Minds On

Why do people read?

Brainstorm

What do you think?

Reading is more than a pastime for people who love to read books. A street sign, comic book, morning message, or even the packaging for your favourite snack all require you to read. Consider the following questions:

  • What types of texts do you like to read and/or listen to?
  • What might be some reasons to read?
  • Why do you read?

Record your responses using a method of your choice.

Acknowledgements(Opens in a new window)

Action

Author’s purpose

Having many types of texts to choose from means that there are many reasons to read. This is also why there are many reasons to write. Every author has a reason or purpose for writing about a topic, which falls into one of three categories — to persuade, inform, or entertain.

We can use the acronym, P.I.E. to represent these three categories.

P: Persuade

I: Inform

E: Entertain

P.I.E. Definition

Persuade

The author is trying to convince the reader of something.

Inform

The author is trying to teach or give information to the reader.

Entertain

The author is trying to keep the reader’s attention through enjoyment.

Press the ‘Activity’ button to access Author’s Purpose: P.I.E. 

Activity (Open PDF in a new window)

Student Success

Think-Pair-Share

Consider a text you are currently reading or have recently read.

Who might be the author’s intended audience? What purpose do you think they had in mind?

Note to teachers: See your teacher guide for collaboration tools, ideas and suggestions.

Match reading material with purpose

Why is the purpose of a text important? Determining whether the purpose of a text is to communicate ideas, information, or a source of enjoyment changes how we interpret a text. For example, if you determine that the author’s purpose is to inform, then you know you could use the text to gather information about a specific topic for a research activity.

You can determine the purpose of a text by asking yourself questions like, “What does the author want me to know about this?,” “What does the author want me to do after reading this?” or “Why is the author telling me about this?.” Let’s practice identifying the purpose of a text.

Select 5 digital and/or printed texts of your choice and determine the author’s purpose. For example, you could explore a book or audiobook, news article, textbook, comic book, pamphlet, or poster.

Record your ideas using the following Author’s Purpose – Easy as P.I.E template or using a method of your choice.

Author’s Purpose – Easy as P.I.E.

Press the Activity button to access Author’s Purpose – Easy as P.I.E.

Activity (Open PDF in a new tab)

Consolidation

Let's think about what we have learned

A smiling student sits in front of a laptop at home

Use the following questions to reflect on your learning. You can record your responses using a method of your choice.

  1. How does determining the author’s purpose help you better understand a text?
  2. How do you know if an author’s purpose is to persuade? Is it important to determine if an author’s information is reliable? Why or why not?
  3. Is it possible for an author to write with more than one purpose? Provide an example of a text to explain your thinking.
  4. Can you ever really know an author's purpose?

Reflection

How do you feel about what you have learned in this activity? Which of the next 4 sentences best matches how you are feeling about your learning? Press the button that is beside this sentence.

I feel...

Now, record your ideas about your feelings using a voice recorder, speech-to-text, or writing tool.

Press ‘Discover More’ to extend your skills.

What types of text do you tend to read more often? Track everything that you read for a month. You can keep track of what you read using the reading log below or another method of your choice. When you complete the reading log, examine your data. What do you notice?