What is this skill?
Point of view is who is telling the story and how much they know. In first person, a character narrates with I and we, and the reader sees only what that person sees and thinks. In third person, an outside narrator uses he, she and they, and may know one character's thoughts or more. Fifth graders are asked to identify the point of view, find the words that show it, and explain how it changes what the reader learns.
The five passages run about 210 to 225 words: "The New Neighbor," "The Science Project," "The Day I Was a Hero (According to Me)," "Two Sides of the Fence" and "The Watcher at the Window." Questions ask whose point of view tells each story, which words show first person, how the viewpoint affects what we know about the new boy, how the story would change if only Kenji told it, what Mateo's version might suggest, and what the reader learns that Mrs. Adeyemi does not know. Short reads give a few lines in I and she and ask which is which, what the reader can know that could not be known in first person from Jamal, how a narrator's view shapes a description of a little sister's scribbled drawing, why an author might choose a narrator who is not always honest, and how a scene would change if told from the cat's side. Yes-or-no questions check that a first-person narrator uses I and me and does not know everyone's thoughts, and a sorting task splits sentences like "I hid the gift under my bed" and "Leo hid the gift under his bed."
Why it matters
Once a child sees that a story is told by someone, they begin to ask whether the teller is telling the whole truth. That is the root of critical reading, which later applies to speeches, news and social media as well as novels.
It also builds empathy. Reading the same event from two sides, like Noah and Mrs. Petrov at the fence, shows a child that people can see one moment in very different ways without either being wrong.
Common mistakes
- Looking at the characters' names and not the pronouns. A story with Kenji in it can be first person if Kenji tells it with I. Underline the pronouns.
- Assuming a first-person narrator is the author. The narrator is a character the author made up, who may be wrong, unfair or hiding something.
- Forgetting what a narrator cannot know. A first-person narrator cannot say what another character is thinking, except by guessing. Ask, "How could she know that?"
- Mixing up "point of view" with "opinion." Here it means who tells the story, not whether the child agrees with a character.
How to help at home
- Retell a family event from two people's points of view, such as a trip to the store, and see what each person noticed.
- Take a sentence from a book and change it from third to first person. Talk about what changes in how it feels.
- Ask, "Who is telling this story, and what can they not tell us?" when you finish a chapter.
- Read a fairy tale and then a version told by the villain, if you can find one, and compare.
Worked examples
These are real questions from the Tutorsaurus point of view practice, with the answers worked out.
Example 1
What point of view is this?
I grabbed my backpack and ran for the bus. My heart pounded. I could not be late again.
Choices: First person, Second person, Third person
Answer: First person. The narrator uses "I" and "my," so it is first person.
Example 2
What does Mateo's version suggest?
The Day I Was a Hero (According to Me) Let me tell you about the day I saved the entire fifth grade. It started at lunch. Mateo, who is my best friend but not always my smartest friend, bet me I could not eat an entire jalapeño pepper. Obviously I could. I am basically famous for being brave. I ate it. My eyes watered a little, which was because of the cafeteria lights, not the pepper. Then I needed water. A lot of water. Fast. I ran to the fountain, and that is when I saw it: a puddle spreading across the hallway floor from a leaking pipe. Right in the path where two hundred kids would walk in four minutes when the bell rang. I did not panic. I grabbed the "Wet Floor" sign from the janitor's closet, set it up, and ran to tell Mr. Alvarez. He called the custodian. By the time the bell rang, the puddle was mopped and the pipe was wrapped. Mr. Alvarez said, "Good eyes, Sofia." Which is teacher language for "You are a hero." Mateo says I only found the leak because I was running to the fountain with my mouth on fire. Mateo also says the "Wet Floor" sign was already sitting in the hallway and I just moved it four feet. Mateo is not the one telling this story.
Choices: Mateo caused the leak, Sofia's account may be exaggerated, The pipe was never leaking, Sofia was not at school
Answer: Sofia's account may be exaggerated. Mateo's details, like the sign already being there, suggest Sofia is stretching the truth.
Example 3
How would this scene change if it were told from the cat's point of view?
Zoe sighed as the cat knocked her pencil off the desk for the fifth time. "You are impossible," she said. The cat blinked slowly and purred.
Choices: The pencil would not fall, We would learn the cat's reasons, maybe that it wants attention or thinks it is a game, Zoe would not be in the scene, The story would be in the future
Answer: We would learn the cat's reasons, maybe that it wants attention or thinks it is a game. From the cat's side we would understand its motives, which look like mischief from Zoe's view.