Characters' Viewpoints and Responses
Identify and compare characters' points of view, recognise who is narrating a story, describe how characters respond to events and challenges, and compare characters' experiences across different stories or versions of the same story
What a learner can do afterwards
- Identify who is telling a story and explain how you know (e.g. 'The wolf is telling the story because he says I')
- Describe how a character responds to a problem or challenge using evidence from the text (e.g. 'When the bridge broke, she decided to swim across')
- Compare how two characters from different stories react to a similar situation (e.g. how two heroes show bravery in different ways)
1 · Read
Every story is told by someone. That person is called the narrator. If a character says 'I' or 'me,' that character is telling the story from inside it. If the words are 'he,' 'she,' or a character's name, someone might be standing outside the story, watching everything happen.
In one story, a wolf tells what happened at the pigs' houses. He says, 'I only wanted to borrow a cup of sugar, but nobody believed me.' Because he says 'I,' you know the wolf is the narrator. His story sounds very different from the pigs' story about the same day.
A character's viewpoint is how they think and feel about something. Two characters can be in the very same moment and feel two different things. When the rain starts, one child groans because the game is over. Another child cheers because her garden was thirsty. Look at the words a character says and the things they choose to do. Those are your clues, not how you feel about it yourself.
A character's response is what they do when something hard happens, not just what they say. Look for their actions in the text. If a bridge breaks and a character decides to swim across, that action shows you she is brave and does not give up. A response can change through a story, so check what a character does at the start and again at the end. Once you know how a character feels, you can often guess what they will choose to do next.
Two different stories can show two different kinds of bravery. One hero fights a dragon face to face. Another hero tricks the dragon with a clever plan. Both are brave, but they respond to danger in their own way.
When you read, ask two questions: who is telling this part, and what did the character choose to do? Those answers tell you the most about the story.
Find who is speaking, notice how each character feels, watch what they choose to do, and remember that two characters can see the very same thing in different ways.
2 · Watch
Take it off screen
Where it sits
Where this leads
24 questions wait behind this lesson, each with its answer explained. Every answer feeds the sky: stars light as they are learned, and dim when it is time to come back.