Point of view

Teaching point 10-14-15 Rereading helps readers see points of view that they might have missed the first time through. One way to open up to more ideas is to ask: how do different characters think and feel about a key event? How do these different points of view affect the reader’s understanding of that event?

Rereading “Those Shoes” “Those Shoes” is told from a first-person point of view. The narrator, Jeremy, tells the story from his point-of-view, so we experience all of the events from his perspective. It would be interesting, though, to consider some key events from other character’s perspectives. The search for “those shoes” – Grandma’s perspective Getting “Mr. Alfrey” shoes – Mr. Alfrey’s perspective Receiving “those shoes” – Antonio’s perspective

“Those Shoes” long write In the story “Those Shoes,” Antonio Parker needs new shoes just as much, if not more, than Jeremy does. In the text it says that Antonio’s shoes are falling apart and are basically held together by tape. They have obviously been in poor condition for a while, and Antonio is trying to keep them together. If the story had been told from Antonio’s point of view, I don’t think there would have been as much of a focus on the particular type of shoes – “black high top, two white stripes.” I think Antonio would have been happy with any new pair of shoes, as long as they were in good condition. Jeremy seems to be jealous of everyone else who has “those shoes,” but I don’t think Antonio would have shared the same feelings. When Antonio visits Jeremy’s house, he sees the shoes and asks Jeremy why he doesn’t wear them. Jeremy shrugs and says he can “feel Antonio wishing those shoes were his,” but Antonio doesn’t say anything else or ask if he can wear the shoes. If the story were told from Antonio’s point of view, I would have enjoyed reading about how happy and appreciative Antonio was to get a free new pair of shoes, especially “those shoes” that everyone else seemed to have.

Your turn! You will be writing long about “Fish Cheeks.” Like my example, your long write will focus on a different character in the story and explain how you think the story would be different if told from the other character’s point of view. First, spend 2 minutes talking to your elbow partner about the other important characters in “Fish Cheeks.” Discuss how the other characters probably felt or what they were thinking at certain points throughout the story. Next, you will work independently to do your long write. All of this work will be done in your writer’s notebook.

Long Write Use the sentence starters below to do your long write. Be sure to use text evidence in your response. In the story “Fish Cheeks,” _______________ (character’s name) is _________ (Amy’s mom, crush, dad, etc.)… If _________ (character’s name) had told the story from his/her point of view, it probably would have… In the text it says….(use this to start off a sentence with text evidence) I think __________ (character’s name) would have/probably felt, etc…. Your long write should be at least 8 complete sentences.