The Lorax is the Whole PIE (and a Freebie)

We are currently working on identifying the authors purpose and central message of a story. It is a concept we find very hard but one of my cutie patooties wrote as her goal for the rest of the school year that she would “Learn more about what P.I.E. means and how to do it.” (see their New Year’s writing on a previous post.)

The gauntlet has been thrown.

We WILL get this.

Here is what we did this week. During the first few minutes of Reader’s workshop time (new for me but I think I’m starting to get a handle on it) I read aloud the Lorax to my class (this took 2 days -it’s a long story). This chart was hanging up in front of my students while I read. Students were instructed to listen for the times when Dr. Seuss included story elements which persuade, inform, or entertain.