Reading & Responding - Louisiana Department of Education

LESSON 17 - “LOUIS ARMSTRONG”2Content Standard:7.3: Recognize an author’s purpose and point of viewIntroduction toStudents:When we talk about the author’s purpose, we are talking about why the author wrote apassage. Here are some reasons an author might write a passage:• to teach the reader how to do something• to make the reader laugh with a funny story• to tell the reader about someone or something interesting or unusual• to help the reader see something a different wayWhen you are trying to understand an author’s purpose, it is helpful to look at thewhole passage and ask yourself what the whole passage is mostly about. If you knowthe main topic of a passage, you can usually figure out what the author’s purpose is.If you answered A, B, or D, your answer is incorrect. Let’s talk about why. Remember that when a question asksyou to describe the main purpose, you must read very carefully and think about the purpose for all of the writing,not just one part of it.What is the most likely reason the author wrote this passage?A. to encourage the reader to play the trumpet (What is the problem with this answer? Although LouisArmstrong did play the trumpet, there is nothing in the passage to show that the writer wants readers toplay the trumpet, too.)B. to tell a story about a boy who took music lessons (What is the problem with this answer? Although LouisArmstrong did take formal music lessons in reform school, this passage is about more than his musiclessons. Think about the whole passage, not just part of it.)C. to give information about a man’s life and career Correct. This passage is about the life and career of thefamous musician Louis Armstrong. This is the best answer.D. to describe New Orleans (What is the problem with this answer? Although Louis Armstrong was born inNew Orleans, we do not learn anything else about New Orleans in this passage.)LEAPGrade 4 | Teachers GuideELA | READING AND RESPONDING41