Standard: 6.RI.6 – Determine an author’s point of view or purpose in a text and explain how it is conveyed in the text.
Grade level: Grade 6
Subject: English Language Arts
Domain: Reading: Informational Text
Teacher Overview
This standard focuses on helping students determine an author’s point of view or purpose in a text and explaining how it is conveyed. This skill is crucial for developing critical thinking and analytical skills in reading informational texts. Students need to be able to identify main ideas and supporting details, recognize text structures, and have a basic understanding of different text types and their purposes.
Students will move on to evaluating multiple texts for differing viewpoints and purposes, enhancing their ability to construct arguments and identify bias.
Common Misconception 1
Students may think that the author’s point of view is always explicitly stated. This is incorrect because authors often imply their point of view through word choice, tone, and the inclusion or exclusion of certain details.
Intervention 1
Use think-aloud strategies to model how to infer the author’s point of view from implicit clues and provide guided practice with a variety of texts.
Common Misconception 2
Students may confuse the author’s purpose with the main idea of the text. The author’s purpose is the reason for writing the text, such as to inform, persuade, or entertain, while the main idea is the primary message or argument of the text.
Intervention 2
Provide clear definitions and examples of author’s purpose and main idea, and use graphic organizers to help students differentiate between the two.
Prerequisite Knowledge
Students should have a basic understanding of identifying main ideas and supporting details in a text, as well as recognizing different types of texts and their purposes.
Subsequent Knowledge
After mastering this standard, students will be able to critically evaluate multiple texts for differing viewpoints and purposes, and they will develop skills in constructing arguments and identifying bias.
Instructional Activities
- Analyze a news article for the author’s point of view and supporting evidence.
- Compare and contrast different authors’ perspectives on the same topic.
- Create a presentation on how an author’s purpose influences their writing style.
- Write an essay explaining the author’s purpose in a historical speech.
