Introduction
Author's purpose is the "why?" behind writing. Every piece of writing has a purpose and this is decided before the author sits down to construct the body of their written work. We are living in an information age. Never before has so much information been available to everyone. We can read the same article in a magazine, through an online source, in audio format or stream it through a live online media outlet. How can we help but to feel bombarded by the information that is constantly thrown at us? How do we first realize the reason for a particular writing that will also allow us to adjust how we approach the information that is presented. We don't have to believe everything we read. As we become better at analyzing text selections, we will become the determiners of whether we will or will not go to the place that the author intended us, as readers, to go. In order to start becoming this kind of reader, we have to first put ourselves in the place of the writer. We have to ask ourselves, "What does the author want me to learn as a result of reading or reviewing this text?" "Is the author trying to change my mind about something?" "Is the author trying to show me a different side of something that I might not have been aware of before?" "Is the author describing something in order to teach me how to do it?" "Is the author entertaining me with a story, poem or dramatic selection(play)?" All of these questions should be those that we ask after reading a selection and requires thought to determine the correct purpose of an author. Why is this important? It is important because until we are able to sift through, sometimes in a critical way, the information that is presented to us, we lack skills of how to provide true believable support for our own writing. Our goal is that people would believe in what we write and not put down our writing before we have presented our conclusions to the reader. You cannot deliver a message to an audience who quits reading. Our goal is to keep them in there with us until the end, drawing some who may have never once considered listening to us before.
Task
Video #1:
Author's Purpose: For the video above, please answer the following questions:
1. What is the author's purpose for sharing this video with us?
a. to inform us about how to use soap to wash our hands
b. to convince us to stop wasting our money buying hand sanitizer
c. to present the reason why soap is a better option for clean hands
d. to demonstrate the structure of the coronavirus for the listener
2. Who is this person who made this video?
a. He is a scientist
b. He is a doctor
c. He works for a soap company
d. He is on the CoronaVirus taskforce
3. If you have to use hand sanitizer because soap is not available, what kind is recommended?
a. liquid
b. spray
c. gel
d. wipes
4. What text structure does the person making this video use to share his information?
a. Description-he describes the times you should use hand sanitizer and times you shouldn't
b. Compare and Contrast-he uses the time on the video and the drawing to show the differences of each germ destroyer
c. Persuade-he spends the majority of his short time on the video convincing viewers to stop using hand sanitizer
d. Narrative-he uses the video to relate a story that viewers can understand because it is familiar
5. What inference can we make from this video?
a. That if we use only hand sanitizer the virus can still be on our hands
b. That the information presented is not able to be proven, because it is not backed up by science.
c. That the novel coronavirus is new, so this information has to be current.
d. That if someone follows his advice they will not get the virus.
Video #2: For the video below, please answer the following questions:
https://www.cnn.com/videos/us/2019/10/01/bronx-zoo-lion-enclosure-vpx.wcbs
or you can find the video here:
1. What is author's purpose for sharing this video?
a. It entertains the audience with a heartwarming story.
b. It promotes the rights of animals who have done no harm.
c. It informs the audience about a dangerous move by a Bronx Zoo visitor
d. It provides a description of a girl wanted and on the run for a crime at the Bronx Zoo.
2. What text structure is used for the presentation of this news story?
a. problem/solution
b. cause and effect
c. order and sequence (step by step)
d. description
3. One visitor to the zoo that day hopes that a ____________________ won't be built around the lion's place in the zoo.
a. wall
b. high fence
c. gate
d. holding pen
4. Only a "moat" separated the woman from the lion. Look up the definition of a "moat" and write it below:
______________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________
5. The reaction of the other visitors to the zoo can best be described as ____________________.
a. apathetic-didn't care one way or the other
b. pity-they felt sorry for the woman who was probably mentally ill
c. critical-disapproving of the woman's actions that may affect other people or the lions
d. outraged-angered and resentful; furious with the woman who prompted the incident
Video #3:
You can find the video at this link:
Please answer the following questions about this video:
1. What is the author's purpose of creating this video?
a. to inform the audience about an event in Thailand and its importance
b. to persuade the audience that seeing this in person is the experience of a lifetime
c. to show the strong national spirit that this festival of lights brings to the Thai people
d. to make the audience want to choose the festival of lights over Thailand instead of India
2. What does this festival mark (celebrate) for the people of Thailand?
a. the end of another lunar calendar year
b. the end of the rainy season
c. the renewal of hope for the year ahead
d. the completion of the full lunar calendar year
3. What two tone words would best describe this video?
a. simplicity and beauty
b. pride and strength
c. beauty and hope
d. universality and togetherness
4. Explain your answer to #3 above: (2 sentences)
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
5. What does the music in the background provide towards the author's purpose?
a. It makes the video seem more authentic because it is the music of Thailand
b. It makes the scene seem more peaceful because the woman's voice is soothing
c. It provides a strong contrast to the stressful times that we are presently living in
d. It is annoying and distracts the audience from enjoying the beautiful event over video
#4 Access the informational text article here:
https://learnzillion.com/resources/42115/resource-content (Part I)
Bears of Yellowstone Park Assessment:
1. Where might we find this article?
a. In a pamphlet at the entrance to Yellowstone Park
b. In a magazine featuring America's wildlife
c. In a Scientific American journal published professionally
d. On a blog posted by someone who visited the park recently
2. Yellowstone National Park was founded in 1872. Its park symbol is the __________________.
a. mountain lion
b. big horn sheep
c. bear
d. wolverine
3. The grizzly bear has this defining feature
a. high rump
b. small in size
c. straight face
d. large muscle above the shoulder
4. Which of these is not a variation of color for the black bear?
a. black
b. brown
c. blond
d. red
5. The grizzly and black bear are __________________________.
a. carnivores
b. herbivores
c. omnivores
d. fungivores
6. Black bears prefer to search for food in the ______________________.
a. forest
b. open meadows
c. caves
d. lakes
7. Both bears diets depend on the __________________.
a. speed of the bear-only the strong and fast survive
b. season-depending on the food that is available at the time
c. the number of animals killed on the road
d. the kind and number of animals that have gone underground
8. Based on the diagram of the pawprints, which animal walks flat-footed and which walks more on his toes?
Animal that walks flat-footed ___________________________
Animal that walks more on his toes _____________________
9. A bear management program was established _________________________________.
a. to manage the number of daily visitors, depending on the aggressive behavior of the bears
b. to work together with the bear to try to keep the bears in the forest
c. to reduce the number of bear to human injuries
d. to balance the number of grizzlies and black bears in Yellowstone
10. The behavior of bears and wolves during contact with each other is dependent upon ______________________.
a. the time of year
b. gender
c. contact with humans
d. water availability
Article #2: (follow the link below)
https://www.nps.gov/articles/yell-wildlife-bear-food-habits.htm (Part II)
11. According to the chart, which two foods are available to the bears during the months of July-August?
a. spring beauty and dandelions
b. clover and ants
c. winter-killed ungulates carcasses and wolf-killed carcasses
d. elk carcasses and sweet cicely
12. Which food is available for the shortest period of time?
a. earthworms
b. fireweed
c. sweet cicely
d. biscuit root
13. What is one primary difference between the food habits of black bears and grizzly bears in Yellowstone?
a. The black bear is a omnivore, while the grizzly bear is an herbivore
b. Black bears eat less meat and roots than the grizzly bear
c. Grizzly bears scavenge for road-kill, while the black bear refuses to eat it
d. Black bears will eat food from the hands of visitors without harm, while grizzlies avoid all human contact
14. What food seems to have the longest availability for the black bear and grizzly bear?
a. White-bark pine seeds
b. Wolf-killed elk carcasses
c. Earthworms
d. Cut-throat trout
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
15. (10 points) Please explain how an author's purpose might change during the time that they sit down to write any story or share their own experience or research with the reader.
The author's purpose might change because _____________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Process
Please submit all answers for this webquest on the copy of the Google document that is attached to this assignment. This assignment fully measures mastery of standard RI 6.6 by using online media as a platform and resource for that mastery.
Evaluation
Students will be evaluated on the following standard CCSS ELA-Literacy.RST 6-8.6 "Analyze the author's purpose in providing an explanation, describing a procedure, or discussing an experiment in a text."
Conclusion
Thank you for completing the author's purpose webquest. I hope you have enjoyed this assignment and have a wonderful day.