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

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

Use this worksheet to encourage critical thinking and support students’ literacy development by asking questions before, during, and after reading.

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

Introduce readers to the poem “When I Was One-and-Twenty” by English poet A. E. Housman with this sixth-grade 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.

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

Use this Novel Discussion Guide for Parents as a guide to invite your child into a book discussion about their latest reading!

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.

Students will identify the author’s purpose and strengthen their reading comprehension with the questions that follow the text.

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!

Challenge your students to consider the author's intention of a piece of writing. Ask your students to read Rudyard Kipling's poem, "If-" and answer the questions about the author's intent.

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

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.

When your students read this exaggerated tale, they will find a ton of hyperboles!

Have students compare and contrast fictional and historical accounts with this seventh-grade reading comprehension worksheet!

Students complete a figurative language flip chart from the mnemonic device I SHAMPOO C.

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

Use these vocabulary cards with the EL Support Lesson: Making Alliteration Accessible.

Get plenty of practice with alliteration by identifying and creating alliterative sentences.

Use these vocabulary cards with the EL Support Lesson: Describe Sensory Details.

Get your students moving with this interactive sorting game!

When writing a story, adjectives make the story more colorful. This worksheet trains students to enhance sentences by adding descriptive adjectives to their writing.