Intent Detectives

This nonfiction reading worksheet is designed for students in Grades 6, 7, and 8 to strengthen critical reading and informational text analysis skills. Students read a passage about social media and teen friendships and act as “intent detectives,” determining whether the author’s purpose is to inform, persuade, or entertain. By highlighting evidence and writing clear explanations supported by the text, learners build confidence in analyzing authorial intent and defending claims with reasoning.

Learning Goals

• Determining Author’s Purpose (Grades 6-8)
  Students identify whether a text is written to inform, persuade, or entertain.
• Informational Text Analysis
  Learners examine tone, structure, and key details to understand intent.
• Citing Textual Evidence
  Students support conclusions with specific examples from the passage.
• Critical Reading & Interpretation
  The activity encourages thoughtful evaluation of how meaning is conveyed.

Instructional Benefits

• Teacher-Created Resource
  Designed by educators to align with middle school ELA standards.
• High-Interest Topic
  Social media and friendships provide relevant, relatable context.
• Evidence-Based Reasoning
  Students practice explaining why their answer is correct, not just selecting it.
• Flexible Classroom Use
  Ideal for nonfiction units, media literacy lessons, small-group work, or assessment.

This printable worksheet gives students meaningful practice with identifying author’s purpose and supporting interpretations with evidence. By closely analyzing tone, structure, and details, learners strengthen comprehension, critical thinking, and argumentative writing skills. Suitable for classroom instruction or homeschool use, this no-prep resource supports confident reading of nonfiction texts and deeper understanding of how authors communicate intent.

This worksheet is part of our Grade 7 Reading Comprehension collection.