Section One

Strategy: Point-of-View Guide

Source: Guiding Readers Through Text: Strategy Guides for New Times (2
nd
edition) by Karen Wood,
Diane Lapp, James Flood, and D. Bruce Taylor

Purpose: The purpose of the Point-of-View Guide is to help students use their own prior knowledge and
add their own understanding/information to what they are reading, which enhances their
comprehension and recall of events in a text.


Section Two
Students: 1
st
and 2
nd
(going into 2
nd
and 3
rd
) grade struggling readers (small group- 4 children)
*** Would use whole class or small group


Section Three
Text Used: Nasreens Secret School: A True Story from Afghanistan by Jeanette Winters
Henrys Freedom Box: A True Story from the Underground Railroad by Ellen Levine









Section Four
Introduction: I will invite students to join me and will begin by explaining that we are going to use our
imaginations to become a character in a story. I will also explain to students that when we, as readers,
do this we look at the story in a different way- a different point-of-view. After the initial explanation, I
will begin with an example text (I used Henrys Freedom Box as an example during this mini lesson, but
normally would just use an example of a text I knew my class had already heard). Lastly, I will explain to
students that I will be reading aloud a story, Nasreens Secret School: A True Story from Afghanistan and
stopping at 4 different places within the text. I will go on to explain that when I stop, they are to write
how they would feel if they were that character in the story.

Modeling:
Teacher Explanation (I DO):
Activate Prior Knowledge: Have any of you ever heard of a point-of-view guide before? (Allow sufficient
time for students to answer). WellA Point-of-View Guide looks like this (teacher shows example-
Henrys Freedom Box guide). The purpose for using a Point-of-View Guide is to begin thinking about what
we may already know about the topic; to use our own prior knowledge to get a different perspective on
the events of the story, enhancing our comprehension and recall of events from the story.

I will then go on to explain the parts of the guide- There are four blank squares on the paper. As you can
see, an illustration from the text is at the middle of the page. This is to help remind you that this
character is--- YOU! I will go through the text and share my thoughts and feelings, as Henry from the text.
I will give specific details and talk my way through the first two examples (boxes 1 and 2) with the
students. I will then ask students to help on the last two (boxes 3 and 4). I will explain that this is
something we will be working on a lot over the third grade school year, as this is an important strategy
for middle school students to know and understand.


Whole Group Practice (We Do- Henrys Freedom Box):
I will then pass out the Point-of-View Guide to the students and ask them to spread out at the table (I
will be working in an area with a large rectangular table). I will explain that I want them to fill in the
blank boxes as we go, but only when I stop and ask them to respond in writing. I will also remind
students that we must stop and put on our character cap- we are no longer _____, but are now Henry. I
am going to model the first and second boxes for youplease follow along with me. I will read aloud the
first part and then stop and ask: What are you, as Henry, thinking? I will allow students to verbally
answer and then we will discuss responses as a group. I will read and stop and points A and B,
responding whole group. I will then stop at points C and D and ask students to respond through writing.
I will provide sufficient time in answering the questions.

Read Aloud: After all students have completed the whole group practice, we will review what point-of-
view means and continue on with the lesson. I will begin reading aloud Nasreens Secret School: A True
Story from Afghanistan by Jeanette Winter. I will be sure to emphasize/highlight the importance of
stepping in as the character. When approaching the designated spots to the question (what are you, as
Nasreen, thinking?), I will stop reading and ask students to respond.

Independent Practice (You Do- Nasreens Secret School): After each stopping point, students were
asked to jot down their thoughts/feelings as Nasreen. I was very specific in showing students which box
they should be recording their response in, as I had a teacher copy to share (my copy that I was
writing on). Once the students were finished writing, I asked them to turn and talk with the person next
to them- what idea did you write about? As always, it is exciting to see the different point-of-view from
each child, and we were all able to share, as we were a small group (if I were doing it whole group I
would pull a few names to share).

Lesson Wrap-Up (Whole Group): Now that you have had a chance to hear Nasreens Secret School read
aloud, as well as, think from Nasreens point-of-view, I would like you to write about the theme of the
story. First, we will brainstorm a few themes together using Henrys Freedom Box. (Responses included:
Never give up, Freedom and Slavery). Now that you have had the opportunity to brainstorm with me, it is
your turn! I would like you to think about the theme of Nasreens Secret School. You may draw, write, or
do a combination of the two, in the telling of the theme.

When students are finished writing their response to the theme we will discuss whole group. We will
have a conversation about the story and what the authors purpose for writing was. This is a great lead
into another lesson (authors purpose).


Section Five
The level of success for students is measured when listening to their discussion and by reviewing each
students point-of-view guide / responses when they are collected.


Section Six
Overall I feel this lesson went well and was effective for my students. They understood the strategy and
were highly engaged during the read aloud. They really enjoyed taking on the role of being Nasreen;
especially two of the students (Caleb and Emily). I conducted this lesson on the last day of summer
school, in which students were eager for their free time outside. Even with the extra excitement, they
did very well! I can see this being a very useful lesson from the beginning of the year. I would begin the
year asking the whole group to try it and can see utilizing this strategy in small groups or as an activity
for students who are ready for a challenge on their own.

Section Seven
Compliments:
I like your point of View Guides, very user friendly!
I like that you modeled your lesson with one text and then had the student complete a lesson
with a different text.
Your lesson plan is very nicely laid out and easy to follow!
I liked how you organized your strategy.
Nice job modeling your strategy for students! I really like how you went in depth.
I like how you put two stories to in your strategy to compare point of view.
I loved how you put the character's picture in the middle of the response sheet to remind
students that they are actually that character. I know my students have a difficult time putting
themselves into someone else's shoes.
I also loved that you used two stories to compare for this strategy.
I also liked how you allowed for students to turn and talk to see what other kids were thinking
too. I find it very interesting what some students think!


Suggestions:
I wonder if the strategy is too long for students in one setting, could you model the lesson one
day and come back review and then have them try it with the second text the next day.
I think that once you have modeled this strategy it would be great for partner work.
Maybe have multiple texts so students can follow along?
What about trying small group sharing at the end?
Maybe you could just use one story to start with and then with more practice, you can introduce
others.
I would separate this lesson over a couple days with a whole group.
I think I would do this a couple times with different texts and then have students work in small
groups. Then they can work with partners.
Questions:
How you would differentiate this lesson for an EL student?
Would you use this strategy with a biography in article form for older students?
Do you think that was too much for one lesson or would you try to separate it over a few days
(using two books)?
What would you do if a child just didn't get point of view? What are some ways you could
explicitly teach it?

Section Eight
For future lessons, I might break this into 2 days- one day of modeling, using one text and a second day
having a mini lesson that focuses on the specific strategy, using another text. Depending on my group of
students, I might create small groups for completing this task. It is often difficult for students to take on
another person point-of-view. I might assess how students do during ht modeling stage (day 1) and
create small groups based on my student observations. I could then use various books at various levels,
depending on student needs.


*** Student work samples below***