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Teacher Tip: Third grade point of view lessons break down the difference between first person vs. third person in more detail. Please teach this lesson beforehand if students are struggling with understanding the distinction between the two points of view.

TIP:

• Teacher Modeling

  

  will explain that point of view is the perspective from which a story is told to the reader. I will tell students that we will be learning four different types of point of view.

  
  I will introduce first person point of view by explaining that the narrator is telling the story and is a character in the story. I will discuss how sentences written in first person usually use the pronouns “I,” “me,” and “my.”

  
  I will introduce the third person point of view by explaining that the narrator is telling the story from someone else’s viewpoint and the narrator is an observer - not a character in the story. I will discuss how sentences in third person usually use the pronouns, “he,” “she,” and “they.”

  
  I will further explain that there are three types of third person point of view: objective, limited, or omniscient. I will explain the difference between the different types of third person points of view is the extent to which the narrator is aware of the characters' thoughts and feelings. In the third person objective point of view the narrator does not reveal what any character thinks or feels. In the third person limited point of view, the narrator knows the thoughts and feelings of one character whereas in third person omniscient point of view the narrator knows the thoughts and feelings of all the characters.

  
  I will provide the following examples to help students distinguish the difference between the four different points of view.

  
  Example 1: It was a warm summer day and I was playing jump rope with my friends Ann and Beth. I have been practicing all week and have gotten very good at double dutch. My little brother Peter walked over to us and asked if he could play too. I thought, “He’s too little. He’ll just mess up,” so I told him, “No” and he walked away.

  
  This passage is written in the first person point of view. The narrator is telling the story and is a character in the story. The narrator uses pronouns such as “I” and “my”.

  
  Example 2: It was a warm summer day and Sarah was playing jump rope with her friends Ann and Beth. She had been practicing all week and gotten very good at double dutch. Sarah’s little brother Peter walked over to the girls and asked if he could play too but the girls told him “No.”

  
  This passage is told in the third person point of view since the narrator is not a character in the story. You’ll notice the narrator uses pronouns such as “her,” “she,” and “he”. This example demonstrates a third person objective point of view because the narrator tells what happened without revealing any of the characters’ thoughts or feelings.

  
  Example 3: It was a warm summer day and Sarah was excited to be playing jump rope with her friends Ann and Beth. She had been practicing all week and had gotten very good at double dutch. Sarah’s little brother Peter walked over to the girls and asked if he could play too. Sarah thought, “He’s too little. He’ll just mess up,” so she told him, “No.” Peter walked away.

  
  This passage is told in the third person point of view since the narrator is not a character in the story. You’ll notice the narrator uses pronouns such as “her,” “she,” and “he.” This example is third person limited because the narrator only tells the reader how Sarah feels and what she is thinking.

  
  Example 4: It was a warm summer day and Sarah was excited to be playing jump rope with her friends Ann and Beth. She had been practicing all week and had gotten very good at double dutch. As Beth was twirling the jump rope she thought to herself, “We should compete in next weekend’s competition!” Sarah’s little brother Peter walked over to the girls and asked if he could play too. Sarah thought, “He’s too little. He’ll just mess up,” so she told him, “No.” Feeling sad, Peter walked away.

   

  This passage is told in the third person point of view since the narrator is not a character in the story. You’ll notice the narrator uses pronouns such as “her”, “she”, and “he”. However, this example is third person omniscient because the narrator reveals the thoughts and feelings of several characters including Sarah, Beth, and Peter.

   

  I will read the first paragraph on the “Look Who’s Talking!" worksheet (see Direct Teaching and Guided Practice Student Worksheet, provided in the Texts & Materials section) and model how to identify the clues that help me determine the point of view (character’s name is used, narrator knows his thoughts). A Teacher’s Answer Guide and a Reference Sheet with definitions are also provided.

• Think Check

  Ask: How did I identify the point of view? Students should respond that you read the text and thought about who was telling the story and whether or not the narrator knew the feelings and thoughts of any, one, or all of the characters.

• Guided Practice

  

  will read the rest of the paragraphs on the “Look Who’s Talking!" worksheet and determine the point of view of each paragraph. We will identify and discuss the clues that help us determine the point of view in each paragraph.

• Independent Practice

  

  will determine the point of view of each paragraph on the “Determine the Point of View” worksheet. You will identify the clues in each paragraph that help you determine the point of view. (Student Independent Practice is provided in the Texts & Materials section.)