Grade by Grade
D. Composition: Expressing Ideas and Creating Texts · Writing for Real Audiences

Point of View, Explicit and Implicit Perspectives, and My Audience

D2.4 A2.3 A3.2About 40 minutes
Learning goals
  • I can identify the point of view in my writing.
  • I can find explicit and implicit perspectives, and any bias, in my own writing.
  • I can explain how readers with different viewpoints might understand my message, and revise to be fair.

Words to know

point of view
Who is telling the text: first person (I, we), second person (you) or third person (he, she, they).
perspective
A way of seeing something, shaped by a person's experiences, culture, age and role.
explicit
Stated directly, in the words.
implicit
Not stated directly, but shown through word choices, details, pictures or what is left out.
bias
Favouring one side or group unfairly.
viewpoint
How a person thinks or feels about a topic.

Remember from Grade 4

In Grade 4 you identified the point of view of your writing (first, second or third person), noticed whose perspectives were included or missing, and fixed biased or loaded words.

In Grade 5 you will look for perspectives that are explicit (stated) and implicit (hidden in your choices), and think about how different readers might understand your writing.

Explicit and implicit perspectives

An explicit perspective is said directly: I think the new skatepark is a great idea.

An implicit perspective isn't said directly. It shows up in your choices:

  • Word choice: calling the skatepark an awesome hangout or a noisy concrete lot shows how you feel without saying I think.
  • What you include: only quoting skaters.
  • What you leave out: never mentioning the neighbours who hear the noise.
  • Pictures: only showing happy skaters.

Every writer has a perspective, and that's okay. The important thing is to notice it, so you can be fair and clear.

the new skatepark“an awesome hangout”shows: the writer likes it“a noisy concrete lot”shows: the writer dislikes itSame place. Neither writer says “I think”: the perspective is implicit.
An implicit perspective hides in word choice. Both phrases name the same skatepark, but they show opposite feelings.

A model text (written for this site)

Snow Day Hooray!

Yesterday was the best day of the year. School buses were cancelled because of the snowstorm. Everyone was thrilled. We built a giant snow fort and drank hot chocolate. Snow days should happen every week!

My text:Snow Day Hooray!A classmate:Fun! Agree!A workingparent:Who watchesthe kids?A plow driver:A long nightof work.
One text, three readers: a classmate enjoys it, a working parent wonders who will look after the children, and a plow driver thinks about a long night of work.
Worked example

Let's find the perspectives in the model text

Look at Snow Day Hooray!

  1. Point of view: first person (We built...).
  2. Explicit perspective: Snow days should happen every week! and the best day of the year. The writer says their opinion directly.
  3. Implicit perspective: Everyone was thrilled suggests that all people enjoyed it. The text leaves out people who might not, like parents who had to work, or plow drivers.
  4. Bias check: Everyone was thrilled is an overgeneralization (it claims something about all people). That's a kind of bias.
  5. How might different readers react? A classmate would agree. A parent who had to find someone to watch the kids might feel the writer doesn't understand their day. A plow driver might think, I worked all night so you could play safely tomorrow.

The text is from a kid's perspective, which is fine for a personal piece, but Everyone was thrilled leaves others out. Changing it to My friends and I were thrilled makes it accurate.

Worked example

Let's revise for different readers

Revise Snow Day Hooray! so it keeps the writer's voice but is fair to readers with other viewpoints.

  1. Keep the writer's real feelings: they loved the day. That's their honest perspective.
  2. Fix the overgeneralization: My friends and I were thrilled.
  3. Add a fair detail that shows awareness of others: I know snow days are hard for some families, and I'm thankful for the plow drivers who cleared our street.
  4. Rethink the ending for a wider audience: I hope we get at least one more snow day this winter!

Yesterday was one of the best days of my year. School buses were cancelled because of the snowstorm, and my friends and I were thrilled. We built a giant snow fort and drank hot chocolate. I know snow days can be hard for some families, and I'm thankful for the plow drivers who cleared our street. I hope we get at least one more snow day this winter!

Just for fun

Snow Day Hooray! from a snowman's point of view: "Best. Day. Ever. Kids built me a fort AND a friend. I hope it stays exactly like this forever... wait, what's spring?" ☃️

Three questions before you publish

  1. What's my perspective, and where does it show? (stated, or hidden in words and choices)
  2. Who might read this differently? (think of age, culture, job, ability, where they live)
  3. Is anything unfair, missing or overgeneralized? (everyone, always, never, all)

You don't have to change your opinion. You want readers with other viewpoints to feel respected.

Hands-on activity

Same story, different eyes

You need: paper, a pencil, and two family members of different ages.

  1. Write 4 or 5 sentences about something that happened at home recently, like moving furniture, a family dinner or a power outage.
  2. Underline any explicit opinions. Circle words that show an implicit perspective.
  3. Read it to each family member separately. Ask: How does this make you feel? Did I leave anything out from your side?
  4. Write down how their reactions were different.
  5. Revise one or two sentences so your writing is fair to both of them, while still sounding like you.

Your turn

1

What point of view is this? You should always wear a helmet when you bike.

2

Explicit or implicit? I believe recess should be longer.

3

What perspective is implied by calling a new mall a shiny gift to our town?

4

Find the overgeneralization: All kids love hockey.

5

A text about a town fair quotes only the people who ran the fair. Name one missing perspective.

6

How might an Elder and a Grade 2 student read a text about changes to a local river differently?

7

Rewrite to be fair: Only boring people like museums.

More practice: warm-up

1

What does explicit mean?

2

What does implicit mean?

3

First, second or third person? She opened the door.

4

What is bias?

5

Name one word that often signals an overgeneralization.

More practice: on your own

1

A poster for a dog park shows only big dogs and says For dogs that love to run. What's implicit, and who might feel left out?

2

Change the implicit perspective from negative to neutral: The noisy construction crew woke the whole street again.

3

Your story about a camping trip calls the forest creepy and empty. How might someone from a First Nation whose community has cared for that land for generations read it differently?

4

Why is it okay to have a perspective in your writing?

5

Explain how the same sentence, The town is closing the outdoor rink early this year, might be read by a hockey player and by a town worker who maintains the ice.

Challenge

1

Write two short sentences about a new bike lane: one with an explicit perspective, one with an implicit perspective.

2

A student writes a report on Canada's holidays that only includes Christmas, Thanksgiving and Canada Day. What perspective is implicit, and how could they revise?

3

Why should writers think about readers with different viewpoints before publishing?

Check your understanding

Quiz

1.

Which sentence shows an explicit perspective?

2.

How can a perspective be implicit?

3.

Which is an overgeneralization?

4.

What point of view uses I and we?

5.

Why might two readers understand the same text differently?

6.

Which revision makes Everyone loved the concert fair and accurate?

For parents and teachers

Big idea (D2.4): Grade 5 writers identify the point of view in their texts, the explicit and implicit perspectives and any bias, and explain how audiences with different viewpoints might interpret their message. Strand A connections: evaluating perspectives (A2.3) and identity and belonging (A3.2).

How to help at home:

  • Read your child's writing from your own perspective and tell them honestly how it lands for you.
  • Talk about news or ads: Who made this? What do they want us to think? Who might see it differently?
  • Praise revisions that keep your child's voice but show respect for others.

Common difficulties:

  • Thinking a perspective is bad. It's normal; the goal is fairness, not having no opinion.
  • Missing implicit perspectives. Look at single words (finally, only, just, noisy) and what's missing.
  • Overcorrecting until the writing has no voice. Keep the honest feeling; fix the unfair part.