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

Point of View: Who Tells the Story, and What Would Change?

C1.6About 40 minutes

Learning goals

I can identify a narrator's point of view (first, second or third person, including limited and omniscient) and give evidence.
I can explain what the narrator knows and doesn't know.
I can explain how telling a story from an alternative point of view would change it.
I can rewrite part of a story from a different point of view.

Words to know

narrator
The voice that tells a story.

point of view
The position from which a story is told.

first person
The narrator is a character in the story and uses I and we.

second person
The narrator speaks to the reader as you, as if the reader is in the story.

third person limited
The narrator is outside the story, uses he, she, they, and knows the thoughts of only one character.

third person omniscient
The narrator is outside the story and knows the thoughts and feelings of many characters.

unreliable narrator
A narrator whose telling we can't fully trust, because they don't know everything, or see things in a one-sided way.

Remember from Grade 5

In Grade 5 you identified first-, second- and third-person narrators, split third person into limited and omniscient, and described each one's advantages and disadvantages.

In Grade 6 you'll give evidence for the point of view and explain exactly how the story would change if someone else told it.

Hook: Who broke the window?

Imagine a snowball breaks a window. The story would sound very different told by the kid who threw it, the neighbour inside, or a camera on a lamppost. Each one knows different things and feels different things. That's point of view.

One broken window, three narrators. Each one knows and feels different things, so each would tell a different story.

Version A: The Toboggan Race (written for this website)

I knew I could beat Hamid down Cedar Hill. My toboggan was new, and I'd waxed the bottom twice. When Ms. Okafor yelled "Go!", I pushed off hard and shot ahead. Halfway down, I hit a bump and flew off sideways into the snow. Hamid zoomed past. I lay there with snow down my neck, totally sure he'd laugh at me. But at the bottom, he walked all the way back up to help me find my mitten.

Version B: The same race, a different narrator

Rosie was sure she could beat Hamid. Hamid wasn't sure of anything; he had borrowed his cousin's old toboggan and had only been sledding twice since moving to Canada in the fall. When Rosie flew off sideways, Hamid's stomach dropped. Is she hurt? He kept going only because he didn't know how to stop. At the bottom, Ms. Okafor laughed and clapped, but Hamid was already climbing back up the hill.

Worked example

Let's identify the point of view with evidence

What is the point of view of each version? Give evidence.

Version A: the narrator uses I and my (I knew, My toboggan). The narrator is a character (Rosie). → First person.
Evidence of what she doesn't know: she was totally sure he'd laugh, but she was wrong. She can't see Hamid's thoughts.
Version B: the narrator uses she and he and is outside the story. → Third person.
It shows the thoughts of more than one character: Rosie was sure; Hamid wasn't sure of anything, Hamid's stomach dropped, Is she hurt? → Third person omniscient.

Version A = first person (I, my; only Rosie's thoughts). Version B = third person omniscient (she, he; the thoughts of both Rosie and Hamid).

Whose thoughts can we hear? In first person, only Rosie's, so Hamid is a mystery. In third person omniscient, the narrator shows both minds.

Worked example

Let's explain how the alternative point of view changes the story

How does Version B change the story compared with Version A?

What we learn: In A, we don't know why Hamid passed Rosie. In B, we learn he couldn't stop, was new to sledding, and worried about her.
How we see Hamid: In A, Rosie expects him to laugh, so readers might see him as a rival. In B, he's kind and nervous, which changes how we feel about him.
Suspense and surprise: A has a surprise ending (he helps). In B, we expect him to help because we know his thoughts, so there's less surprise but more understanding.
Whose story it is: A is about Rosie's pride and embarrassment. B is about two kids and especially Hamid's experience as a newcomer.

The alternative point of view changes what readers know, how they see Hamid, the amount of surprise, and whose story it becomes.

New point of view

The same race told by the toboggan:

Nobody waxes me for two whole weeks, and suddenly I'm in a RACE?

Point of view	Clue words	Advantage	Limit
First person	I, me, we, my	Close to one character's feelings	Only knows what that character knows; may be one-sided
Second person	you, your	Puts the reader right in the story	Can feel strange in long stories
Third limited	he, she, they + one character's thoughts	Focus on one character, with some distance	Other characters' thoughts stay hidden
Third omniscient	he, she, they + many characters' thoughts	Shows the whole picture	Less mystery; less closeness to one person

Comparing points of view

Second person and unreliable narrators

Second person makes you the character: You grip the rope of your toboggan. The hill looks taller from up here. You push off. It's common in choose-your-own-adventure books, some poems, and instructions.

A first-person narrator can be unreliable, not because they lie, but because they only see part of the truth. Rosie was totally sure Hamid would laugh. She was wrong! Good readers ask: Can I trust everything this narrator says?

Questions to ask about any narrator

Who is telling? What pronouns do they use? Whose thoughts do we hear? What doesn't the narrator know? Whose story would it be if someone else told it?

Hands-on activity

Switch the narrator

You need: paper, a pencil, a favourite short story or picture book.

Choose a short scene from a story you know. Identify its point of view and write two pieces of evidence.
Rewrite the scene from a different point of view: first person as another character, second person, or third omniscient.
Read both versions to a family member. Ask: What do you know now that you didn't before? How do you feel differently about the characters?
Bonus: tell about a real event from your day in first person, then ask a family member to tell it in their first person. What's different?

Your turn

What point of view is Version A? Give two pieces of evidence.

Why is Version B third person omniscient, not limited?

What does Rosie not know in Version A?

How is Hamid shown differently in the two versions?

Rewrite I pushed off hard and shot ahead in second person.

Why might Rosie be called an unreliable narrator?

More practice: warm-up

What pronoun does a first-person narrator use?

What pronoun does second person use?

Who is Ms. Okafor?

What does omniscient mean?

Name a kind of book that often uses second person.

More practice: on your own

Kayla stared at the test. She had studied all weekend, but now her mind was blank. What point of view is this? How do you know it isn't omniscient?

Why does Version A have a more surprising ending than Version B?

What advantage does first person give Version A?

How would the story change if Ms. Okafor narrated it in first person?

What clue words help you tell third person limited from omniscient?

Challenge

Rewrite the last two sentences of Version A in Hamid's first person.

Choose a fairy tale you know and explain how it would change if told from the 'villain's' first-person point of view.

Why might an author choose third person omniscient for a story about a conflict between two friends?

Check your understanding

Quiz

I grabbed my skates and ran. is told in...

A narrator outside the story who shares the thoughts of many characters is...

You open the door and see snow everywhere. is told in...

In Version A, why was Rosie surprised at the end?

Changing a story from first person to third omniscient usually...

Which is the best evidence that a story is third person limited?

For parents and teachers

What this lesson teaches: Grade 6 students identify the narrator's point of view (first, second or third person) in a variety of texts, provide evidence, and explain how an alternative point of view would change each story (C1.6).

How to help at home:

When reading, ask: "Who's telling this? How do you know? What doesn't the narrator know?"
Retell a family event from different people's points of view.
Read a choose-your-own-adventure book for second person.

Common difficulties:

**Calling any story with dialogue (I said) first person. Check the narration**, not the quotes.
Mixing limited and omniscient. Count whose thoughts are shown.

About the texts: Both versions were written for this site.