We all know teaching author’s purpose is more than just PIE (persuade, inform, entertain)—though pie does sound delicious. In this post, you’ll find four student-approved activities that go beyond the basics, including a hands-on foldable, a PowerPoint with matching cards, a free Boom Learning practice, and an awesome doughnut-themed writing project. Because nothing motivates writing like sugar.
Grab the lesson handout. It contains links to the TPT free resource, the lesson PowerPoint, and a free Boom Learning deck to make prep easy (and tasty).
Four Author’s Purpose Activities
✨ Activity #1: Foldable Organizer – A Purposeful Start
Kick off your author’s purpose unit with two four-door foldables that students will actually want to keep in their notebooks. Each flap is labeled with one of four writing purposes: persuade, inform, entertain, and share feelings (with options for describe or express depending on your standard or lesson focus). Want to go a step further? A second foldable adds additional writing purposes. Inside, students write definitions and add examples—plus illustrations to make the organizers their own.
I break this activity into four mini-lessons across four days, introducing two purposes per day to avoid overload.
Pro tip: The printable includes a version with answers, perfect for differentiation. Let students who need support use it as a reference while others create their own definitions.
✨ Activity #2: Matching Cards + PowerPoint Practice
Once students understand the basics, it’s time to apply the skill. That’s where the matching game comes in.
Students pair up purpose, definition, and example cards. Then, we move to whole-group practice with Part 2 of the PowerPoint that displays a passage and asks: What was the author’s purpose here?
We start with oral responses, then move to short written responses for reinforcement. It’s a great way to transition from sorting definitions to analyzing real text.
Note: The PowerPoint still contains Tennessee standards. Feel free to delete the slides or swap in your own state’s standards or Common Core references.
Activity 3 – Digital Practice with Boom Learning
Now that students have built a solid foundation with foldables, and matching cards, it’s time to take their learning digital with an interactive Boom Learning deck.
This activity is perfect for reviewing and reinforcing author’s purpose in a fun, low-prep way. Students read short passages—ranging from advertisements and flyers to articles and stories—and determine whether the author is trying to persuade, inform, entertain, or share feelings. Each passage is followed by a multiple-choice option.
Whether your students are just being introduced to these concepts or need targeted review before assessments, this activity helps meet the standards while keeping students engaged.
👉 This deck makes a great center activity, early finisher task, or homework assignment. And since Boom Learning is self-checking, you can keep your sanity intact while students get immediate feedback!
🎯 Skill Focus: Identifying the author’s purpose across a variety of text types
🖱️ Question Type: Multiple choice
💻 Format: Digital Boom Cards
✨ Activity #4: The Doughnut Writing Challenge 🍩
This is where things get delicious. For this lesson, I bring in doughnuts (yes, real ones) and place them on the desks to tempt young writers. Then comes the twist: Students pull a writing prompt from a hat and compose a short passage from a specific author’s purpose.
Here are the prompts they might get:
- Persuade me to buy doughnuts.
- Inform me about doughnuts.
- Entertain me with a story involving doughnuts.
- Describe a doughnut using imagery.
- Share your feelings about a doughnut experience.
After writing, students get to enjoy the doughnuts they’ve been drooling over. Everyone wins.
🍩 Student Writing Samples
Persuade:
“For just $1.00 you can get four delicious, chocolaty, marvelous treats. Come on down, and I’ll see you there.” – Kristina
Entertain:
“I peeked around the car to see a doughnut truck. Out of the back of the truck was a cannon that had shot the missile. Pieces of doughnuts flew everywhere.” – Ryan
Describe:
“The sticky, squishy icing smeared all over my fingers as I put it to my mouth. It was the most wonderful thing I have ever tasted.” – Cassie
Inform:
“National Donut Day is celebrated on the first Friday in June.” – Christina
Share Feelings:
“Just walking in the shop made me feel like a rainbow of happiness.” – Emma
📸 Bonus idea: Take photos of your doughnut day and create a bulletin board with students’ writing and snapshots!
Standards Covered
This author’s purpose unit aligns with a range of standards including:
- W.4.1.a, W.4.4, W.4.10
- W.5.1.a, W.5.4, W.5.10
- W.6.4, W.6.10
These activities help students write with intent, reflect on tone, and understand the difference between entertaining and informing—plus they’ll have a lot of fun in the process.
Final Thoughts for Teachers
If you’ve ever wanted to see your students write passionately about doughnuts, this is your sign. Whether you’re teaching author’s purpose for the first time or looking to refresh your unit, these activities hit the sweet spot—engaging, standards-based, and classroom-tested.
Happy teaching (and snacking)!
Get the links to make all these activities happen. This handout also includes the link to the lesson PowerPoint that accompanies the TPT resource, a link to the free on Teachers Pay Teachers product—including the organizer, matching cards, and doughnut writing prompts, and a link to a free practice exercise on Boom Learning.
See the product that inspired this post.
Are you looking for a fun way to teach writing skills? This series teaches narrative, informative, and opinion writing with animated short films your students are sure to love!
1 comment
Every one of your resources are stimulating, challenging and well presented. Many thanks for your dedication.