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The Importance of a Point of View
After teaching students how to write for an audience and with a purpose, I felt good about myself once again. I called my college professor and told him what a great job I was doing. Then I realized I had not done a good job teaching point of view. In shock, I called my professor back, cussed him out, called the university registrar, demanded a refund, called my travel agent, and cancelled my weekend flight to the Dominican Republic.
I had work to do. I had to devise a lesson plan about teaching point of view. Here's what I came up with.
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Getting Started
- Show two sample passages: one written in first person point of view; one written in third person point of view.
- Instruct students to determine points of view by identifying pronouns used by the narrator.
- Discuss why one point of view would be more effective than the other, and what the individual weaknesses of each point of view are.
- Discussion should cover the following ideas: 1) Point of view is the position from which the narrator views its subject; 2) First person point of view is the more limited, giving only one vantage point. It does, however, forge a bond between reader and narrator; 3) Third person point of view is more versatile.
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Two Lesson Options
- Instruct students to read their drafts and answer the following questions: What point of view did you use? How do you know? Which character tells the story? Why did you choose this particular point of view?
- Students must consider audience and purpose and determine which point of view would be more effective for the intended audience.
- Instruct students to rewrite their first paragraph in a different point of view.
- In groups of 2-4, instruct each student to read both versions. Group members will help determine which point of view works better.
- For assessment, collect both paragraphs and evaluate them based on how well they used each point of view.
Help Students Rewrite Literature
- Assign groups of four.
- Assign each group a different scene.
- Each person in the group will write from a different point of view: 1st person, third person omniscient, third person limited, or third person dramatic.
- Have groups evaluate the most effective point of view.
- Read it to the class.
Lesson Plans: Fine Tune Your Writing Focus
Writing that lacks focus confuses readers. Student writing lacks focus because they rarely have a purpose, do not know how to make a point, and write to an imaginary, non-existent audience. End their pointless meanderings with these simple lesson plans.