A. Literacy Connections and Applications / C. Comprehension: Understanding and Responding to Texts · Understanding and Responding to Texts

Point of View, Perspectives and Bias

C1.6 C3.5 C3.8About 45 minutes

Learning goals

I can identify first-, second- and third-person point of view.
I can describe the advantages and disadvantages of each point of view in a story.
I can identify explicit and implicit perspectives and explain how they are shown.
I can give evidence of bias in a text and explain how bias could influence an audience.

Words to know

narrator
The voice telling the story.

point of view
Who is telling the story and how: first person (I), second person (you) or third person (he, she, they).

perspective
What someone thinks or feels about a topic.

explicit perspective
An opinion that is stated directly.

implicit perspective
An opinion that is shown through word choice, images or what is included and left out.

bias
Favouring one side unfairly, often by leaving out other facts or using loaded words.

loaded words
Words chosen to make readers feel strongly, like chop down instead of remove.

Remember from Grade 3

In Grade 3 you identified first-person and third-person narrators, retold stories from another character's point of view, and found explicit and implicit perspectives.

In Grade 4 you'll add second person, describe the advantages and disadvantages of each point of view, and look for bias in texts.

Hook: Who's telling?

Read these three openings about the same moment:

I stepped onto the frozen pond. Crack! My heart jumped into my throat.
You step onto the frozen pond. Crack! Your heart jumps into your throat. Do you run back, or freeze?
Jade stepped onto the frozen pond. Crack! On the shore, her brother Leo dropped his hot chocolate.

Each one makes you feel different. Why?

Point of view	Clue words	Advantages	Disadvantages
First person	I, me, my, we	You feel close to the narrator and know their thoughts and feelings.	You only know what the narrator knows, and the narrator might not be fair to others.
Second person	you, your	Puts you in the story. It feels exciting, like a game or choose-your-own-adventure book.	It can feel strange in a long story, and you may not feel like the character.
Third person	he, she, they, names	The narrator can show many characters and places, so you see the bigger picture.	You may feel less close to one character's thoughts.

Three points of view

What each point of view lets the reader see: one character's inside view, the reader in the action, or the bigger picture.

Worked example

Let's describe advantages and disadvantages

Look at opening 1 (I stepped...) and opening 3 (Jade stepped...). What does each point of view let the reader know?

Opening 1, first person: We feel Jade's fear from the inside: My heart jumped into my throat. Advantage: we feel close to her and her feelings.
But we can't see what's happening on the shore. Disadvantage: we only know what the narrator knows.
Opening 3, third person: We see Jade on the ice and Leo on the shore dropping his hot chocolate. Advantage: we know two characters are scared, which shows the bigger picture.
But we don't hear Jade's thoughts. Disadvantage: we feel a little less close to her.
Opening 2, second person: We become the character and have to choose. Advantage: exciting. Disadvantage: it would be tiring for a whole novel.

First person = close to one character's feelings but limited. Third person = bigger picture, many characters, but less inside one head. Second person = puts the reader in the action.

Perspectives and bias

A perspective is what someone thinks or feels about a topic. Texts show perspectives in two ways:

Explicitly: the opinion is stated: We must save the trees!
Implicitly: the opinion is shown through word choice, images, and what is included or left out.

A text has bias when it unfairly favours one side, for example by leaving out important facts or using loaded words that push your feelings.

Text 1: A flyer

SAVE OUR MAPLES!

The town wants to chop down twelve beautiful, 100-year-old maple trees on Elm Street just to make room for more cars! These gentle giants give shade to children walking to school and homes to birds and squirrels. Once they're gone, they're gone forever. Come to the town meeting on Thursday and say NO!

Text 2: A notice from the town

Elm Street Improvement Plan

The town plans to widen Elm Street to add a sidewalk on both sides and a bike lane. Right now, children walking to school must use one narrow sidewalk. To make space, twelve trees will be removed. The town will plant twenty-four new trees nearby. Residents can share their views at the town meeting on Thursday.

The two texts side by side. Loaded or softened words and what is left out are clues to bias.

Worked example

Let's find perspectives and evidence of bias

What perspective does each text show? How is it shown? Is there evidence of bias?

Text 1 perspective (explicit): against cutting the trees: say NO!
How it's shown: loaded words: chop down, gentle giants, gone forever; capital letters and exclamation marks.
Evidence of bias: It says the trees are cut just to make room for more cars, but Text 2 says the plan is for sidewalks and a bike lane. It leaves out that 24 new trees will be planted.
Text 2 perspective (implicit): for the plan. It never says this is a great idea, but the title says Improvement, and it gives reasons that sound helpful (children's safety).
How it's shown: soft words: trees will be removed, not chopped down. Evidence of bias: it leaves out that the trees are 100 years old, that birds live in them, and that new trees will take many years to grow as big.
Both texts leave things out. Neither tells the whole story.

Text 1 is explicitly against the plan and uses loaded words; it leaves out the sidewalks and new trees. Text 2 is implicitly for it with gentle words; it leaves out the trees' age and value. Both show bias.

How bias can influence an audience

If you read only Text 1, you might think the town doesn't care about children or nature, and you'd go to the meeting angry. If you read only Text 2, you might think losing the trees doesn't matter at all.

Bias can make an audience decide without all the facts. That's why critical readers:

Ask who made the text and what they want.
Look for loaded words.
Ask what's left out.
Read more than one perspective before deciding.

Thinking skills you just used

Comparing two texts about the same topic.
Evaluating evidence: checking claims against other facts.
Detecting bias: noticing loaded words and missing facts.
Considering other perspectives: asking whose voice is missing (for example, the birds can't speak, but what about the people who ride bikes?).

These skills help you understand news, ads and arguments for the rest of your life.

Just for fun

You are reading a joke. You smile. You notice this joke is written in second person. You smile again.

Hands-on activity

Both sides of the story

You need: paper, a pencil, and a grown-up partner.

Pick a family debate topic, like Should we get a dog? or Should kids have screen time on school nights?
Write a short biased paragraph for one side using loaded words and leaving out the other side's reasons.
Your grown-up finds the bias: Which words are loaded? What is left out?
Rewrite it as a fair paragraph that gives both sides.
Bonus: Retell a fairy tale in second person (You are Goldilocks. You see three bowls...). Was it fun? What was hard?

Your turn

Name the point of view: You open the door and see a moose in your kitchen.

Name the point of view: Kiran laced up his skates while his sister waited.

Give one advantage and one disadvantage of first person.

What perspective does the flyer show? Is it explicit or implicit?

Find two loaded words or phrases in the flyer.

What does the town notice leave out?

How could the flyer's bias influence its audience?

More practice: warm-up

Which point of view uses I and me?

Which point of view uses you?

What is a perspective?

Which text wants people to say NO at the meeting?

How many new trees will the town plant?

More practice: on your own

Why does the town notice use removed instead of chop down?

Rewrite chop down twelve beautiful, 100-year-old maple trees in neutral (fair) words.

Why might an author choose third person for a story with two main characters in different places?

Whose perspective is missing from both texts? Name one.

What should you do before deciding what you think about the Elm Street plan?

Challenge

Rewrite Jade stepped onto the frozen pond. Crack! in first person from Leo's point of view. What does the new point of view add?

Is a text with a perspective always biased? Explain.

Write a fair, short paragraph about the Elm Street plan that includes both sides.

Check your understanding

Quiz

You grab your sled and race down the hill. What point of view is this?

An advantage of third person is...

A disadvantage of first person is...

Which phrase is a loaded word choice?

Bias means...

The best way to avoid being fooled by bias is to...

The town notice's perspective is mostly...

For parents and teachers

What this lesson teaches: Grade 4 students identify the narrator's point of view, including first, second or third person, and describe the advantages and disadvantages of each (C1.6). They identify explicit and implicit perspectives, explain how they are conveyed, give evidence of bias, and suggest how bias could influence an audience (C3.5). They name the critical thinking skills they used (C3.8).

How to help at home:

Notice point of view in books: "Who's telling this? What can't the narrator know?"
When you see a flyer, ad or news headline, ask: "Who made this? What do they want us to think? What's left out?"
Model fairness in family discussions by stating the other side's best reason.

Common difficulties:

Calling dialogue first person. A character saying "I" in quotation marks doesn't make the narrator first person. Look at the narration outside the quotes.
Thinking any opinion is bias. Bias is about unfairness: missing facts and loaded words.
Only spotting bias in texts they disagree with. Check both sides.