English Language Arts · 2nd Grade · Becoming Experts Through Informational Text · Weeks 10-18

Author's Purpose in Informational Text

Identifying the author's primary reason for writing a non-fiction text (to inform, explain, or describe).

• Common Core State Standards
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.2.6

About This Topic

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.2.6 asks second graders to identify the main purpose of a text, including what the author wants to answer, explain, or describe. For informational text, this focuses on three primary purposes: to inform, to explain, or to describe. Understanding that authors make choices about what to include based on their purpose helps students shift from passive recipients of information to active readers who ask why the author wrote this.

Recognizing author's purpose also helps students understand why different texts feel different even when they address the same subject. A text that aims to explain a process reads very differently from one that aims to describe how something looks. When students can name and justify the author's purpose using text evidence, they are applying a critical reading skill that transfers to all content areas, not just ELA.

This topic works well with active learning because students benefit from encountering multiple short texts with different purposes side by side. Sorting activities, quick partner debates about purpose, and purpose-identification tasks done in pairs or small groups all help students practice the evidence-based justification skill the standard emphasizes.

Key Questions

1. Explain the author's main goal in writing this informational text.
2. Justify your conclusion about the author's purpose with evidence from the text.
3. Compare the purpose of an informational text with that of a narrative story.

Learning Objectives

• Classify informational texts based on their primary author's purpose (to inform, explain, or describe).
• Identify specific text features and content that support the author's purpose in an informational text.
• Compare and contrast the author's purpose in an informational text with the author's purpose in a narrative text.
• Justify conclusions about author's purpose using direct evidence from the text.

Before You Start

Identifying Main Idea in Informational Text

Why: Students need to be able to find the main topic of a text before they can determine the author's specific reason for writing about it.

Understanding Text Features

Why: Recognizing headings, captions, and other features helps students understand what information the author is emphasizing, which relates to purpose.

Key Vocabulary

Author's Purpose	The main reason why an author writes a piece of text. For informational texts, this is usually to inform, explain, or describe.
Inform	To give facts or information about a topic. Texts that inform often present details about people, places, or events.
Explain	To make something clear or easy to understand. Texts that explain often show how something works or why something happens.
Describe	To tell what something is like, using details about its appearance or characteristics. Texts that describe focus on sensory details.
Text Evidence	Specific words, phrases, or sentences from a text that support an idea or answer a question about the text.

Watch Out for These Misconceptions

Common Misconception

All informational text has the same purpose: to teach you facts.

What to Teach Instead

Informational text can inform, explain a process, or describe an object or place. A text about what a volcano is reads very differently from a text about how a volcano erupts. Sorting activities with different text types help students feel these differences in practice rather than just memorizing category definitions.

Common Misconception

The author's purpose is something the author tells you directly.

What to Teach Instead

Authors rarely state their purpose; readers infer it from the content, structure, and types of details included. If a text focuses on vivid sensory words, the purpose is likely to describe. If it walks through a series of steps, it is likely to explain. Teaching students to look for these structural clues rather than waiting to be told builds the inferential skill the standard targets.

Active Learning Ideas

Think-Pair-Share: Spot the Purpose

Share three short passages projected or on cards, one each for inform, explain, and describe. Students identify the author's main purpose for each passage and write one sentence of evidence. Pairs compare and discuss: did they agree? What clues helped them decide?

20 min·Pairs

Inquiry Circle: Purpose Sort

Small groups receive eight short passages on index cards and sort them into three piles: inform, explain, describe. Groups share one disagreement they had and how they resolved it. This surfaces the nuance that some texts blend purposes while still having a primary one.

25 min·Small Groups

Gallery Walk: Author's Chair

Post three short informational texts around the room, each with a different purpose. At each station, students read and write a sticky note answering: what did the author most want me to take away from this text? The debrief focuses on how takeaway answers reveal the author's purpose.

20 min·Pairs

Real-World Connections

• Museum curators select specific artifacts and write exhibit labels to inform visitors about historical periods or scientific concepts, carefully choosing details to describe or explain.
• Travel writers decide whether their articles will primarily describe the sights and sounds of a destination to entice visitors, or explain the best ways to navigate and experience it.
• Cookbook authors choose recipes and write introductions that either describe the dish in mouth-watering detail or explain the cooking process step-by-step for clarity.

Assessment Ideas

Exit Ticket

Provide students with two short informational texts on the same topic but with different purposes (e.g., one describing a dinosaur's appearance, one explaining how dinosaurs went extinct). Ask students to write one sentence stating the purpose of each text and one piece of evidence from each text that supports their choice.

Quick Check

Display a short informational paragraph. Ask students to hold up fingers: 1 for inform, 2 for explain, 3 for describe. Then, ask them to turn to a partner and share one word or phrase from the paragraph that helped them decide.

Discussion Prompt

Pose the question: 'How is the author's job different when writing a story about a brave knight compared to writing a book that explains how bridges are built?' Guide students to discuss how the purpose changes what the author includes and how they write it.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I teach author's purpose for informational text in 2nd grade?

Use the IED framework: Inform, Explain, Describe. Show students three mentor texts, one for each purpose, and build an anchor chart with evidence phrases from each. The goal is for students to name the purpose and point to specific language choices that support their conclusion, not just guess based on topic alone.

What is the difference between informing and explaining in nonfiction?

Informing gives the reader facts and knowledge about a topic. Explaining walks the reader through a process, a cause, or a reason. A text about dolphins informs. A text about how dolphins hunt using echolocation explains. Both contain facts, but explaining also provides logical steps or reasons that connect the facts to a conclusion.

How do I help students justify their answer about author's purpose?

Push beyond 'I think it is to inform because it has facts.' Ask: what kind of facts? What do those facts want you to know, understand, or picture? Modeling this internal questioning during a think-aloud, then releasing the same process to pairs for practice, helps students build the habit of evidence-based justification rather than guessing.

How does active learning support author's purpose instruction in 2nd grade?

Active learning gives students multiple texts to compare simultaneously rather than one at a time. When students sort texts by purpose in small groups, they naturally debate edge cases and build a more nuanced understanding than a single guided lesson produces. Discussing and defending purpose conclusions with peers also strengthens the justification skill the standard requires.