”

Closure/Concluding Activity:
 Once the students in all the groups have completed the independent work, they will
gather at the rug again with assigned partners.
 Students will use their Scholastic Order Flip Books for an activity called “Open Mind
Diagram.”
 Each student in a group of four uses a different colored marker to participate in the
poster creation.
 Each student writes down the title of each book they choose that was meant to persuade,
inform and entertain the reader on the poster.

Persuade Inform Entertain