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Read the poems and complete Student Packet Worksheets for “Come Up From the Fields Father,” “Ulalume,” and “November Day”

Ask four student volunteers to stand in the front of the room and share something with the class in 30 seconds or less based on the Author’s Purpose Strip that they receive. The Author’s Purpose Strips will tell one student to tell a joke, the second student to teach something, the third student to convince the class to do their homework, and the fourth to share something that happened to them today. After the exercise, have the students in the class explain what each presenter’s purpose was.

will explain that each of the students shared information with us. I will also explain that the students had a purpose for their presentation. (Think aloud some reasons why each student would share the information: to persuade me to do something, to inform, to entertain, or to share something). Poets also have a purpose for writing their poems.

I will define author’s purpose as the reason why an author has written a text. There are four reasons why a poet might write a poem. These reasons can be identified using a PIES Chart. I will draw a PIES Chart on chart paper or the board. I will label each section of my pie with the following: “P for Persuade” (the poet wants to persuade the reader); “I for Inform” (the poet wants to inform the reader); “E for Entertain” (the poet wants to entertain the reader); and “S for Share” (the poet wants to share something with the reader). Note: Use the Example PIES Chart 1 for reference and specific examples. You may want to write the poem on chart paper or the board before the lesson so students can refer to the lines of the poem.

I will identify the Author’s Purpose in “James Lee.” For each part of my PIES Chart, I will write text that may correspond with the author’s purpose. I will read the poem aloud. I will look for words that try to Persuade. I will ask think aloud: "Does the author want to persuade me or is the author offering an opinion? I don’t see evidence of this in the poem." I will then move to Inform. "Does the author want to give me information about something? I don’t think the author is providing me with information." Next, I will move to Entertain. "Is the poet trying to entertain me? I don’t think this poem is mean to entertain me." Finally, I will move to Share. "Is the poet trying to share something with me? I think the poet is sharing a moment in time he noticed. The poet is sharing what he has seen. I know this because he is describing what he saw that day. He says, 'sun’s away, and the bird’s estranged; the wind has dropped, and the sky is deranged.' By looking at my chart, I can say that the author wants to Share an experience or special moment he noticed."

Next, I will think about the purpose of another poem, “Birds’ Nest.” I will draw another PIES Chart and read the poem aloud. After I read the poem, I will write text that may correspond with the author’s purpose on each part of my PIES Chart. I will use this information to figure out the author’s purpose. Note: You may want to write the poem on chart paper or the board before the lesson so students can refer to the lines of the poem. Use the Example PIES Chart 2 for reference and specific examples. Move through each section of the chart, modeling looking for evidence for each purpose in the poem. Record words and phrases that correspond to each purpose on the Chart. Model asking questions about each purpose as outlined in Step 3.

Ask: "How can I identify the author’s purpose in a poem? Students should answer that you should look at the words and phrases of the poem to figure out if the author wants to Persuade, Inform, Entertain, or Share."

will read aloud “Something Childish, But Very Natural.” We will create a PIES Chart on chart paper or the board. We will examine the poem to see if the poet meant to Persuade, Inform, Entertain, or Share. We will look for words, phrases or ideas for the parts of the Chart. Note:You may want to write the poem on chart paper or the board before the lesson so students can refer to the lines of the poem. Use the Example PIES Chart 3 for reference and specific examples. Move through each section of the chart, questioning students about evidence for each purpose in the poem.

We will go through each part of the PIES Chart. (Walk students through the chart, finally focusing on “Persuade” and identifying phrases and words that show that the poet wants to persuade the reader to do something.) We can conclude that the author’s purpose for “Something Childish, But Very Natural” is to persuade the reader that it is important to value time spent with loved ones. He is also pursuading his loved one that he would fly to them if he could.

Next, we will think about the poet’s purpose for writing “Two Lives and Others.” Draw another PIES Chart and read the poem aloud. After we read the poem, we will write text that may correspond with the author’s purpose on each part of our PIES Chart. We will use this information to figure out the author’s purpose. We can see that the purpose of this poem is to Share because the poet describes what he sees during his day. He mentions, “Beyond the fields where crows cawed at a hawk the road bent down between oaks, pines, and maples.” He was sharing an experience with the reader. Note:You may want to write the poem on chart paper or the board before the lesson so students can refer to the lines of the poem. Use the Example PIES Chart 4 for reference and specific examples. Move through each section of the chart, modeling looking for evidence for each purpose in the poem. Record words and phrases that correspond to each purpose on the Chart. Move through each section of the chart, questioning students about evidence for each purpose in the poem.

will read “The Bonfire” and “City Autumn.” After you read each poem, you will address each letter of the PIES Chart. You will examine the poem’s words and phrases to identify the author’s purpose. You will fill in the part of the PIES Chart Worksheet that you believe identifies the author’s purpose. For each poem, you will answer the question, "How do you know whether the author wants to Persuade, Entertain, Inform, or Share?"

will share our PIES Chart Worksheet with the class. We will discuss the author’s purpose of “The Bonfire” and “City Autumn.” We will share our opinion about why the poets would want to write each poem.