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🎭 Author's Purpose: Inform, Persuade, Entertain

4-5 Reading ⏱ 20 min Prep: low Guided
Materials: Three short texts (one informational article, one persuasive ad or letter, one funny story or poem), pencil, notebook, optional: highlighters in three colors

Here is something I love about this lesson: once your kids learn to ask "Why did the author write this?", they start thinking more critically about everything they read. And I mean everything - books, ads, websites, even cereal boxes.

The Three Main Purposes

Authors write for lots of reasons, but most texts fit into one of three big categories:

1. To Inform

The author wants to teach you something or give you facts. Think textbooks, news articles, encyclopedias, how-to guides. The tone is usually neutral and factual. The author is not trying to make you laugh or change your mind - just help you learn.

Clue words: facts, data, dates, steps, explanations

2. To Persuade

The author wants to convince you to think, feel, or do something. Think advertisements, opinion editorials, campaign speeches, book reviews. The author has a point of view and wants you to agree.

Clue words: should, must, best, worst, I believe, you need to, do not you think

3. To Entertain

The author wants you to enjoy the reading experience. Think fiction, poetry, jokes, adventure stories, comic books. The goal is for you to have fun, feel emotions, or get lost in a good story.

Clue words: vivid descriptions, dialogue, humor, suspense, characters

How to Teach It

Gather three different short texts. You probably have these around the house already:

  • Inform: A paragraph from a science book, a Wikipedia-style article, or the information on a park brochure
  • Persuade: A print ad, a letter to the editor, or even the back cover of a book trying to get you to read it
  • Entertain: A page from a funny chapter book, a silly poem, or a short story

Read each one aloud together. After each text, ask: - Why did the author write this? - What did the author want me to think, feel, or do after reading? - What clues in the text tell you the purpose?

The PIE Trick

Here is a fun memory tool: P-I-E - P = Persuade - I = Inform - E = Entertain

Some kids like to draw a pie chart divided into three slices and label each one. When they read something new, they decide which "slice" it belongs to. Simple and memorable.

Practice Activity

Give your child these quick scenarios and have them identify the purpose:

  1. A magazine article about how volcanoes form. (Inform)
  2. A commercial that says their sneakers are the fastest ever made. (Persuade)
  3. A story about a talking dog who becomes mayor. (Entertain)
  4. A brochure asking you to recycle more. (Persuade)
  5. A poem about a rainy afternoon. (Entertain)

Talk about each answer. Some texts have more than one purpose, and that is a great discussion to have! A cookbook might inform AND entertain. A movie review might inform AND persuade.

Why This Matters

We live in a world that is constantly trying to sell us things, convince us of things, and compete for our attention. When your child can look at a piece of writing and ask, "What is this author really trying to do?", they are building critical thinking skills that go way beyond reading class.

I especially love this lesson for the persuasion piece. Once kids start recognizing persuasive techniques in ads and media, they become savvier consumers and thinkers. And honestly? That skill is worth its weight in gold.

Happy reading, y'all!

💬 Parent Script

Every time someone writes something, they have a reason for writing it. Today we are going to figure out how to tell WHY an author wrote something. There are three big reasons: to inform you, to persuade you, or to entertain you. Once you can spot the purpose, you become a much smarter reader because you understand what the author is really trying to do.

🔽 If Your Child Struggles

If your child has trouble distinguishing between the three purposes, simplify it with this question: After reading this, does the author want me to LEARN something, DO something, or ENJOY something? Learn = inform. Do or believe = persuade. Enjoy or laugh = entertain. You can also sort texts into three physical piles, which makes the concept more concrete.

🔼 Challenge Version

Have your child write three short paragraphs about the SAME topic (for example, dogs) - one that informs, one that persuades, and one that entertains. This forces them to understand purpose from the inside out. Then read all three aloud and discuss how the language, tone, and details change depending on the purpose.

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