Seventh Grade Common Core Language Arts Reading Session 16

Sample mentor comments are represented in italics throughout the lesson plan.

Focus: Good readers recognize how an author develops and contrasts the points of view of different

characters or narrators in a text. Good readers compare and contrast fictional portrayals of a time,

place, or character and a historical account of the same period as a means of understanding how

authors of fiction use or alter history.

Materials: Children’s picture books/fairy tales, historical fiction from the seventh grade reading

book, journal, pen/pencil

Additional materials if possible: The Three Little Pigs, The True Story of the Three Little Pigs, 112 Impossible Things Before Breakfast, A Wolf at the Door and Other Retold Fairy Tales, Revolting Rhymes by Roald Dahl

Genre: fiction, children’s fiction, historical fiction, point of view

Before reading:

1. Enhance rapport. Chat about events since the last session.

2. Link this session to the last session by reviewing first, second, and third person points of

view. Read the first paragraphs of several selections in the reading textbook or the

beginnings of several novels from the media center and identify the point of view using the

notes made in the journal last session.

3. Today we are going to consider a different feature of point of view which includes how varied characters may experience the same set of events differently.

During reading:

1. Ask the student to retell the story of The Three Little Pigs.

2. Next read aloud two different versions of The Three Little Pigs, the traditional and _____.

After reading model a compare/contrast of the two by using a Venn Diagram (template

attached). One side of the diagram contains the traits of one story only, the other side of

the diagram contains traits of the second story only, and the middle of the diagram contains

common traits of the two renderings of the story.

3. Lead a discussion about gossip and rumors.

What sometimes happens when you overhear parts of a conversation in the hall or at lunch?

How can parts of a conversation be misinterpreted?

This story uses a similar situation to share a different character’s point of view.

4. Read aloud The True Story of the Three Little Pigs or one of the poems from Revolting Rhymes by Roald Dahl.

5. Discuss the similarities and differences of this and the more traditional stories.

We have discovered that there are not only different points of view in a story, but often also different versions of the story.

After reading:

1. Select a fairy tale and rewrite it from the point of view of a different character: Hansel and Gretel from the point of view of the witch, Cinderella from the point of view of the wicked

step mother, Rapunzel from the point of view of the witch, Rumplestiltskin from the point of

view of Rumplestiltskin, etc.

Share.

2. Discuss how history is usually told from a particular viewpoint: The Civil War, The

Revolutionary War, current events in Iran, 9/11, the Boston Bombing, Columbus’s “founding”

of America, etc.

In the northern portion of the United States, the Civil War was called the War of Southern Succession, while in the southern portion of the United States, the Civil War was called the War of Northern Aggression. In England the United States are still sometimes referred to as the colonies. What do social studies textbooks in England have to say about the Revolutionary War in the United States? What do Muslim terrorists have to say about the Twin Tower bombings? What do many residents of the United States have to say? History is usually told from a particular viewpoint. What do meat eaters and vegetarians have to say about food sources? These examples are another way of considering point of view, from another’s opinion or standpoint.

3. Comment upon how the way a text is written helps shape the reader’s interpretation.

Closing:

1. Check for understanding on point of view to determine if another session or brief reviews at

the beginning of future sessions are in order. Complement the student on your work together.

2. See Session One for additional closing activities before leaving the building. Thank you for

your time and talent.