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Author's Purpose and Text Structure
Grade 3 - Reading - On Level
Worksheet 1
1Read "The Tide Pool Note": At low tide, Leila sketched a pool that held snails, seaweed, and one small crab. She wrote the time beside her drawing because the water would return later. By afternoon, waves covered the pool and the crab was hidden again. What is the author's purpose?
2Which clue from "The Broken Sundial" supports the author's purpose?
3Which text structure best describes how "The Weather Journal" is organized?
4Which pair shows a cause-effect connection that shapes "The Classroom Debate"?
5Which purpose does not fit "The Bridge Revision"?
6Read "The Weather Journal": For two weeks, Asha recorded the temperature before recess and drew a symbol for the sky. She noticed that cloudy mornings often became cooler afternoons. Her chart helped the class decide when jackets were needed. What is the author's purpose?
7Which clue from "The Bridge Revision" supports the author's purpose?
8Which text structure best describes how "The Seed Library" is organized?
9Which pair shows a cause-effect connection that shapes "The Tide Pool Note"?
10Which purpose does not fit "The Night Hike"?
About this worksheet
Author's purpose asks why a writer wrote a text, while text structure asks how the writer organized the ideas. In third grade, students usually work with purposes such as to inform, entertain, explain, or persuade, and structures such as sequence, cause and effect, or problem and solution. The challenge is that one passage can have both an interesting topic and an informative purpose, or a story-like event order and a clear cause-effect relationship. This worksheet uses short passages and evidence-based choices so children practice matching the text to the writer's goal and organization. Students choose the purpose, identify clue details, name text structures, and connect causes with effects. Encourage your child to ask what the author wants the reader to learn or feel, then ask how the details are arranged.
What your child will learn
Identify why an author wrote a passage
Name common text structures
Use clues to support a purpose answer
Connect structure choices to evidence
Worked example
A passage explaining how a rain gauge is used is mostly written to inform, and its events are arranged as a sequence.
Common mistake
Choosing entertain for every passage that is enjoyable to read.
Helpful hint
Ask why the author wrote it and how the details are arranged.
Worksheet 1