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Read the poems and complete the Student Packet Worksheets for “Primer,” “How Poems are Made,” “This Morning,” and “Night.”

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 the student would share this particular 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 the poem “Women” by Alice Walker. I will silently read the poem first to identify the tone of the poem. I can identify the poem as having a reflective, but strong tone, so I will reread the poem using this tone.

I will use a PIES Chart to identify the Author’s Purpose in “Women.” For each part of the chart, I will write text that may correspond with the author’s purpose. I will read the poem aloud and think aloud "Is this poem meant to Persuade? I don’t see any words that are meant to persuade, so I don’t think the author’s purpose is to persuade." Now I’ll move onto the “I” for Inform. I think that the author gives information about what women of the past did (i.e. battered down doors, ironed starched white shirts, etc.) In this section of the pie, I will write “Author gives examples of actions women took.” Next, I will move to the “E” for Entertain. I will say "Is this poem entertaining? I don’t think it’s meant to entertain." Next I will move to the “S” for Share. I will say, "Does the author share an experience? I don’t think the author wants to share something with the reader. By looking at my chart, I can say that the author wants to inform me about the struggles of women in the past."

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

will read “Fifth Grade Autobiography” silently. We will identify the tone and read it aloud using the tone. Then, we will make 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:Go through each section of the chart, asking students if they can find text for each letter. Especially focus on the “S” for Share with the following step. 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, questioning students about evidence for each purpose in the poem.

After reading the poem aloud, we can determine together that the author is sharing a personal experience with us-- going fishing with her grandfather, remembering her grandparents, and remembering an experience with her brother. We can conclude that the author’s purpose for “Fifth Grade Autobiography” is to share a personal experience with the reader.

will read “Aunt Sue’s Stories” by Langston Hughes. After you read the 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. (See page 18 in the Student Packet.) You will answer the question: How do you know whether the author wants to Persuade, Entertain, Inform, or Share?