Point of View

One Stop Teacher Shop

What is Point of View?

t h e
h ic h
w a r
y in h e
w a n d
t h e e a
i s s e
i e w t o
f V y o u
n t o w s
Poi or allo
u t h t.
a t e x
the

One Stop Teacher Shop

 Before We Begin
Copy the following chart in your Readers Notebook. You will fill
this in as we discuss point of view.

Point of View What is it? Clue Words Advantage Disadvantage

First-Person

Third-Person

If the pink gorilla eats watermelon every night, how much watermelons does he eat? One Stop Teacher Shop
 Why does it matter who is
telling the story?
When a narrator, or outsider, tells the story,
the reader gets the advantage of knowing
what multiple characters in the book are
feeling and thinking.

Also, the reader gets to experience parts of

the story, even when the main character isnt
present.

Third-Person Point of View

One Stop Teacher Shop
Heres An Example
Excerpt from Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone; Dumbledore, Hagrid, and
Professor McGonagall are leaving baby Harry Potter with the Dursleys after his
parents are killed.
Dumbledore took Harry in his arms and turned toward the Dursleys
house.

Could I could I say good-bye to him, sir? asked Hagrid. He bent his
great, shaggy head over Harry and gave him what must have been a
very scratchy, whiskery kiss. Then, suddenly, Hagrid let out a howl like
a wounded dog.

Shhh! hissed Professor McGonagall, youll wake the Muggles!

S s sorry, sobbed Hagrid, taking out a large, spotted handkerchief

and burying his face in it. But I c-c-cant stand it Lily and James dead
an poor little Harry off to live with Muggles
One Stop Teacher Shop
 Continued
Yes, yes, its all very sad, but get a grip on yourself, Hagrid, or well
be found, Professor McGonagall whispered, patting Hagrid gingerly
on the arm as Dumbledore stepped over the low garden wall and
walked to the front door. He laid Harry gently on the doorstep, took a
letter out of his cloak, tucked it inside Harrys blankets, and then
came back to the other two. For a full minute the three of them stood
and looked at the little bundle; Hagrids shoulders shook, Professor
McGonagall blinked furiously, and the twinkling light that usually
shone from Dumbledores eyes seemed to have gone out.

Well, said Dumbledore finally, thats that. Weve no business

staying here. We may as well go and join the celebrations.

Yeah, said Hagrid in a very muffled voice, Ill be takin Sirius his
bike back. Gnight, Professor McGonagall Professor Dumbledore,
sir.

Wiping his streaming eyes on his jacket sleeve, Hagrid swung himself
onto the motorcycle and kicked the engine into life; with a roar it
rose into the air and off into the night.
One Stop Teacher Shop
 Think About It!
In this excerpt from Harry Potter and The Sorcerer's
Stone, which characters feelings were shown to the
reader?
Do you think Harry Potter could have told us about this
part of the story?

Thats Right!
This excerpt showed us how three different characters
were dealing with leaving Harry Potter. Harry Potter was
just a baby and could not have told this part of the story.
One Stop Teacher Shop
Whats Another Point of View?
When a character tells the story, you get a unique
perspective of the events taking place. The characters
own opinions and feelings affect how the story is told.

I: w ay
FY is the g.
t i v e et hin nt
s p ec s o m fere
f
Per u see is di on.
yo ective pers
e r sp each
P for

First-Person Point of View

One Stop Teacher Shop
 Heres An Example
"Everybody knows the story of the Three Little Pigs. Or at least
they think they do. But I'll let you in on a little secret. Nobody
knows the real story, because nobody has ever heard my side
of the story. I'm Alexander T. Wolf. You can call me Al. I don't
know how this whole Big Bad Wolf thing got started, but it's all
wrong. Maybe it's because of our diet. Hey, it's not my fault
wolves eat cute little animals like bunnies and sheep and pigs.
That's just the way we are. If cheeseburgers were cute, folks
would probably think you were Big and Bad too. But like I was
saying, the whole big bad wolf thing is all wrong. The real story
is about a sneeze and a cup of sugar.
-The True Story of the Three Little Pigs
By: Lane Smith
One Stop Teacher Shop
 Think About It!
Is this version of The Three Little Pigs going to be
different from the version you heard growing up?
Why?

Right!
This version is going to be different because we are
hearing the story from the wolfs perspective.

One Stop Teacher Shop

 What are the different
Points of View?
Point of What is it? Clue Words Advantage Disadvantage
View
First-Person When a I, me, You get to You do not
character hear the get to hear
mine, my
tells the thoughts of the
the character
story. thoughts of
and see the
story from
the other
their characters.
perspective.

Third-Person You get to

When a he, she, You do not
narrator, or they, them hear the get to
outsider, thoughts of understand
tells the all the main
story. characters in character
the story. as deeply.

If the pink gorilla eats watermelon every night, how much watermelons does he eat? One Stop Teacher Shop
Lets Practice!
Whats the Point-of-View

One Stop Teacher Shop

 Who is telling the story?
It should have been a perfect summer. My dad
helped me build a tree house in our backyard. My
sister was at camp for three whole weeks. And I
was on the best baseball team in town. It should
have been a perfect summer. But it wasnt.
Enemy Pie
Answer: The character is By: Derek Munson
telling this story
(First-Person POV).

Clue Words: My, me, our, I

One Stop Teacher Shop

 Who is telling the story?
Henry and his brothers and sisters worked in the
big house where the master lived. Henrys master
had been good to Henry and his family.
But Henrys mother knew things could change. Do
you see those leaves blowing in the wind? They
are torn from the trees like slave children are torn
from their families.
-Henrys Freedom Box
Answer: A narrator is telling
this story (Third-Person By: Ellen Levine
POV).

Clue Words: his, refer to

main character by name.

One Stop Teacher Shop

 Who is telling the story?
They were both dressed up in suits that day; his father's suit was
too small. And when he slapped Rob to make him stop crying, he
ripped a hole underneath the arm of his jacket.

"There ain't no point in crying," his father had said afterward.

"Crying ain't going to bring her back."

It had been six months since that day, six months since he and his
father had moved from Jacksonville to Lister, and Rob had not cried
since, not once.
-The Tiger Rising
Answer: A narrator is telling By: Kate DiCampillo
this story (Third-Person
POV).

Clue Words: they, his, he,

him, Refer to main
character by name
One Stop Teacher Shop
 Who is telling the story?
I pulled open the refrigerator and got out the
margarine. I unwrapped the sticks and dropped
them into the bowl. I mixed and mashed and
mixed and mashed until the ingredients
disappeared into a paste. It was smooth and pale
yellow and smelled like fresh cotton candy at the
county fair.
-Saturdays and Teacakes
Answer: A character is By: Lester Laminack
telling this story
(First-Person POV).

Clue Words: I

One Stop Teacher Shop

Deeper Thinking
with Point of View

One Stop Teacher Shop

 oks
ud lo

like
c l o
That bunny
a Its All About Perspective It looks like a
dinosaur to me

As we knowPerspective is the way

you see something.
Perspective is different for each person.

Imaginethere is a car accident where two drivers

are involved. Of course there are lots of
witnesses; four people on the sidewalk, a
policeman, and the pilot of a helicopter that was
flying overhead. In this scenario we have eight
different points of view, or perspectives on the
incident. More than likely, we will also have eight
different descriptions of the accident.

One Stop Teacher Shop

 Its All About Perspective
Think about each persons perspective on the given topic
Topic: A rainy day

Perspective -
A Farmer with
dry soil

A 10 year old Perspective -

who has a
championship
soccer game.

One Stop Teacher Shop

 Its All About Perspective
Think about each persons perspective on the given topic
Topic: Basketball players salary

Perspective -
Owner of a
NBA Basketball
Team

Perspective -
Player on a
NBA Basketball
Team

One Stop Teacher Shop

 Its All About Perspective
Think about each persons perspective on the given topic
Topic: Civil War

Perspective -
The
North
Perspective -
The
South
One Stop Teacher Shop
 Perspective In A Story
Think about a book youve recently read. Now imagine the
story being retold by a different character. Take a minute and
think about how the story would change.

Would the bad character in the story suddenly become a

good character?
Would the good character in the story suddenly become a
bad character?
Would you better understand the actions of another
character?
Would your opinions about characters or events in the book
change?
Would you see new things you didnt see before?

One Stop Teacher Shop

 Perspective In A Story
Think about the story Snow White.

How might the story change if it was told from the

Queens perspective?

ide of
e r s
h a t is h
W o ry?
s t
the

In your Readers Notebook, write a new version

of Snow White as told by the Queen.
http://www.dltk-teach.com/rhymes/snowwhite/story.htm
One Stop Teacher Shop
The End

One Stop Teacher Shop

 Extension Activities

Have students share their new version of Snow White with a

partner.
Have them use a Venn diagram to compare and contrast the two
versions.
In their Reading Notebooks, have them write a short response to
the following question?
Explain what perspective is, and why it is so important to how a story
is told?
Have students think about the perspective used in their own
independent reading books. Have them determine how their
book would be different if told by a different character. They can
share their thinking
Use the book Voices in the Park by Anthony Browne, to show
how perspective affects how a story is told.

One Stop Teacher Shop