Summary
Every story has at least two sides. This is an idea that we accept in everyday life, but it is a concept that students rarely explore when dealing with literature. The ability to examine an author or narrator’s perspective, as well as examine a story from another point of view, is a vital tool for improving reading comprehension. When readers step into the mind of a character or narrator, they begin to take ownership of the story. Using a familiar children’s story, this lesson will examine two points of view students should consider when reading a text and will challenge students to view the world from a perspective other than their own.
Essential Question(s)
How does one's perspective affect the telling of an event or story?
Snapshot
Engage
Students engage in a role-playing activity centered on different perspectives.
Explore
Students read classic children's stories and Think-Pair-Share to determine characteristics of particular points of view.
Explain
Students watch an instructional video on point of view and create a 3-2-1 list to reflect on their learning.
Extend
Students re-tell a fairy tale or fable from a particular point of view.
Evaluate
Students' re-created fairy tales/fables are evaluated.
Materials
Writing materials: pen, pencil, paper, etc.
Handout 1 (attached; one per student)
Handout 2 (attached; one per student in group A)
Handout 3 (attached; one per student in group B)
Point of View Particulars (attached; optional; one per student)
Collaborative Grouping Strategies (attached; for teacher use)
Butcher paper (optional)
Links under resources
Computers with Internet access
Engage
Divide students into two groups. Groups are optional; however, collaboration is beneficial for the opening exercise.
Students are going to be introduced to the idea of point of view and will later be asked to write from a specific point of view (e.g., first person, third person).
Once the students are in their two groups, the teacher needs to classify one group as robbers and the other group as real estate agents. It is important that they not know the role that the other group is taking, so the teacher needs to discreetly let students know which group they are in and tell them to keep it a secret.
Pass out Handout 1. Read through the handout together as a class. Ask the students to pay attention to the important details of the house. The idea is that the robbers will pay attention to different details than the real estate agents. (Remember that it is important the students do not know what role the other group has been given.)
As soon as the reading is finished, have the groups write down all the important details they remember without going back to the text. (They can do this on butcher paper or on the back of their handouts.)
After 2-3 minutes, have the groups share their lists and discuss similarities and differences. Once the lists have been shared, have the students reveal their roles as robbers or real estate agents.
Ask the students the following questions: To what details did the robbers pay attention? To what details did the real estate agents pay attention? Why do you think their focuses were so different? Why is it important to be able to see other people’s point of view? (Encourage students to respond through writing individually first, then to work collaboratively and come to a consensus. Individuals and groups should share out responses.)
Explore
Reassign students into Group A and Group B, providing Group A with Handout 2 and Group B with Handout 3. For this activity, first split the class into two groups, then ask students to form pairs or groups of three within those groups. Half of the class will be reading "The Three Little Pigs," and the other half will be reading "The Wolf's Side of the Story;" but students will be working in pairs or groups of three initially.
Ask students to read the story and take notes on the following: Who is the narrator? What do you know about him/her/it? What pronouns are used in the story? Students should write their responses to these questions down, as they will need them for the upcoming Think-Pair-Share activity.
Students should work with their partner or group of three as they read and answer the questions. Once students finish, encourage them to Think-Pair-Share, first with a peer from another pair/group who read the same story, then with a peer from the other side of the class who read a different story.
Here's how Think-Pair-Share works in this lesson:
Students should take their responses and pair up with someone who read the same story but was not in their original pair/group of three.
They can either choose the best response or collaborate together to create a shared response.
Then, the student should pair up with a student from the other side of the class (a student who read a different story) and share.
A whole-class discussion can center on how students' ideas changed between the discussions with those who read the same story and those who read a different story.
Explain
Finishing up the Think-Pair-Share discussion, ask students to share out what they noticed in the stories with the class. Once multiple students have shared, play this video centered on point of view. Ask students to write down a 3-2-1 response as they watch the video: 3 things they learned, 2 questions they still have, and 1 thing they found interesting.
After the video, ask students to share their 3-2-1 responses with a partner. Volunteers should share out with the class, too.
By the conclusion of the pair and whole-class discussion, be sure the students are aware of the following information related to point of view:
Point of view is the perspective from which a story or poem is told.
Point of view is extremely important in analyzing literature.
It is nearly impossible to understand a piece of literature until you pick it apart and know the point of view and why the author chose that style.
Third-person limited point of view is the approach most commonly used in traditional storytelling, such as fairy tales and fables.
In a third-person limited narrative the storyteller is not one of the characters in the story.
Pronouns used in this type of storytelling include: he, she, it, they, etc. For example: "After breakfast they all went to take a nap."
In a third-person limited narrative, the reader only gets a limited amount of information. The reader is not allowed to experience a character’s thoughts, emotions, or motives.
The first-person point of view can be best remembered as the "I was there!" story.
In a first-person narrative, the storyteller (narrator) is in fact a character within the story being told.
Pronouns used in this type of storytelling include: I, me, my, we, etc. For example: "After breakfast, I went upstairs to take a nap."
In a first-person narrative, the reader gets a better understanding of the character’s thoughts, emotions, and motives because it is being told from the character's perspective.
Extend
Using the third-person narrative point of view, the student will summarize a familiar fairy tale or fable. This should not exceed 4–5 sentences (a basic paragraph). For a list of popular fairy tales, visit this website. This resource categorizes fairy tales by length, age rating, and title, so it is very user friendly. Students should pick a fairy tale and read it first before writing a brief third-person summary.
Using the first-person narrative point of view, the student will retell the story from the perspective of a character. It is always a good idea to challenge the student to take a perspective other than that of the "good guy."
If time allows, students could read their newly created stories to the class in a story-time setting. Students could also create a class anthology out of their stories, complete with new titles and images. Time constraints will inform this extend stage of the lesson.
Evaluate
It is important to pick your battles when assessing creative writing. The attached rubric focuses on the student’s ability to summarize and decipher between points of view. Remember, we aren’t always looking for the most polished, perfect piece of writing. A basic rubric is attached, but feel free to construct your own collaboratively with your students' suggestions.
Resources
MrGay. (August 25, 2019). Point of View. Schooltube. https://www.schooltube.com/media/Point+of+View/1_sd7imkdg
EnglishPlus. (2006). Person. http://englishplus.com/grammar/00000362.htm
ShortStories. Fairy Tales. Eastoftheweb. http://www.eastoftheweb.com/short-stories/index.php?p=web/library/children/subgenre/fairy%20tales&pg=1&ob=length&obv=1-2
K20 Center. (n.d.). 3-2-1. Strategies. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/117