Author's Purpose PIE

2nd–4th grade
Ages 7–10
Free, no sign-up

Why did the author write this? Your child reads short pieces, from ads and facts to jokes and stories, and sorts each one into its slice of PIE: Persuade, Inform or Entertain.

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Play full screen How to play For parents

About the game

Passages	24 short original passages
Levels	3: inform or entertain, persuade or inform, all three
Explains	Why each answer fits
Sign-up	None. Stars are saved on your device

How to play

Read the passage. What is the author trying to do?
Think PIE. Persuade, Inform or Entertain?
Sort it. Tap the right slice.
Learn the clue. Each answer explains what to look for.

For parents: what Author's Purpose PIE practices

Author's Purpose PIE teaches kids to identify why an author wrote a text, an important reading skill for reading ads, articles and stories critically. It pairs with:

Common Core: RI.2.6 (identify the main purpose of a text), RI.3.6, RI.4.8.

Getting the most out of it

Persuade words: should, best, buy, please.
Inform pieces give facts you could check.
Entertain pieces tell stories, jokes or poems.

Games are best as a reward or a warm-up, not the main lesson. Ten minutes of play after a short lesson works better than an hour of play on its own.

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Questions parents ask

Can a piece have more than one purpose?

Yes. Real writing often does. In this game each piece has one main purpose.

Why is a how-to piece "inform"?

Instructions teach you how to do something, so their purpose is to inform.

Is this game free?

Yes. Every game on English1to5 is free, with no ads, no sign-up and no in-game purchases.

Does the game collect any information about my child?

No. There are no accounts. Progress and scores are saved only in your browser on your own device. See our privacy policy.