EL Support Lesson
Point of View Pronouns
Objectives
Academic
Students will learn about the folklore surrounding vampires and improve their reading comprehension skills.
Language
Students will be able to determine point of view in a text with pronouns using word banks and sentence frames.
Introduction
(2 minutes)
- Invite a student up to the board to perform a task. For example, ask them to draw a picture of a unicorn on the board. While they draw, narrate their actions using pronouns (i.e., "She is drawing the unicorn's face. Now, she is drawing a horn.").
- Explain that when you were describing the student's actions, you were acting like a narrator and telling about what they were doing from an outside perspective. Tell students that this way of talking about something is called the third person point of view.
- Next, perform a similar action yourself. For example, draw a picture of a vampire. Narrate your own actions using pronouns (i.e., "I am drawing a vampire. My vampire has two sharp teeth.").
- Explain that when you were describing your own actions, you were using the first person point of view because you were talking about an action you were doing yourself.
- Tell students that today you will be discussing the words authors use to show point of view in stories.
Building academic language
Word
(10 minutes)- Hand out the Vocabulary Instruction Chart to each student and tell them that they will be learning some key terms that will help them during the lesson.
- Introduce the vocabulary words one at a time, starting with mythological creature. First display the vocabulary card and read the word and definition out loud. Then, label the word with its part of speech and provide example(s) for the word (i.e., vampires and unicorns are examples of mythological creatures).
- Instruct your students to fill out a row on their chart using the information you provided.
- For the first term, "mythological creature," model how you would write your own sentence. For example, "A dragon is my favorite mythological creature to read about."
- Continue introducing words and have students fill in a row on their vocabulary chart for each one.
Sentence
(10 minutes)- Tell students that authors use pronouns to tell who the speaker is in a story. We can look for pronouns to determine who is telling the story, a character or a narrator. When we look for pronouns in a story, it helps us understand the perspective of the speaker.
- Write an example sentence on the board like, "The vampire didn't eat his dinner." Circle the pronoun "his" and explain that in this sentence, the pronoun "his" tells us that the speaker is a narrator, not the vampire himself. Label the sentence "third person."
- Repeat with a second example like, "I don't like to eat broccoli for dinner." Circle the pronoun "I" and label the sentence "first person."
- Hand out the worksheet Pronouns & Point of View and review the word bank at the top of the page. Reference your example sentences while you go over the pronouns in each box.
- Read the directions for section one and instruct students to work with a partner to complete it. Then, review the answers with the class.
- Read the instructions aloud for section two and model the exercise by completing the two sentences for the character Zenon. Instruct students to complete the remaining sentences independently. Then, have students compare their answers with a partner. Call on volunteers to share their answers.
Discourse
(10 minutes)- Explain to students that one story can be told from different points of view. Tell students that they will be reading a story called "The Birthday Surprise," which is written from two points of view. Remind students to pay attention to pronouns as they read.
- Hand out the worksheet Practicing Point of View. Read the first story aloud and tell students to work with their partner to answer the questions that follow. Then, have students read the second story with their partner and answer the questions together.
- Discuss the differences between the two versions of the story with your students as you review the answers to the questions.
- Read the directions aloud for the bottom section of the worksheet labeled "Think about it." Instruct your students to complete the story frame independently. Then have students compare their responses with their partner.
- Ask students to think about what point of view the mom's story is written in (first person) then call on a volunteer to share their insight. Provide a sentence frame for students to use during the discussion (i.e., "I can tell that the mom's story is told in a ____ point of view because I saw the pronouns ____ and ____.").
Additional EL adaptations
Beginning
- Pre-teach additional vocabulary terms that students will see within texts during the lesson, like "stew" and "vampires."
- Allow beginning ELs to use bilingual resources to define new words throughout the lesson.
- Strategically pair beginning ELs with more advanced ELs or students who speak the same home language.
Advanced
- Allow advanced ELs to utilize a glossary, thesaurus, and dictionary for help with unfamiliar words.
- Choose advanced ELs to share their ideas first in group and class discussions. Ask advanced ELs to add on, rephrase, or clarify what their peers say in class discussion.
- Have advanced ELs repeat instructions and key vocabulary, summarizing important information for the class.
Formative Assessment of Academic Language
(5 minutes)- Hand out an index card to each student and instruct them to label one side "first person" and the other side "third person."
- Write a sentence on the board, like the following: "A unicorn tosses her mane and gallops towards a rainbow."
- Tell students to hold up their index card, showing you the point of view reflected in the sentence. Scan student responses to gauge understanding.
- Call on a student with the correct answer and ask them to share what pronoun they saw that helped them figure out the point of view. Circle the pronoun in the sentence.
- Repeat with several sentences while alternating points of view (e.g., "Although I am a vampire, I would never hurt a fly.").
Review and closing
(3 minutes)- Tell students that they will be watching a short video about vampires. Instruct them to listen for pronouns during the video to determine which point of view is being used.
- Display the pronoun word bank (from the Pronouns & Point of View worksheet) for student reference, then play the video "The Spooky Vampire Halloween" (see related media).
- Call on students to share the pronouns they heard in the video ("we"/"our").
- Write sentences from the video on the board and circle the pronouns that students shared (i.e., "We are spooky vampires.").
- Ask students to think about which point of view was used in the video, first person or third person. Then, take a vote.
Related learning resources
Practicing Point of View
Worksheet
Practicing Point of View
Students will practice using pronouns to help them understand point of view.
5th grade
Reading & Writing
Worksheet
Pronouns & Point of View
Worksheet
Pronouns & Point of View
Students will practice using pronouns to support their understanding of point of view.
5th grade
Reading & Writing
Worksheet
Glossary: Point of View Pronouns
Worksheet
Glossary: Point of View Pronouns
Use this glossary with the EL Support Lesson: Point of View Pronouns.
5th grade
Reading & Writing
Worksheet
Vocabulary Cards: Point of View Pronouns
Worksheet
Vocabulary Cards: Point of View Pronouns
Use these vocabulary cards with the EL Support Lesson: Point of View Pronouns.
5th grade
Reading & Writing
Worksheet
