How to Answer Author's Purpose Questions
TLDRIn this educational video, Angela from Custom Classroom simplifies the process of answering author's purpose questions using a four-step reading strategy. She explains that the author's purpose could be to persuade, inform, entertain, explain, or describe. Through an example from a fictional passage about a time traveler, Angela guides viewers on how to identify the author's intent, focusing on descriptive language to paint a vivid picture of the scene. She also demonstrates how to find text evidence to support conclusions about the author's purpose, providing a clear and practical approach to literary analysis.
Takeaways
- 📚 The video discusses how to answer author's purpose questions using a four-step reading strategy.
- 🤔 An author's purpose question seeks the reason why the author wrote the text or included certain parts, typically to persuade, inform, entertain, explain, or describe.
- 🔍 The four-step reading strategy involves scanning the questions, targeting the text, actively reading, and responding.
- 📖 The first step is to determine if the question is a whole question (requiring information from the entire passage) or a part question (requiring information from a specific section).
- 🔎 The second step is to target the text, focusing on the specific section relevant to the question.
- 📚 The third step is to actively read, considering the setting, characters, problem, and solution in the text.
- 🧩 The fourth step is to respond to the questions, starting with whole questions and then part questions.
- 🌟 The example passage from the video is a fictional text about the time traveler, focusing on a brightly lit room and a mysterious mechanism.
- 🎨 The author's purpose in the example passage is to describe the scene vividly, using descriptive language to paint a picture for the reader.
- 🔑 Text evidence such as 'a glittering metallic framework' and 'octagonal tables' helps determine the author's purpose of description.
- 👀 The use of the word 'alert' in the text is to describe the mood and anticipation among the characters, emphasizing their readiness for what will happen next.
Q & A
What is an author's purpose question?
-An author's purpose question asks for the reason why the author chose to write the text or include certain parts, usually with the intent to persuade, inform, entertain, explain, or describe.
What is the four-step reading strategy mentioned in the video?
-The four-step reading strategy consists of: 1) Scanning the questions, 2) Targeting the text, 3) Actively reading, and 4) Responding to the questions.
How do you determine if a question is a whole question or a part question?
-A whole question requires information from the entire passage, while a part question only requires returning to one section of the text.
What is the first step in the four-step reading strategy and why is it important?
-The first step is to scan the questions to determine if they are whole or part questions. This is important because it helps in understanding the scope of the information needed to answer the questions.
What does the author's choice to say 'the men were on alert' indicate in the context of the passage?
-The phrase 'the men were on alert' indicates a sense of anticipation and suspense, suggesting that the characters are waiting on edge for something to happen.
What is the main purpose of the passage about the time machine according to the video?
-The main purpose of the passage is to describe the setting and the time machine in a vivid and detailed manner, creating a picture in the reader's mind.
How does the author use descriptive language to achieve the purpose of the passage?
-The author uses descriptive language to paint a verbal picture of the setting, the time machine, and the characters' actions, which helps to create a sense of anticipation and curiosity.
What is the difference between 'to explain' and 'to describe' in the context of an author's purpose?
-To explain means to make an idea clearer by describing in more detail or giving more facts, while to describe is to give lots of details to paint a verbal picture of what is happening.
Why is the author's use of the word 'alert' significant in the passage?
-The word 'alert' is significant as it emphasizes the characters' readiness and anticipation for what is about to happen, contributing to the overall mood of suspense.
How can the text evidence support the author's purpose of describing the scene?
-Text evidence such as the detailed descriptions of the time machine and the setting, like 'a glittering metallic framework' and 'a small octagonal table,' supports the author's purpose by vividly painting the scene.
What resources does the video suggest for practicing author's purpose with students?
-The video suggests using task cards available on Teachers Pay Teachers and checking out the playlist on reading skills for more practice and teaching materials.
Outlines
📚 Understanding Author's Purpose
This paragraph introduces the topic of identifying an author's purpose in a text. Angela from Custom Classroom explains that an author's purpose can typically be to persuade, inform, entertain, explain, or describe. She outlines a four-step reading strategy to tackle author's purpose questions, which includes scanning, targeting the text, actively reading, and responding. The paragraph also differentiates between 'whole' and 'part' questions, with examples provided to illustrate the difference.
🔍 Analyzing the Text and Author's Purpose
In this section, the focus is on analyzing a fictional passage about a time machine. The paragraph walks through the process of identifying the author's purpose by examining the setting, characters, problem, and solution within the text. It clarifies that the passage is descriptive and aims to paint a vivid picture of the scene. The author's purpose is concluded to be description, supported by the use of detailed and evocative language. Additionally, the paragraph discusses how to find text evidence to support conclusions about the author's purpose.
🤔 Delving into the Reasoning Behind 'On Alert'
The final paragraph addresses a specific part question regarding why the author chose the phrase 'on alert' to describe the characters' state in the story. It suggests that the term sets a mood of anticipation and is related to the descriptive language used throughout the passage. The paragraph dismisses other potential reasons for using 'alert,' such as demonstrating personality or explaining the audience, concluding that the term is more about the overall mood than the importance of the moment.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Author's purpose
💡PIED
💡Four-step reading strategy
💡Scan
💡Target the text
💡Actively read
💡Respond
💡Descriptive language
💡Text evidence
💡Setting
Highlights
Introduction to answering author's purpose questions using a four-step reading strategy by Angela from Custom Classroom.
Definition of an author's purpose question, which asks for the reason behind the author's writing choices.
Explanation of the four-step reading strategy: scan, target, actively read, and respond.
Differentiating between whole questions requiring information from the entire passage and part questions focused on specific sections.
Example of a part question about the author's choice to describe the men as 'on alert'.
Example of a whole question asking for the author's purpose in the given text.
Explanation of targeting text evidence to support answers to author's purpose questions.
Description of the passage about the time machine to provide context for the reading strategy.
Guidance on actively reading by considering the setting, characters, problem, and solution in the text.
Distinguishing between the author's purpose to persuade, inform, entertain, explain, or describe.
Analysis of the passage to determine that the author's purpose is to describe rather than to explain.
Identification of descriptive language in the text as evidence for the author's purpose to describe.
Discussion on why the word 'alert' was chosen to describe the mood and anticipation in the scene.
Rejection of alternative reasons for using 'alert' and justification for its selection based on the context.
Resource recommendation for practicing author's purpose with task cards on Teachers Pay Teachers.
Encouragement to explore the playlist for an overview of other reading skills.
Transcripts
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