7th Grade Reading
Point Of View
The perspective
from which a story
is told.
First Person POV
The reader only knows what the
narrator knows/feels.
The narrator is in the story.
Uses 1st person pronouns: I, me,
my, myself, we, us, our
“I never had a brain until Freak came
along and let me borrow his for a while,
and that’s the truth, the whole truth.
The unvanquished truth, is how Freak
would say it, and for a long time it was
him who did the talking. Except I had
a way of saying things with my fists and
my feet even before we became Freak
the Mighty….”
Excerpt from Freak the Mighty
Third Person Limited POV
Narrator is not in the story.
The reader only knows the
thoughts and feelings of one
character.
Uses third person pronouns: he,
she, him, her, they, them
Another example of
rd
3
limited
“[The scientist] tried switching through
various sounds, but there was no echo.
The scientist was puzzled, but he could
not very well give up with everyone
watching him so intently.”
Excerpt from
“He-y, Come On O-ut!”
Third Person Omniscient POV
All knowing narrator
Narrator is not in the story
Narrator knows the thoughts
and feelings of ALL of the
characters
Example of
rd
3
Omniscient
“Mr. Bueller shuffled through the papers on
his desk. He smiled and hummed as he sat
down to work. He remembered his college
years when he dated a girlfriend in borrowed
cars. She thought he was rich because each
time he picked her up he had a different car.
It was fun until he had spent all his money on
her and had to write home to his parents
because he was broke.”
Excerpt from “Seventh Grade”
A Cinderella story…
Cinderella was the last girl in the world I would
want to marry. I mean, who wears glass slippers to
a ball? I only picked up that lost slipper because it
was a safety hazard, and it seemed like a princely
thing to do.
Which words tell us that this is told from a first
person point of view?
A Cinderella story
cont’…
Cinderella ran down the steps, losing a slipper along the
way. The prince followed hurriedly behind. He stopped to
pick up the lost slipper, made a strange face, and slipped it
into his coat pocket as she disappeared.
Which words tell us that this is told from a
third person limited point of view?
A Cinderella story
cont’…
Cinderella ran down the steps, losing a
slipper along the way. As the prince
picked up the slipper, he wondered
what lunatic would wear glass shoes
to a ball. Cinderella glanced back to
see the face he made and thought, "If
I'm lucky, I'll never have to look at
that again."
Which words tell us that this is told
from a third person omniscient point
of view?