RL.5.6
Describe how a narrator’s or speaker’s point of view influences how events are described.
Strategy/Lesson Suggestions
Formative Assessment Suggestions
What’s Missing?
After reading or hearing a story, have students respond to the following
questions:
• What information is unknown to the reader because ____ (text title) is
told from ______ (character) point of view?
• How does this impact the story?
From Another Direction. Small groups are each given a chapter or section of
a short story. They are to re-read the selection, and then retell the events of
the selection from the point of view of a different character in the selection
than the one acting as narrator. Students may work together to decide how
the new storyteller’s viewpoint will/could change the story/outcome, but
each student should rewrite that segment on their own.(This strategy would
be especially useful for social studies literacy activities because history is
frequently recounted from the victor’s standpoint.) Students are evaluated
on their ability to describe how a narrator’s point of view influences how
events are described. Grouping: Small group
Quick-write
This strategy asks students to write whatever comes to mind about the topic
without focus on conventions (brainstorming on paper). Set a specific amount
of time that students will quick-write, beginning with 1-2 minutes and
answering one question or statement at a time. Have students answer the
following questions:
• How would the story be different if it had been told in the first-person
point of view rather than the third-person point of view?
• Use examples from the story to support your answer.
(adapted from Buehl, 2009)
Point of View Voting
Read a story to students written from first-person point of view and thirdperson point of view. Have student vote on which story they see as having
more impact. Have students give their reasons why they chose to vote the
way they did.
Narrator/Speaker Portrait
After listening to or reading a story with a specific point of view, students
create a portrait of the narrator or speaker. This portrait must be labeled with
evidence from the text that makes the reader think the narrator/speaker
might look or act the way the protrait demonstrates.
References:
Students are given excerpts from a story or novel where the narrator’s point
of view varies, such as the novel Nothing But the Truth, by Avi. Select an
event and then study how each person’s point of view influenced how the
event was described. Students could take the part of one of the characters
and explain the same event from their perspective.
Opening a Door to the Truth. Students select an event in a story. Using a
foldable where they start with a square and fold in the corners to the center
point to make 4 triangular flaps. On the back of the organizer they write a
clear description of the event. On each of the flaps, the student writes one
character’s name. Under their flap, the student describes how their point of
view influenced how they described the event. Students are evaluated on
their ability to describe how a narrator’s point of view influences how events
are described. Grouping: Small group, pairs, individual
Avi. (1991). Nothing but the truth. New York, NY: Orchard Books.
th
Buehl, D. (2009). Classroom strategies for interactive learning. (4 ed.) Newark, DE: International Reading Association.