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Grade 5 Unit 5 Week 3

Skill/Strategy: Author’s Purpose/Monitoring

Review: The author’s purpose is the main reason an author writes a selection. An author may write to persuade, to inform, to entertain, or to express their ideas and feelings. Sometimes an author may write with more than one purpose in mind. What the author says and details given help you figure out the author’s purpose.

Reading Street, Grade 5, Unit 5, p. 560.

Part A: Thinking about Clues in Author’s Purpose

EQ: How can I use clues in the text to figure out the author’s main purpose?

Materials: One-Liners sheet, whiteboard or chart paper

Spend a few minutes explaining common words, text features, or types of words that could give readers a clue about the author’s purpose. This could be written on the whiteboard or chart paper. Emphasize that a reader often can tell the author’s purpose even in a short phrase or sentence. Then guide students as they practice this with the One-Liners sheet attached. Some of these do not have a ‘right’ answer, but the debate is the important part. Explain that in the ones where we are unsure, we would have to read more in the passage in order to make a decision.

|Persuade |Inform |

|You should… |dates |

|This one is better than that one…. |Proper Nouns (names, places) |

|Please consider…. |real life photographs |

|$$$ things for sale |facts and information |

|Entertain |Express |

|Once upon a time… |I felt…. |

|Long, long ago… |I thought… |

|This is a story about… |Dear Diary … |

| |I don’t think people should… |

Part B: Recognizing Bias in Writing

EQ: What is bias? How can I recognize bias when I am reading? What causes bias?

Materials: Bias passages

Ask students to read the paragraph about pigeons.

Pigeons are dirtier than you think. They eat trash and leave their droppings wherever they go. Pigeons also carry diseases. One time, I was bitten by a pigeon when I tried to shoo it away. I had to get a shot because the pigeon might have given me a disease.

Discuss: Can you tell how this writer feels about pigeons? Do you wonder if this is the whole story about pigeons? Does the writer say anything positive about pigeons? For instance, he or she could have mentioned that pigeons are very successful at living around people. It appears that the writer has a strong opinion about pigeons and that facts may not change that opinion.

Teach: Bias occurs when a person has an unfair preference or dislike of something. Bias is based more on feelings and opinions than on facts. In some cases, bias results from a person’s past experiences. Sometimes the writer does not know enough about a subject and has formed an opinion based on a small amount of information. Other times, the writer is trying to persuade the reader.

An author's viewpoint is the way an author looks at the subject he or she is writing about. Biased writing is writing that shows an author's strong feeling for or against something.

• You can learn about an author's viewpoint by asking yourself questions about the author's beliefs and assumptions as you read.

• You can determine whether writing is biased by evaluating the evidence that an author gives to support his or her viewpoint.

Reading Street Grade 5 Unit 2 p. 229b

The problem with bias is that it can offend readers. It also often contains negative stereotypes. It can come in many forms, including a bias toward gender, age, race, or general likes and dislikes.

Discuss these examples:

Biased: There are many old people in our town. (bias about age)

Better: There are many senior citizens in our town.

Biased: The firemen arrived on the scene shortly after the blaze started. (gender bias)

Better: The firefighters arrived on the scene shortly after the blaze started.

Biased: Jane is going to school to become a lady doctor. (gender bias)

Better: Jane is going to school to become a doctor.

Biased: Tall African American boys are the best basketball players. (gender, size, and race bias)

Better: Physically fit people who can move quickly are the best basketball players.

Read and discuss the passages on students’ sheets. What is the author’s opinion? What words tell you how the author feels? What do you think is causing the author’s bias? If time, ask students to choose one passage and talk with a partner to write the same passage from a different viewpoint. (instead of being against the factory, write from a positive viewpoint)

1. The pollution in our river is caused by the big factory upstream. The people who own the factory are only interested in making money. They don’t care about the environment at all. I heard about them from my friend Barry, and he knows what he is talking about. (opinion – the factory is polluting the area, cause – not enough information)

2. Every morning, my grandfather’s rooster crows when it is still dark. About five minutes later, the sun comes up. I don’t know how it works, but my grandfather’s rooster is responsible for the sunrise! (opinion- the rooster is making the sun come up, cause – not enough information)

3. On the Internet, I learned about a place where aliens have secretly landed a spaceship on Earth. They’re going to take over the world, and they do, they’ll put all of the redheaded people like me in charge. You’d better be nice to me! (opinion – aliens are going to take over the world, cause – not a good source of information)

4. Our new science textbook will be terrific! I have used other textbooks by the same company, and they are always well-written and accurate. One of the teachers at our school says this is the best textbook she’s ever used. (opinion – the science book will be good, cause – past experience)

5. Dogs can be violent so stay away from dogs you do not know. Be sure you don’t make any quick movements even around a dog you are familiar with. They could bite you at any time. Once a dog bit me, so I know. Not all dogs are ‘man’s best friend’. (opinion – dogs can be dangerous, cause – past experience)

Part C: Multiple Meaning Words

EQ: How can I decide which meaning is being used in a multiple-meaning word?

Materials: Multiple Meaning definitions and sentences

Review: Some words have more than one meaning. You can find clues in nearby words to decide which meaning the author is using. Think about the different meanings for the word. Reread the sentence and decide which meaning makes sense. Reading Street Grade 5 Unit 5 page 562

Directions: Read each word and its different meanings. Discuss any meanings you do not understand. Then read the sentences below and choose the meaning that is being used in the sentence. Write the number on the line. Continue with the pictures.

cover – (1) to hide something; (2) to shield or protect; (3) to deal with or handle; (4) to wrap up with a jacket or blanket; (5) to travel over a distance

focus – (1) make a camera picture clear; (2) to concentrate on something you are doing; (3) a central point in a paragraph

gravity – (1) force holding objects on the Earth; (2) importance of something

monitor – (1) a screen used to show computer images; (2) a person who is watching an area such as a hallway; (3) to check or watch something

surface – (1) the outside or exterior of something; (2) to float up to the top; (3) to come out of hiding

1. Our regular teacher was out sick, so Mrs. Wolf had to cover recess today. 3

2. Astronauts who travel to outer space must deal with a loss of gravity. 1

3. I was worried about my pet lizard, so I had to monitor his habits for a week. 3

4. It was so windy that my dad had to cover the windows to make sure they didn’t break. 2

5. I had to remove a sentence from a paragraph because it was not focused on the topic. 3

6. My neighbor can swim all the way across the pool without surfacing. 2

7. Be sure to cover your mouth when you cough or sneeze. 2

8. When it gets nice outside, it is hard to stay focused on my work. 2

9. My brother’s paper route covers a large part of our town. 5

10. When we watched the news after September 11th we understood the gravity of the situation. 2

|[pic] |[pic] |[pic] |[pic] |

|word: cover |word: gravity |word: focus |word: monitor |

|meaning: 4 |meaning: 1 |meaning: 1 |meaning: 1 |

Name _________________________________________________ Date ____________________________

One-Liners

Author’s Purpose

Directions: Did you know you can often tell the Author’s Purpose in a short phrase or sentence? Try this on this sheet. Read each phrase or sentence. Think about why someone would say that. Then place an X in the matching column. If you think there are two purposes, make the X for the main purpose bigger.

| |Persuade |Inform |Entertain |Express |

|I urge you to vote for this candidate. | | | | |

|Thomas Carrington was born in South Dakota in 1834. | | | | |

|Once upon a time there was a princess named Penelope who lived in a far away | | | | |

|land. | | | | |

|This amazing product sells for just $25! | | | | |

|Every morning as my mom leaves for work, she goes through the same routine. | | | | |

|You should exercise every day to keep your heart strong. | | | | |

|Monday, October 12, 2009 | | | | |

|I cannot wait to go to my friend’s house. | | | | |

|Mae Jamison was the first African American woman chosen by NASA to be a Space | | | | |

|Shuttle astronaut. | | | | |

|Frogs are amphibians, but toads are reptiles. | | | | |

|Don’t ever kiss a frog! No way! Never. | | | | |

|The funniest thing happened to me when I went to my grandma’s house last | | | | |

|weekend. | | | | |

|The Earth is made up of three layers – the crust, the mantle, and the core. | | | | |

|I am so mad at my friend. Let me tell you why. | | | | |

|When you are taking a test, always make sure you understand the question. | | | | |

|On top of spaghetti…all covered with cheese, I lost my poor meatball when | | | | |

|somebody sneezed. | | | | |

Name _________________________________________________ Date ____________________________

Recognizing Bias in Writing

[pic]

Pigeons are dirtier than you think. They eat trash and leave their droppings wherever they go. Pigeons also carry diseases. One time, I was bitten by a pigeon when I tried to shoo it away. I had to get a shot because the pigeon might have given me a disease.

Bias occurs when a person has an unfair preference or dislike of something. Bias is based more on feelings and opinions than on facts. In some cases, bias results from a person’s past experiences. Sometimes the writer does not know enough about a subject and has formed an opinion based on a small amount of information. Other times, the writer is trying to persuade the reader.

Directions: Read and discuss each of the following passages. What is the author’s opinion? What words tell you how the author feels? What do you think is causing the author’s bias?

1. The pollution in our river is caused by the big factory upstream. The people who own the factory are only interested in making money. They don’t care about the environment at all. I heard about them form my friend Barry, and he knows what he is talking about.

2. Every morning, my grandfather’s rooster crows when it is still dark. About five minutes later, the sun comes up. I don’t know how it works, but my grandfather’s rooster is responsible for the sunrise!

3. On the Internet, I learned about a place where aliens have secretly landed a spaceship on Earth. They’re going to take over the world, and they do, they’ll put all of the redheaded people like me in charge. You’d better be nice to me!

4. Our new science textbook will be terrific! I have used other textbooks by the same company, and they are always well-written and accurate. One of the teachers at our school says this is the best textbook she’s ever used.

5. Dogs can be violent so stay away from dogs you do not know. Be sure you don’t make any quick movements even around a dog you are familiar with. They could bite you at any time. Once a dog bit me, so I know. Not all dogs are ‘man’s best friend’.

Name _________________________________________ Date ____________________________

Using Multiple Meaning Words

Directions: Read each word and its different meanings. Discuss any meanings you do not understand. Then read the sentences below and choose the meaning that is being used in the sentence. Write the number on the line. Continue with the pictures at the bottom.

cover – (1) to hide something; (2) to shield or protect; (3) to deal with or handle; (4) to wrap up with a jacket or blanket; (5) to travel over a distance

focus – (1) make a camera picture clear; (2) to concentrate on something you are doing; (3) a central point in a paragraph

gravity – (1) force holding objects on the Earth; (2) importance of something

monitor – (1) a screen used to show computer images; (2) a person who is watching an area such as a hallway; (3) to check or watch something

surface – (1) the outside or exterior of something; (2) to float up to the top; (3) to come out of hiding

1. Our regular teacher was out sick, so Mrs. Wolf had to cover recess today. ______

2. Astronauts who travel to outer space must deal with a loss of gravity. _______

3. I was worried about my pet lizard, so I had to monitor his habits for a week. _______

4. It was so windy that my dad had to cover the windows to make sure they didn’t break. ______

5. I had to remove a sentence from a paragraph because it was not focused on the topic. ______

6. My neighbor can swim all the way across the pool without surfacing. _____

7. Be sure to cover your mouth when you cough or sneeze. _____

8. When it gets nice outside, it is hard to stay focused on my work. _______

9. My brother’s paper route covers a large part of our town. _____

10. When we watched the news after September 11th we understood the gravity of the situation. 2

|[pic] |[pic] |[pic] |[pic] |

| |word: | |word: |

|word: |meaning: |word: |meaning: |

|meaning: | |meaning: | |

[pic]

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