AUTHOR S PURPOSE LEVEL ONE TUTORIAL

Transcription

1 LEVEL ONE TUTORIAL Level One is for any student who still does not think they understand how to identify the Author s Purpose. Teacher Date Read these paragraphs and think about the Author s Purpose. A mosquito is an insect that is found all over the world. There are thousands of different kinds of mosquitoes in many different sizes and colors. The female mosquito needs blood from vertebrates (animals that have a spine) to lay eggs and produce more mosquitoes. She has a special part of her mouth that she uses to suck blood, and her saliva (spit) thins the blood so she can drink it. In fact, it s the mosquito s saliva that causes the bump and makes the bites itch! 1. Is the author trying to get you to do or something; or is the author trying to give Are you feeling weak and sluggish? Does your breakfast cereal taste dry and without any flavor? Are you looking for a better way to start your day? Then try Frosted Rice Bullets! Frosted Rice Bullets are sweet tasting and are shot full of vitamins. They have the energy you need to have a perfect day. Frosted Rice Bullets taste sweet and crunchy when you add a cup of cold milk. And Frosted Rice Bullets come in three delicious flavors: strawberry, cinnamon sugar, and cheese pizza! So run down to your supermarket today and buy a big box of Frosted Rice Bullets! 2. Is the author trying to get you to do or something; or is the author trying to give Page 1

2 LEVEL ONE TUTORIAL Read these paragraphs and think about the Author s Purpose. Seals and sea lions are both sea mammals that live in and around the ocean. Both seals and sea lions have flippers to help them swim in the water. But there are differences between seals and sea lions too. Sea lions can turn their back flippers around and use them to walk when on dry land. Seals cannot turn their back flippers around. When they are on dry land, they must use their front flippers to slide on their stomachs. Their back flippers cannot help them move on land. 3. Is the author trying to get you to do or something; or is the author trying to give One day last week my science teacher brought a brown paper bag to school and set it up on his desk in our classroom. He got very busy with a student in our class and he wasn t really paying any attention to his brown paper bag. I was the first kid in class to notice that the paper bag was moving just a little. At first I thought maybe the bag was going to fall over, but I then noticed that it was moving like there was something living inside the bag. It was making little hissing sounds that I could hear since I sit on the front row. Most of the kids in my class didn t see when a small green snake slithered out of the bag and down to the floor. I was watching the snake very closely. Then the snake crawled up the leg of the girl who sits next to me. They say that they could hear the girl scream all the way down at the cafeteria! 4. Is the author trying to get you to do or something; or is the author trying to give Page 2

3 LEVEL TWO TUTORIAL Level Two is for any student who feels they finally understand how to identify the author s purpose and are ready to show that they now can do it. Teacher Date I have a friend who really loves to party. Most of all he loves to drink beer and lots of it. Sometimes at parties he is so funny that he falls down and throws up all over the carpet in the house because of drinking too many beers. One time he drove his dad s car into a telephone pole because he had been drinking still more alcohol. The damage to the car was not too bad, but my friend s head hit the steering wheel during the accident and it crushed in part of his face. He always thought he was so cool. I am not so sure. No one invites him over anymore because he might throw up. Now he has a police record for driving while drunk. His face is all broken with terrible scars and a bent nose. Drinking alcohol doesn t seem to be as cool as I once thought. What do you think? 1. Circle the one answer that tells the author s purpose. The pirate ship pulled into the hidden harbor. The pirate flag was flapping in the morning breeze as we dropped anchor. Two small boats of the scariest, meanest looking men you could imagine left the ship and made their way to the shore of the small island. Then when the pirate captain gave the order, they all followed the old treasure map until they were standing at the spot where the treasure was supposed to be buried. Lying on the very same spot was the skeleton of a pirate who had been killed when the treasure was buried. He was stretched out with the bony finger on one hand pointing to a small cave near the treasure site! 2. Circle the one answer that tells the author s purpose. Page 1

4 LEVEL TWO TUTORIAL The town of Mapleton needs a new mayor! Harrison H. Hornblower was born in Mapleton. Harrison H. Hornblower went to school in Mapleton. Harrison H. Hornblower started a business in Mapleton. Now Harrison H. Hornblower wants to be your mayor and make the town of Mapleton the best little town in all of Florida. Harrison H. Hornblower served many years on the city council; and before that he was appointed dog catcher of Mapleton. Harrison H. Hornblower knows what needs to be done. He is just like us, a citizen of our fair town. Vote for Harrison H. Hornblower for mayor! 3. Circle the one answer that tells the author s purpose. On Thursday of next week, the city of Greenville will be turning off the water for four hours from 8:00 a.m. until noon. This is necessary so that much needed work can be done on the pipes. Since last year the water pipes in the city have been rusting. The city wants to fix this problem before drinking the water could be a health problem. So next Thursday will be the day that this problem is addressed and hopefully fixed. Please do not attempt to turn on the water in your home during those hours. If necessary, fill several jugs of water from the tap before 8:00 a.m. That way you will not be caught without any water for the four hours. If you have any questions or concerns, you may call the water department during business hours and we will be glad to help you. 4. Circle the one answer that tells the author s purpose. Page 2

5 LEVEL THREE ENRICHMENT Level Three is for any student who feels they not only understand how to identify the Author s Purpose in a paragraph, but also have done so correctly before and feel they are nearly experts at this skill. This is considered an enrichment activity for any such student. Teacher Date Remember that sometimes the author mixes purposes. See if you can figure out The author s MAIN PURPOSE. Billy watched as the ball he threw sailed over the high fence into Mr. Johnson s lot. This was Billy s favorite ball and he wanted it back at all costs. Billy carefully climbed over the chain link fence that Mr. Johnson put up to keep people out, and to keep his ferocious, mean dog Luther in. With a loud bounce Billy dropped to the ground on the other side of the fence and looked around for his ball. There it was lying near where Luther was sleeping by his dog house. Silently Billy tip-toed his way to the ball and gently picked it up. But Luther opened his large mean eyes and started to snarl and growl. Billy shot away from Luther like a rocket and ran back to the fence with ball in hand. Luther was chasing after him. But Billy out ran Luther and sprang forward and up the fence because he was wearing RocketShot athletic shoes with springboard heels with space age SuperCoil! Nothing can outrun or outjump a pair of RocketShots! Whether you want to be cool or just be able to out run an old junkyard dog, get RocketShot athletic shoes today! 1. Circle the one answer that tells the author s MAIN purpose. Read this paragraph and think about the Author s MAIN Purpose. Before leaving town for a vacation, here is a helpful checklist of some of the things to do to secure your home before you leave. In addition to locking the doors, there are a few other things that can be done. You might want to stop all newspapers and mail delivery. It is also a good idea to turn off the hot water heater in the home. This is so you don t pay for electricity to keep the water hot when there is no one at home to use the water. Checking that all appliances are turned off in the home before leaving is also a good idea. 2. Circle the one answer that tells the author s MAIN purpose. Page 1

6 LEVEL THREE ENRICHMENT Read this paragraph and think about the Author s MAIN Purpose. There was a real problem when we landed our spacecraft on the desert face of the planet Mars. We desperately need to mine the rare mineral mars flabidnium if we ever expected to be able to blast off again from the surface of this red planet. Without it we would surely die on this cold and desolate world. As we prepared our equipment to search for traces of the precious mineral, the ground began to shake violently. We found ourselves in the middle of a severe mars quake, worse than a dozen bad earthquakes combined. The ground was opening up and swallowing all our equipment, including our mineral analyzer. Without this one special device, we would never be able to find what we so desperately needed. When the shaking subsided, we really found ourselves in a jam. How would we ever survive in a alien place like this? 3. Circle the one answer that tells the author s MAIN purpose. Read this paragraph and think about the Author s MAIN Purpose. Wake up to the aroma of freshly baked bread every day! Bake a small, medium, or large loaf of fresh bread, even 100% whole wheat. This bread maker features a large window; more than 100 programmable settings; rapid bake; and patented extras dispenser. There is a 10-minute, fully random pause (a baker s necessity). Also featured is a 60-minute power failure backup; non-stick loaf pan; custom-control recipe program; and delay-bake timer up to 24 hours in advance. Also this excellent kitchen device makes cakes, jam, and even pizzas, bagels, and pasta dough. The instructions are conveniently included so that everyone can be a successful baker. The best part is that this breadmaker which usually sells for $250, is on sale this week for only $99.99! 4. Circle the one answer that tells the author s MAIN purpose. Page 2