Establish a Purpose
(Source: Reader’s Handbook, Great Source Education Group, Inc. 2002)
Before starting any reading, it is important to establish a purpose.
Why are you reading? Is it to find a number in the phone book or the time for a movie?
Maybe it’s to find the main idea of a short story or to chart the development of a
character throughout a novel. In any case the purpose is what you, as the reader, hope to
accomplish by the end of the reading. Without a purpose, you can easily lose your train
of thought and get to the end of a reading without ever knowing what you’ve even read.
Remember, it’s a matter of not working harder but of working smarter. Knowing your
purpose for reading allows you to find the answer your looking for with the minimum
amount of muss and fuss.
What teachers need to know…
There are four basic reasons an author chooses to write something:
1. to inform or explain
2. to entertain
3. to persuade
4. to enlighten or reveal an
important truth
Sometimes there is more than one purpose for the writing. Usually, however, the author has one
important purpose in mind when writing. Recognizing the purpose of the writing and helping
:I: first step in preparing students for reading any text.
What teachers can do…
Teachers can help students establish a purpose for various reading tasks by asking the following:
Types of Reading Possible Questions & Responses
Content Area
Textbooks
Using the title of the chapter we are reading, what is one question you
might ask?
Example: Title of the chapter – Population
What is population, and why is it important?
Essays What is the subject of the reading?
What is the author saying about the subject?
How do I feel about the author’s message?
Biographies or
Autobiographies
What kind of life did this person lead?
How do I feel about this person?
How did others feel about this person?
What was this person like?
Novels and/or Read
Alouds
Who is telling the story?
Who are the main characters, and what are they like?
What is the main problem in the story?
Where and when does this story take place?
How does the author express his or her message?
Tests What is the question asking?
What information is needed in order to answer the question?