I just did the Author's Purpose lesson today, using the book Rules. I agree with you and others who have said that author's purpose can influence the genre in which the author chooses to write. Rules is about a girl who has a brother with autism. We (the class) concluded that Cynthia Lord wrote the book to inform readers what it is like to have a family member with autism. When I asked if she could have done that by writing an article for our Current Health magazine, they saw that her purpose was also to entertain. The noticed that the narrative could actually help readers feel the emotions of the character, as the reader is also being informed about the life of a family with a disabled person (yes, they brought it to that, even more global). We will examine theme next, which I, too, see as distinctly different than author's purpose.
Maura 5/NJ ----- Original Message ----- From: "Vida Perrine" <[email protected]> To: "Mosaic: A Reading Comprehension Strategies Email Group" <[email protected]> Sent: Saturday, November 14, 2009 9:05:44 AM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: Re: [MOSAIC] Theme/author's message I think of author's purpose as the PIE ingredients---persuade, inform, entertain. However, to me, the theme is entirely a different thing. I teach theme as the "subject" (for lack of a better word) that the author is trying to convey to the reader by either persuading, informing, or entertaining. The subjects for theme are things like friendship, honesty, responsibility, awareness of prejudice, effects of gossiping, bullying, etc. For example, I use Maniac Magee as a novel that entertains us, but the thematic purpose is to make us aware of homelessness, prejudices, racial discrimination, etc. Am I off track completely? --- On Sun, 11/8/09, [email protected] <[email protected]> wrote: From: [email protected] <[email protected]> Subject: Re: [MOSAIC] Theme/author's message To: [email protected] Date: Sunday, November 8, 2009, 1:31 PM Maura Now I will muddy the waters a bit...our district says the author's purpose is one of three things...she writes to inform, to entertain or to persuade. Authors message and theme are used interchangeably. Jennifer In a message dated 11/8/2009 1:02:29 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, [email protected] writes: This inquiry was perfectly timed for me. Next week we will be focusing on the author's purpose and then finishing up the book and learning about theme. I am interested on hearing what others think about these topics! Maura _______________________________________________ Mosaic mailing list [email protected] To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org. Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive. _______________________________________________ Mosaic mailing list [email protected] To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org. Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive. _______________________________________________ Mosaic mailing list [email protected] To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org. Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive.
