Examples of Point of View
The Amulet of Samarkand by Jonathan Stroud: The author uses both third person and first person point of view. Nathaniel, the young magician, is told about in third person. Those chapters alternate with chapters that are told in first person, from the point of view of Bartimaeus, a powerful spirit (djinni). The latter are my favorite chapters, since Bartimaeus has such a fun sense of humor.
The Castle of Llyr by Lloyd Alexander: "Eilonwy of the red-gold hair . . . was leaving Caer Dallben. Dallben himself had so ordered it; and though Taran's heart was suddenly and strangely heavy, he knew there was no gainsaying the old enchanter's words."
This is from a third-person point of view, but just from this selection we don't know enough to determine whether it is third person limited or third person omniscient.
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle: "It was a dark and stormy night. In her attic bedroom Margaret Murry, wrapped in an old patchwork quilt, sat on the foot of her bed and watched the trees tossing in the frenzied lashing of the wind. Behind the clouds scudded frantically across the sky. . . ."
"She wasn't usually afraid of weather. --It's not just the weather, she thought. -- It's the weather on top of everything else. On top of me. On top of Meg Murry doing everything wrong."
That quote, as is the quote before it from The Castle of Lyr, is from the exposition of the book -- the beginning part that introduces the setting, characters, and basic situation. Both are third person, and again, just from reading this much, we don't yet know if it is third person limited or third person omniscient.
The Teacher's Funeral by Richard Peck: "If your teacher has to die, August isn't a bad time of year for it. You know August. The corn is earring. The tomatoes are ripening on the vine. The clover's in full bloom. There's a little less evening now, and that's a warning . You want to live every day twice over because you'll be back in the jailhouse of school before the end of the month.
"Then our teacher, Miss Myrt Arbuckle, hauled off and died. It was like a miracle, though she must have been forty. You should have seen my kid brother's face. It looked like Lloyd was hearing the music of the spheres. Being ten that summer, he was even more willing to believe in miracles than I was."
This one is first person. Though it uses the words "your" and "you," the story is not about you. The narrator is telling his own story -- a story he is in.
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Student Targets for Term 1
Student Targets for Term 1
By the end of Term 1, a student should be able to
Correctly spell, punctuate, and capitalize the names of their teachers, school administrators, and counselor. (Correct capitalization of proper nouns.)
Correctly use and spell the Seventh Grade homophone pairs from the state core.
Understand and correctly use these terms: fiction, nonfiction, genre, novel, plot map (plot structure), exposition, conflict, point of view, narrator, character, setting.
Identify external text features in informational text: headings, subheadings, pictures, captions, bolded words, graphs, charts, tables of contents.
Identify a purpose for inquiry, prepare and effectively ask questions, select an appropriate format to report information, effectively present information, work cooperatively with other students.
Determine audience and purpose for writing an autobiographical or narrative account.
Begin to create a clear, coherent, chronologically-sequenced incident, event, or situation with
simple reflection.
Begin to select and craft sensory details for that incident, event, or situation.
Revise and edit to improve writing.
• Use a variety of sentence beginnings and sentence lengths
• Use capitalization at the beginning of a sentence and use appropriate punctuation at the end
• Correctly capitalize proper nouns
By the end of Term 1, a student should be able to
Correctly spell, punctuate, and capitalize the names of their teachers, school administrators, and counselor. (Correct capitalization of proper nouns.)
Correctly use and spell the Seventh Grade homophone pairs from the state core.
Understand and correctly use these terms: fiction, nonfiction, genre, novel, plot map (plot structure), exposition, conflict, point of view, narrator, character, setting.
Identify external text features in informational text: headings, subheadings, pictures, captions, bolded words, graphs, charts, tables of contents.
Identify a purpose for inquiry, prepare and effectively ask questions, select an appropriate format to report information, effectively present information, work cooperatively with other students.
Determine audience and purpose for writing an autobiographical or narrative account.
Begin to create a clear, coherent, chronologically-sequenced incident, event, or situation with
simple reflection.
Begin to select and craft sensory details for that incident, event, or situation.
Revise and edit to improve writing.
• Use a variety of sentence beginnings and sentence lengths
• Use capitalization at the beginning of a sentence and use appropriate punctuation at the end
• Correctly capitalize proper nouns
Just Point of View
Point-of-view is an element of literature that you need to understand.
What is it?
The author's point-of-view concentrates on the vantage point of the speaker, or "teller", of the story or poem.
1st person: the speaker is a character in the story or poem and tells it from his/her perspective (uses "I")
3rd person limited: the speaker is not part of the story, but tells about the other characters. He or she limits information to what one character sees and feels.
3rd person omniscient: the speaker is not part of the story, but is able to "know" and describe what all characters are thinking.
A second person point of view is a story that is told from the perspective of "you." It is much less common than first and third. Do you remember children's books like the "Animorphs" series or the "Choose Your Own Adventure" tales? They went something like this: "You turn, and standing there before you is a wolf. You have to decide to approach it or run away."
Here's a handy key for you:
First person: I
Second person : You
Third Person: He, She, They
[adapted from definitions found at http://www.enotes.com/literary-terms/q-and-a/what-second-person-point-view-2208
and http://teachers.net/lessons/posts/2715.html ]
What is it?
The author's point-of-view concentrates on the vantage point of the speaker, or "teller", of the story or poem.
1st person: the speaker is a character in the story or poem and tells it from his/her perspective (uses "I")
3rd person limited: the speaker is not part of the story, but tells about the other characters. He or she limits information to what one character sees and feels.
3rd person omniscient: the speaker is not part of the story, but is able to "know" and describe what all characters are thinking.
A second person point of view is a story that is told from the perspective of "you." It is much less common than first and third. Do you remember children's books like the "Animorphs" series or the "Choose Your Own Adventure" tales? They went something like this: "You turn, and standing there before you is a wolf. You have to decide to approach it or run away."
Here's a handy key for you:
First person: I
Second person : You
Third Person: He, She, They
[adapted from definitions found at http://www.enotes.com/literary-terms/q-and-a/what-second-person-point-view-2208
and http://teachers.net/lessons/posts/2715.html ]
Book-of-the-Month Club Assignment
Book-of-the-Month Club Assignment
You need to have your Book-of-the-Month read by September 25 for B-Day students and by September 26 for A-Day students. Be prepared to bring it to class this day and/or on the next class period. We will be doing an assessment on the book.
Watch for these aspects (Literary Elements) of your book:
What are the time and and place of the setting of your book? What do you find out about this in the exposition?
Who are the main characters? What does the narrator tell us about them -- about their ., thoughts, words, speech patterns, and actions?
Who is the narrator of the book? Who is telling the story?
What is the point of view of the narrator?
What conflicts do you find in the book? What is the main conflict?
See September 9/10 for the types of conflict. Notice which types are in your book, and notice examples of those types.
We've already been learning about conflict. Here is some information on point of view:
Point-of-view
What is it?
The author's point-of-view concentrates on the vantage point of the speaker, or "teller", of the story or poem.
1st person: the speaker is a character in the story or poem and tells it from his/her perspective (uses "I")
3rd person limited: the speaker is not part of the story, but tells about the other characters. He or she limits information to what one character sees and feels.
3rd person omniscient: the speaker is not part of the story, but is able to "know" and describe what all characters are thinking.
A second person point of view is a story that is told from the perspective of "you." It is much less common than first and third. Do you remember children's books like the "Animorphs" series or the "Choose Your Own Adventure" tales? They went something like this: "You turn, and standing there before you is a wolf. You have to decide to approach it or run away."
Here's a handy key for you:
First person: I
Second person : You
Third Person: He, She, They
[adapted from definitions found at http://www.enotes.com/literary-terms/q-and-a/what-second-person-point-view-2208
and http://teachers.net/lessons/posts/2715.html ]
Links to the State Core:
Standard 1 Objective 1.3 (Comprehension of Literary Text): Comprehend literature by evaluating the contribution to meaning of several literary elements within a work of literature.
a. Identify narrative plot structure -- in this case, exposition and conflict (rising action. . . .)
b. Describe a character’s traits as revealed by the narrator (e.g., thoughts, words, speech patterns, and actions).
d. Identify descriptive details and imagery that establish setting.
You need to have your Book-of-the-Month read by September 25 for B-Day students and by September 26 for A-Day students. Be prepared to bring it to class this day and/or on the next class period. We will be doing an assessment on the book.
Watch for these aspects (Literary Elements) of your book:
What are the time and and place of the setting of your book? What do you find out about this in the exposition?
Who are the main characters? What does the narrator tell us about them -- about their ., thoughts, words, speech patterns, and actions?
Who is the narrator of the book? Who is telling the story?
What is the point of view of the narrator?
What conflicts do you find in the book? What is the main conflict?
See September 9/10 for the types of conflict. Notice which types are in your book, and notice examples of those types.
We've already been learning about conflict. Here is some information on point of view:
Point-of-view
What is it?
The author's point-of-view concentrates on the vantage point of the speaker, or "teller", of the story or poem.
1st person: the speaker is a character in the story or poem and tells it from his/her perspective (uses "I")
3rd person limited: the speaker is not part of the story, but tells about the other characters. He or she limits information to what one character sees and feels.
3rd person omniscient: the speaker is not part of the story, but is able to "know" and describe what all characters are thinking.
A second person point of view is a story that is told from the perspective of "you." It is much less common than first and third. Do you remember children's books like the "Animorphs" series or the "Choose Your Own Adventure" tales? They went something like this: "You turn, and standing there before you is a wolf. You have to decide to approach it or run away."
Here's a handy key for you:
First person: I
Second person : You
Third Person: He, She, They
[adapted from definitions found at http://www.enotes.com/literary-terms/q-and-a/what-second-person-point-view-2208
and http://teachers.net/lessons/posts/2715.html ]
Links to the State Core:
Standard 1 Objective 1.3 (Comprehension of Literary Text): Comprehend literature by evaluating the contribution to meaning of several literary elements within a work of literature.
a. Identify narrative plot structure -- in this case, exposition and conflict (rising action. . . .)
b. Describe a character’s traits as revealed by the narrator (e.g., thoughts, words, speech patterns, and actions).
d. Identify descriptive details and imagery that establish setting.
Friday, September 12, 2008
Extra Credit Opportunity
Extra Credit Opportunity -- Expired with end of first term.
Tell me about what you found out about this book here -- for 5 points extra credit. This offer expires September 26.
This is part of a description of the book on "Peg's Library Blog":
Korman has done it again! A thoroughly delightful story, implausible, but still lots of fun. Cap (Capricorn) Anderson has been homeschooled by his hippie grandmother in a commune outside of San Francisco, but is forced into public middle school when his grandmother breaks her hip. He immediately becomes a target because of his long hair, tie-dyed wardrobe and homemade sandals. Without his knowledge or consent he is nominated and elected eight grade class president, an office that has traditionally been reserved for the biggest nerd in school.
(Ms. Dorsey's note: I haven't seen anything in the book to indicate that this is taking place in California -- or have I missed something?)
Point of View: The book is told in first person, but from several different individuals. A new chapter means a different point of view.
I'm reading this now, and enjoying it.
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Binder So Far
Binder So Far
Here is what you should have filed under your divider(s) -- in a three ring binder --for English so far:
Your disclosure document (unless a parent is keeping it)
Word webs (pink) for
1. fiction (filled out as far as we have filled it out)
2. nonfiction (filled out as far as we have filled it out)
3. genre (filled out as far as we have filled it out)
4. novel (filled out as far as we have filled it out)
5. exposition (filled out as far as we have filled it out, including exposition from Outsiders, chapter 1 about characters -- the boys) --with the plot map on the back with the exposition box filled out
Other papers:
6. Outsiders' Vocabulary (filled out)
7. Outsiders' Opinionaire (filled out)
8. Commonly confused words from the Utah State Seventh Grade Core (goldenrod)
9. Walk About -- Collecting Confusing Words (filled out)
(Your current reading log could be here or with your book.)
Here is what you should have filed under your divider(s) -- in a three ring binder --for English so far:
Your disclosure document (unless a parent is keeping it)
Word webs (pink) for
1. fiction (filled out as far as we have filled it out)
2. nonfiction (filled out as far as we have filled it out)
3. genre (filled out as far as we have filled it out)
4. novel (filled out as far as we have filled it out)
5. exposition (filled out as far as we have filled it out, including exposition from Outsiders, chapter 1 about characters -- the boys) --with the plot map on the back with the exposition box filled out
Other papers:
6. Outsiders' Vocabulary (filled out)
7. Outsiders' Opinionaire (filled out)
8. Commonly confused words from the Utah State Seventh Grade Core (goldenrod)
9. Walk About -- Collecting Confusing Words (filled out)
(Your current reading log could be here or with your book.)
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
September 11/12, 2008
September 11/12, 2008
Don't forget to hand in your (yellow) reading log for the week. These should be handed in every Thursday or Friday. Each day you read (at least five days a week), write a summary that clearly tells what happened in the book, and add an impression (noticing), connection, or wondering (question).
Today we are doing a "Walk-About" to collect sentences using our seventh grade confusing words. Students will create a chart with words and meanings, then walk around to see student-created mini-posters, collecting sample sentences for those words.
We will also continue to read and discuss The Outsiders.
Do you have your opinionaire?
Did you watch for exposition in the first chapter?
Are you noticing the conflicts in the book?
The classes have read The Outsiders to these pages:
B1 page 24
B2 page 22
B3 page 27
A1 page 25
A2 page 26
Don't forget to bring your binder to class. We will be having random binder-checks.
Unpaid advertisement:Life is rank if you don't have your school planner!
If you don't have your school planner, you don't have your hall passes.
If you don't have your school planner, you don't have those handy places to write down assignments and other reminders.
Be a tuff, cool dude! Carry your planner.
Don't forget to hand in your (yellow) reading log for the week. These should be handed in every Thursday or Friday. Each day you read (at least five days a week), write a summary that clearly tells what happened in the book, and add an impression (noticing), connection, or wondering (question).
Today we are doing a "Walk-About" to collect sentences using our seventh grade confusing words. Students will create a chart with words and meanings, then walk around to see student-created mini-posters, collecting sample sentences for those words.
We will also continue to read and discuss The Outsiders.
Do you have your opinionaire?
Did you watch for exposition in the first chapter?
Are you noticing the conflicts in the book?
The classes have read The Outsiders to these pages:
B1 page 24
B2 page 22
B3 page 27
A1 page 25
A2 page 26
Don't forget to bring your binder to class. We will be having random binder-checks.
Unpaid advertisement:Life is rank if you don't have your school planner!
If you don't have your school planner, you don't have your hall passes.
If you don't have your school planner, you don't have those handy places to write down assignments and other reminders.
Be a tuff, cool dude! Carry your planner.
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