Curriculum › English Language Arts ›Grade 5

Grade 5 English Language Arts · Level 2, Literary Reading & Analysis

Analyze Point of View

Describe how a narrator’s or speaker’s point of view influences which events, details, and feelings are emphasized.

How the lesson starts: Analyze Point of View

1. Pico tells the party

   At Maya's birthday party, Pico the parrot flew around the room. Pico tells the story himself. He says I, me and my. But a narrator inside the story can't know everything.

2. Know it or guess it?

   A first-person narrator knows his own thoughts, and what he sees and hears. Pico knows he wanted a crumb. He saw Maya stare at the floor. But what Maya felt inside? Pico can only guess.

3. Let's test a statement

   Pico says: Maya was sad. Can Pico know that? Ask: is it his own thought? No. Did he see or hear it? He saw her stare at the floor, but sadness is inside Maya. So he can only guess. Watch out: narrators can't read minds!