Authentic Lessons for 21st Century Learning

Lesson 5E Lesson
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The Way I See It

Point of View

K20 Center, Gage Jeter | Published: October 9th, 2024 by K20 Center

  • Grade Level Grade Level 8th, 9th
  • Subject Subject English/Language Arts
  • Course Course
  • Time Frame Time Frame 2-3 class period(s)
  • Duration More 120 minutes

Summary

Every story has at least two sides. While students may accept this idea in everyday life, they do not often explore this idea in literature. In this lesson, students will examine point of view in a familiar children's story from an author or narrator's perspective. Students will also examine other characters' perspectives on the same story and practice writing a story using different points of view. This lesson will challenge students to examine point of view in all literature and encourage them 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 in which they examine a passage from one of two different perspectives.

Explore

Students read two versions of a classic fairy tale and and participate in a Think-Pair-Share activity to determine the characteristics of different points of view.

Explain

Students watch a video on point of view and create a 3-2-1 list to reflect on their learning, then examine the differences between first-person and third-person points of view.

Extend

Students summarize a fairy tale or fable using third-person point of view.

Evaluate

Student retell a fairy tale or fable using first-person point of view.

Materials

  • Lesson Slides (attached)

  • The House handout (attached; one per student)

  • The Three Little Pigs handout (attached; one per student in Group A)

  • The Wolf’s Side of the Story handout (attached; one per student in Group B)

  • Point of View Particulars handout (attached; optional; one per student)

  • Collaborative Grouping Strategies (attached; optional)

  • Sample Rubric (attached; optional)

  • Notebook paper (three sheets per student)

  • Laptop or computer (one per student)

  • Headphones (optional)

  • Chart paper (optional)

  • Chart markers (optional)

  • Writing utensils

Engage

Use the attached Lesson Slides to guide the lesson. Begin by displaying the title of the lesson on slide 2 then display slide 3 and read aloud the essential question. Display slide 4 and read aloud the learning objectives.

Divide students into two groups. Classify one group as robbers and the other group as real estate agents. Discreetly notify each group of their role, but do not let each group know the other’s role.

Display slide 5 and pass out The House handout and a highlighter to each student. Explain to students that as they read the handout as a class, they should highlight the important details of the house. Stress to students that they should focus on solely the important details, but do not give any indication of which details they should choose.

Read the passage together as a class. After reading, display slide 6 and instruct students to turn their handouts over and work as a group to record as many details as they remember about the story without referring back to the text. Remind students to work quietly, as they should not give away their group’s role.

Allow students 2–3 minutes to work, then display slide 7. Call on each group to share out their observations. Discuss the similarities and differences between the lists, then have each group reveal their roles as either robbers or real estate agents.

Display slide 8 and pass out a sheet of notebook paper to each student. Introduce the students to the I Think/We Think activity. Have them fold their paper in half, lengthwise, and write “I Think” at the top of the left column and “We Think” at the top of the right column. Instruct students to record their answers to the following questions in the “I Think” column:

  • To which details did the robbers pay attention? 

  • To which 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?

Allow students time to record their answers, then display slide 9. Have students discuss their answers with their group members, then record a group answer to each question in the “We Think” column of their paper. Once groups have come to a consensus, have a spokesperson from each group share their responses.

Explain to students that this activity demonstrates how the same situation can look very different to an individual depending on their point of view.

Explore

Reassign students to two new groups, Group A and Group B. Give each student in Group A a copy of The Three Little Pigs handout and each student in Group B a copy of The Wolf’s Side of the Story handout. Display slide 10 and tell students to read their assigned story and take notes on the following:

  • Who is the narrator? 

  • What do you know about him/her/it? 

  • Which pronouns are used in the story? 

Tell students to record their responses to the questions on the bottom of their handout.

Allow students time to read their stories and record their answers, then display slide 11 and explain the instructions for the Think-Pair-Share activity. Tell students to find a partner who read the same story and share their responses to the questions. Explain to students that they will then work together to choose the best response or create a new response to each question.

Once pairs have answered the questions, display slide 12. Tell students to find a new partner who read a different story and share their responses to the questions.

After students have shared with their new partners, display slide 13. Facilitate a class discussion using the following questions:

  • How did your ideas change when you worked with a partner who read the same story?

  • How did your ideas change when you worked with a partner who read a different story?

  • What did you notice about each story?

Invite students to share out their answers to the question. Ensure that students from both groups, Group A and Group B, share their responses.

Explain

Display slide 14 and explain to students that the video “First Person vs Second Person vs Third Person” covers different kinds of point of view. Tell students that as they watch, they should consider new information, questions they have, and things they find interesting.

Play the video, then display slide 15 and pass out a sheet of notebook paper to each student. Explain the 3-2-1 activity to students by telling them to record the following on their paper:

  • 3 things you learned

  • 2 questions you have

  • 1 thing you found interesting

Tell students to find a partner and share their responses to the prompts. Invite volunteers to share out their answers.

Display slide 16 and discuss point of view. Emphasize the following points to students:

  • Point of view is the perspective from which a story or poem is told.

  • Point of view is extremely important when analyzing literature.

  • To understand a piece of literature, you must determine the point of view and understand why the author chose that perspective.

Display slide 17 and explain third-person point of view using following information as a guide:

  • Third-person limited point of view is commonly used in traditional storytelling including 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, and they.

    • 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 does not experience a character’s thoughts, emotions, or motives.

Display slide 18 and explain first-person point of view using the following information as a guide:

  • In a first-person narrative, the storyteller (narrator) is a character in the story.

  • The narrator was there when the story happened.

  • Pronouns used in this type of storytelling include I, me, my, and we.

    • For example: “After breakfast, I went upstairs to take a nap.”

  • In a first-person narrative, the reader can better understand the character’s thoughts, emotions, and motives.

Explain to students that they as they read new pieces of literature, they should practice examining the story from multiple points of view. Tell them that they should try stepping into the minds of different characters in their favorite books and movies to understand the story in a different way.

Extend

Display slide 19 and pass out a sheet of notebook paper to each student. Tell students to navigate to the Sooper Books link on the slide and choose a fairy tale from the website. Explain that students should choose a fairy tale, either one they like or one they haven’t read before, and read it individually. Instruct them to write a brief third-person summary, approximately four to five sentences in length, of the fairy tale after reading.

Evaluate

Once students have completed their paragraphs, display slide 20 and have them flip over their papers. Instruct them to now retell the story using the first-person narrative point of view. Challenge them to choose a character other than the protagonist in order to experience a unconventional point of view.

If time allows, invite students to share out their newly-created story or encourage all students to read their stories during a classroom story time. You may also consider collecting stories for use in a class anthology.

Resources

Publisher

K20 Center

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Downloads

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Standards

ACT College and Career Readiness Standards (6-12)
PPV402: Understand point of view in somewhat challenging passages
Oklahoma Academic Standards: English Language Arts (Grade 8)
8.3.R.2: Evaluate perspectives (e.g., historical, cultural, ethnic, and global) and describe how they affect various literary and informational texts.
8.3.R.3: Analyze literary elements to support interpretations of a literary text:
  • setting
  • plot
  • characters (i.e., protagonist, antagonist)
  • characterization
  • conflict (i.e., internal, external)
  • point of view (i.e., third person limited and omniscient, second person, and unreliable narrator)
8.3.W.1: Compose narratives reflecting real or imagined experiences that:
  • include plots involving complex characters resolving conflicts
  • unfold in chronological or surprising sequence (e.g., flashback and foreshadowing)
  • include a narrator, precise language, sensory details, and dialogue to enhance the narrative
  • use sentence variety to create clarity
  • emulate literary elements and/or literary devices from mentor texts
Oklahoma Academic Standards: English Language Arts (Grade 9)
9.1.L.2: Actively listen in order to analyze and evaluate speakers' verbal and nonverbal messages by asking questions to clarify purpose and perspective.
9.3.R.2: Evaluate authors' perspectives and explain how those perspectives contribute to the meanings of texts.
9.3.R.3: Evaluate how literary elements impact theme, mood, and/or tone, using textual evidence:
  • setting
  • plot structure (e.g., foreshadowing, flashback, in media res)
  • conflict (i.e., internal, external)
  • characters (e.g., protagonist, antagonist)
  • characterization (i.e., direct, indirect)
  • point of view (e.g., narrator reliability)
  • archetypes
9.3.W.1: Compose narratives reflecting real or imagined experiences that:
  • include engaging plots involving well-developed, complex characters resolving conflicts
  • establish narrator(s) that enhance(s) the narrative
  • are intentionally sequenced in a way to achieve a specific effect (e.g., create suspense, establish mood, reflect theme)
  • provide clear descriptions, using precise language, sensory details, and dialogue
  • include varied syntax to enhance readability
  • emulate literary elements and/or literary devices from mentor texts
act.org (6-12)
L&C 401: A score in this range indicates that the writer is able to: -Make adequate word choices that convey the argument with clarity -Make stylistic choices, including voice, tone, and diction, that are appropriate for the given writing purpose and topic

Facilitator Resources

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  • Cooperative Grouping Strategies—The Way I See It
  • Lesson Slides—The Way I See It
  • Sample Rubric—The Way I See It

Learner Handouts

Click on a file type icon to download an attachment.

  • Point of View Particulars—The Way I See It
  • The House —The Way I See It
  • The Three Little Pigs —The Way I See It
  • The Wolf's Side of the Story—The Way I See It

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