Students examine how authors use language by examining purpose, figurative language, voice, and more.
Author's Craft unit contains 4 learning experiences.
Learning Experiences (Lessons) in Author's Craft Each learning experience takes about 45 minutes to teach in the device-enabled classroom.
Author’s Purpose
Students review author’s purposes—to persuade, to inform, and to entertain. Then they read the first chapter of Little Women to identify the author’s purpose in writing the text. Next, they identify different text structures that can be used in informational writing. Finally, they analyze a persuasive text and write one of their own.
Figurative Language
Students learn about figurative language that authors use to make their writing more entertaining and to enhance the images readers make in their minds as they read. They identify and write their own similes, metaphors, and personification. Finally, they write their own text that includes examples of figurative language.
Author’s Voice, Mood, and Tone
Students learn about tone and mood and how authors develop a voice and choose words to enhance tone and mood in texts. Then, they read some texts and identify the tone and mood. Finally, students write their own stories and develop the tone and mood.
Rhetorical Devices and Logical Fallacies
Students learn what rhetorical devices are and study several examples. Then, they examine hasty generalizations and sweeping generalizations as logical fallacies. Finally, they write their own advertisements that include some of these techniques.
