Looking for a high-engagement, Thanksgiving-themed resource to teach author’s purpose? This Thanksgiving Author’s Purpose Unit is perfect for grades 5-7 and provides students with five unique, double-sided passages (10 pages total) to help them practice identifying and analyzing different author’s purposes—all with a festive, fall twist!

This resource includes everything you need for a whole-group lesson, centers, or intervention, and is perfect for engaging students with seasonal content while building critical reading skills.
What’s Included:

• A complete 75-minute lesson plan that guides students through understanding author’s purpose, with adaptable options for different teaching formats.
• 5 double-sided passages, each representing a different author’s purpose (Persuade, Inform, Entertain, Explain, Instruct), all tied to Thanksgiving topics!
• Interactive slides and guided notes: Use the 12-slide deck to introduce or review author’s purpose while students complete fill-in-the-blank notes to stay engaged.
• Multiple-choice and open-ended questions for each passage: Help students analyze the author’s intent, tone, and type of text.

Sample Thanksgiving Passages Include:

• A persuasive speech from a turkey asking to be saved!
• A critical speech on Thanksgiving’s environmental impact.
• An entertaining story of a Thanksgiving disaster.
• A step-by-step instructive speech on how to cook Grandma’s famous stuffing.

This resource is ideal for teaching the author’s purpose in a fun, seasonal way with relevant Thanksgiving content that students will love. Whether you use it for whole-group instruction, stations, or small-group intervention, your students will be "thankful" for how engaging this resource is!
What’s Included:

• 75-minute lesson plan
• 5 double-sided, Thanksgiving-themed passages (10 pages total)
• Slide deck and fill-in-the-blank guided notes
• Multiple-choice and open-ended questions for each passage

Help your students master the skill of identifying author’s purpose while enjoying Thanksgiving-themed content! Perfect for ELA centers, whole-class lessons, or small-group intervention.