Teaching Students to Analyze Author's Craft
The ability to analyze an author's work is the heart and soul of the being an active, strategic reader. On state tests, simply being able to summarize and answer basic retelling questions is a thing of the past. Proficient readers use the author's craft to understand the message and make connections to their lives and the world. Students need teachers to show them how to think about the author's use of literary elements, text structures, point-of-view, and word choice.
Here are a few areas to focus on when teaching author's craft.
Teach How Authors Organize Texts
Analyzing the organization structure of a text can help the reader better "read between the lines" to comprehend the message. Did the author use a simple beginning, middle, end organizational structure? Does the author explain the subject by organizing main ideas into paragraphs that are linked to the central idea? Identifying text structure is a powerful tool for making connections between ideas presented in the text. Students will start to recognize organizational structures and start choosing the best ones for their personal writing.
Teach Writing Techniques Authors Use
Writing techniques can have powerful effects on the texts meaning. Language, text features, and facts used purposely help convey the author’s message. Techniques add meaning and entertainment to an author's writing. Students should be able to identify and infer why the author has chosen the technique for this specific piece of writing.
Make Inferences About Why Authors Use Specific Craft Tools
Students need to be able to evaluate the author’s use of a specific craft tool and provide evidence to support the evaluation. For example, why did the author use a metaphor in paragraph ___?
Critical thinking is key! Start the conversation with your students by asking questions such as:
- What does the text say?
- What does the text NOT say?
- Did the author leave out any information?
- Why would an author choose to leave out information?
- What writing techniques does the author get their point across?
What the anchor charts for author's craft? Click here to download.
