Compare and Contrast the Narrator’s Points of View

In my last two posts, Introducing Point of View in Narrative Stories and How to Identify the Narrator’s Point of View, we took a deep dive into character and narrator points of view in single stories. Now let’s go a step further and compare and contrast the narrator’s points of view in two different stories so that students can better understand each story’s characters and events through comparison.

Narrative Stories That You Can Use to Compare and Contrast Point of View

Although you can compare and contrast any two stories, sometimes it’s fun to do it with popular stories! Here are a few you might like:

I really love using these for modeling how to compare and contrast points of view between two texts.

How do you compare points of view?

Before your students can compare and contrast the narrator’s points of view, they need to complete a few steps first.

1. Read the story
2. Sequence the events
3. Determine if the story is told in the first, second, or third person.

These two anchor charts can help. The first one helps by giving students the definition of each type of point of view, what to look for, and an example. The second chart is a step-by-step guide that can help them gain mastery of this skill.

In Step 3, students will find the elements of the story that convey the narrator’s feelings, thoughts, and actions. This will lead them to identify the narrator’s point of view.

Before we begin comparing and contrasting the two stories I use in this post, each story has been read and analyzed separately using the steps above. The first story Underground Cave Room was detailed in this post: How to Identify the Narrator’s Point of View.

Using a Venn Diagram to Compare and Contrast

A Venn Diagram or other compare and contrast graphic organizer is perfect for this task! Students are able to list the details of each story and then look for similarities and differences.

For the examples in this post, I am using two stories: Underground Cave Room and Zach’s Inspiration.

What is different?

In Underground Cave Room, the narrator is the main character which means it is first-person narration. In Zach’s Inspiration a narrator tells the story of Zach and his friend who raise money for a charity which makes it told in third person.

What is similar?

In this text set, the students will find that both stories have a main character who is a boy. The point of view of the characters in each story is similar in that they are amazed by something they see. In Underground Cave Room, the main character is amazed by the things he sees. In Zach’s Inspiration, he is amazed by the things a charity called You Can does for kids with disabilities.

What do students learn when they compare and contrast the narrator’s point to view in two different stories?

In the example above, students read two stories with different plots, narrators, and characters. But, they learn that both characters are amazed by something they have seen. They learn how one boy is amazed by fantastic cave formations and the other by amazing things people have done for disabled kids. In both cases, they are able to learn more about the characters by examining their points of view separately and then together.

Grab these free Point of View Anchor Charts!

CLICK HERE to grab these Point of View Anchor Charts for your classroom!

They’re perfect for:

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If you need resources to help you teach your 4th graders to compare and contrast points of view, grab this one that I used in this post!

It includes two passages, note pages, graphic organizers, and reading comprehension questions!

How do you teach comparing and contrasting points of view?