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BEFORE READING
Target Skill SKILLS
 STRATEGIES IN CONTEXT
Author's Purpose Predict
Skills Trace
OBJECTIVES
Test
Selection Test:
5–8, 13–16,
81–84; Benchmark Test: Unit 1
Reteach/
Review
TE: 4.1 31, 65b,
111b, TR13,
TR15; 4.3 369;
4.5 537b,
TR12; 4.6, 695
PB: 6, 146, 276
TE: 47, 57, 95, 103, 523, 529
PB: 13, 17, 18, 33,
37, 38, 203, 207,
208
Practice
TE: 4.1 40–41,
88–89; 4.5
516–517
Introduce/
Teach
Target Skill Author's Purpose
Target Skill Identify author's purpose.
Target Skill Use author's purpose to make predictions.
INTRODUCE
Write the four main purposes for
writing on the board: to inform, to
persuade, to entertain, to express
feelings or ideas. Discuss the
meaning of each. Ask what books or
stories students may know that have
been written for each of these
purposes. (Responses will vary.)
Have students read the information on
p. 516. Explain the following:
  • Authors have a reason or
    reasons for writing. Identifying
    these purposes can help you
    decide how quickly and
    carefully to read.
  • Identifying an author's purpose
    can help you predict what may
    happen next as you read.
Use Skill Transparency 21 to teach
author's purpose and predict.
TEACH
1
STRATEGY Use the title to model how to predict an article's topic and an author's purpose.
Think Aloud MODEL The title of this article is "A Life at Sea." Based on that title, I think this article is going to tell what it's like to live at sea. I think the author's purpose will probably be to inform. I may need to read this more slowly and carefully than I would read a story for entertainment.
2
SKILL Talk about evidence of the author's purpose in paragraph 1.
Think Aloud MODEL This paragraph talks about a graceful clipper ship gliding smoothly over the waves. The words help me picture a relaxed scene. The author seems to be writing to express a feeling or emotion.
PRACTICE AND ASSESS
3
SKILLThe author was trying to give information in this paragraph. I had to read more slowly and reread some parts.
4
STRATEGY Predicting the author’s purpose helped me know what to expect and how quickly or slowly to read parts of the article.
WRITE Have students complete
steps 1 and 2 of the Write activity. You might consider using this as a whole-class activity.
Monitor Progress
then… use Practice Book p. 203 to provide additional practice.
If… students are unable to complete Write on p. 516,
Target Skill Author's Purpose
Comprehension
SAILING HOME: A STORY OF A CHILDHOOD AT SEA
 How you read can depend on what you’re
    reading. For example, you might read
    a funny story faster than a news article.
 An author might have more than one
    reason for writing. Four common reasons
    are to persuade, to inform, to express
    ideas or feelings, and to entertain.
Author’s Purpose
Skill
A Life at Sea
Strategy
Predict
Skill
Author’s Purpose
Strategy How
did predicting the
author’s purpose help
you understand the
article better?
Skill Which author’s
purpose relates to
writing about the
beauty of life at sea?
Watch for another
possible purpose as
you read.
Strategy What do you predict this article will
be about? What makes
you think that? What
might the author’s
purpose be? How
should you read this?
Skill Why do you think
the author told you about some of the things you
could learn on a clipper
ship? Did you read more slowly or reread any parts
of this section?
     Still, you are a cabin boy, which means you
have many chores. You have to swab (scrub) the
deck, polish the brass, waterproof the rigging with
tar, catch rainwater in a barrel, clean dirty living
areas on the ship, carry coal for the stove,
and— well, you get the picture. At night, you crawl
into a hammock, fall asleep to the sound of the
ship’s bell marking the time, and dream of faraway places.
     Picture yourself as a cabin boy. You signed
on because you wanted adventure. Well, you
might find adventure, and you might even become
a captain yourself one day. The skills of sailing are
called seamanship. On board the ship, you might
learn which rope knots you need and how to tie
them. Perhaps you would learn how to measure
the ship’s rate of speed and the depth of the water.
You certainly would learn to tell where you are and
what weather is coming your way.
     Picture a graceful clipper ship out on the
ocean. The wind billows its sails as it glides
smoothly over the waves. For the crew, life on
board must be relaxed and easy, right?
Strategy: Predict
Strategy
Author’s Actual Purpose(s)
Reason(s) for This Prediction
Predicted Author's Purpose
After
Before
Write
Good readers think about the author’s
purpose. Before you read an article or story,
look it over to predict the author’s purpose so
you have an idea of how to read the piece.
While you read, use the author’s purpose to
predict what he or she may write next. Hint:
Illustrations and diagrams are clues to the
author’s purpose.
2. Write about what you think
    the author’s purpose was and
    whether or not she achieved
    that purpose.
1. Look over “A Life at Sea.” Make
    a graphic organizer like the one
    above and fill in the first two
    empty boxes. After reading, fill
    in the last box.
1
2
3
4
 
   
Close  
Access Content
Beginning/Intermediate For a Picture It! lesson on author's purpose, see the ELL Teaching Guide, pp. 141–142.
Advanced Have volunteers explain how the word picture is used in the first and second paragraphs of "A Life at Sea."
Target Skill Author's Purpose After students read the article on p. 517, talk about how this author has more than one purpose. The first paragraph is descriptive. The author is writing to express a feeling. The next two paragraphs are full of facts. The author is writing to give information. Talk about why the author might start with one purpose and then change to a different one.
ELL
Strategic Intervention
Practice Book
Practice Book p. 203
with | without Answers