Point of ViewThrough whose eyes?

Who Is Speaking?

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“I want to give Jody a suggestion about where to move his chess piece, but I’ll let him figure it out on his own. He’s really learning fast!”

Who Is Speaking?

“If I move this piece there, I might win! I’ll be really excited when I beat Aviva at chess for the first time.”

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What Is Point of View?

Point of view is the perspective, or position, from which a story is told.

•What you learn about events, characters, and places depends on the point of view of the narrator, the voice that tells the story.

•What if my dog at my homework?

Points of ViewThe three most common points of view:

•Omniscient

•Third-person limited

•Pronouns ( she, they, them, him, his, hers, they, them, their, theirs

•First person

• Pronouns ( I, me, mine, we, us, our, ours)

Omniscient Point of View

•The narrator knows everything about all the characters, even their private thoughts.

•Omniscient means “all-knowing.”

Omniscient Point of View

“Would you like to help raise money for our school. . .” Erica practiced nervously as she walked down the street. She kept thinking of all the wrong things she might say.

Around the corner, Summer was practicing for her school play. She had to skate onstage while wearing a parrot’s mask. Unfortunately, the mask made it hard to see where she was going. “I hope there’s nobody in front of me,” she thought.

Erica gasped in surprise as a girl wearing a parrot’s mask zoomed toward her. They collided with a crash, and the parrot’s mask went flying!

Third-Person-Limited Point of View

•The story is seen through the eyes of one character but is not told by that character.

•Pronouns used: he, him, his, she, he, hers, they, them, their, theirs

•Instead, the narrator tells you about the thoughts and feelings of that one character.

Third-Person-Limited Point of View

Erica walked slowly down the street. She felt really nervous about the school fundraiser. Last year, she didn’t sell anything except to her grandmother, but this year she wanted to do better.

Suddenly, she heard a noise and looked up. She let out a startled gasp. A girl with a parrot’s mask was zooming toward her!

First-Person Point of View

•One of the characters tells the story. This character speaks with the pronoun I.

•You know only what this character tells you about other characters, events, and places.

•Be careful! Sometimes a first-person narrator doesn’t know important facts.

First-Person Point of ViewI was raising money for the school, and I

was really nervous. I knew I’d say the wrong thing.

I walked down the street and when I turned a corner, I heard a noise. I looked up and saw a giant parrot zooming toward me! I gasped in surprise, but it was too late. The parrot crashed into me and knocked my bag out of my hand.

Match these story clips with the point of view they use:

_______________— “I knew I had to tell the truth, even though I didn’t want to.”

_______________— “Kiyoshi thought the new teacher was nice, but Emily was suspicious of her.”

_______________— “Adam frowned at his sister. What was she planning to do next?”

Omniscient First person Third-person limited

What Have You Learned?

Third-person limited

First person

Omniscient

The End