Point of View in the Elementary Classroom

Below are some of my favorite books to teach Point of View! Don't have them in your library? Listen to them on Youtube as read alouds.  Still great opportunity for modeling and stopping and taking notes.  We does this a couple times a week to focus on a skill or these are also available in a listening center 

Two Bad Ants is a great and funny story following 2 ants and some trouble they get into. Written from the ants' perspective it is great to introduce this concept!














I, Doko is a beautifully written story with a simple and thoughtful message.  This book is timeless and really hits the heart of readers.  It adds a great cultural perspective for students as well and can bring up many discussions.

The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs is quickly becoming a classic.  This fractured fairy tale sheds light on the wolf's feelings in the story.  Such a unique story really easily helps identify point of view.













 A. Lincoln and Me is a great story that touches on historical notes while focusing on point of view.  The main character recounts similarities between himself and Lincoln.  Learning facts and searching for clues through this historical context is a great addition to a point of view study.














I love a 2nd person POV book and not many for upper elementary exist.  This book definitely fits the bill.  It engages students and gets the point across.  The tone (no matter who is reading) helps students realize 2nd person POV.  Such a fun read aloud to incorporate!
















I love the Flocabulary Point of View song and using pictures to help determine and write our own point of views as well. Below is a link to the listening center with focused point of view questions for the stories above.

0

Inferring in the Elementary Classroom

 The Sweetest Fig is about a man who makes an unwise choice not to believe in the special figs.  This book leaves you to make inferences until the very last page.  It makes a great inferencing book because so much is left up to the reader to put together.

Teammates is an awesome historical book about a rough time in American history. I love that this book appeals to the boys in my class as well.
This provides a perfect example of how to make inferences about characters in the book and proving them with details.

How Many Days to America is another great historical tale that leads readers to put the whole picture together. A family's journey to a new land is the perfect background for students to infer about characters, setting, and plot.















Fireflies is such a descriptive book.  It leaves the reader deciding important information about the boy's decision and what will happen in the future. I think the illustrations really give this book a leg up and help the reader understand better the story.

You could apply so many skills to this amazing traditional tale. Theme is extremely important but is easily tied in with the plot where the reader must infer what happened to the people.  Although this book appears to be less "modern" I do think it has great value especially in lessons for bigger kids - upper elementary.

All 5 of these stories are in a Inferring QR Listening Center pack in my store or you can read on Youtube.  They come with rigorous test prep questions. 

I love to start the year with inferring as we need this skill with every book we read on our own or with the class.  Knowing what this big word means also helps students feel more confident when it comes to testing time.

I also have a Drawing Conclusions Listening Center available.  All the research I found showed that inferencing and drawing conclusions were very similar both not proved in text but what a reader decides.   I do believe the language of "what conclusion can you draw?" or "What conclusion can be made?" are important for students to be exposed to as well.  I use them almost interchangeably because of how close they are and students only need them to help break apart questions. 

0

Setting in the Elementary Classroom

This might be my favorite book I've found since really up-ing my picture book game! This is excellent for setting as each person in the family vividly describes their favorite place and how it all ties together with a new sibling.  So Precious!!














 This book is great for details that reflect the setting.  You can feel the imagery used as if you were actually there.  It provides great discussion points as well!

This story is so heart warming.  Not only does it have a great lesson but is set in a place that is intriguing.  Students dive right in and are caught up immediately.  Paying close attention to details leads to a great discussion of setting.

My Great-Aunt Arizona is an awesome nonfiction book to use with setting.  I love getting the chance to use nonfiction in this context.  The places/time period discussed are easy to connect with history and backing them up with text evidence is a great bonus.










  Silver Packages is a great story! I love the imagery in this book.  It's a fun story set in Northeast region of the United States.  The change of setting for a short time in the book is a great focus as well.  A boy receives packages each year by a mysterious donor and it follows his life as he learns a lesson coming full circle.

I love finding details to support setting and focusing on the time, place, and year, season, date --- all of the parts that show exactly what the setting is. 

All 5 of these stories are available in a QR Listening center in my store.  There are also available to listen to on Youtube. 

0

Character Traits in the Elementary Classroom

  This beautiful story showcases the juxtaposition of character traits in a great way among the two daughters.  The idea of a traditional tale makes it great to teach a wide variety of topics.  I love the cultural aspect and how well it fits.  It has many great examples and is a great starting point for character traits.















This a heart warming story that showcases a great message for any age.  Its characters are authentic and presented with a problem that takes some creativity to solve and keep the town together.  Awesome for studying characters and analyzing their thoughts, words, and actions.




This classic tale is great to analyze through the lens of character traits.  Either Camilla or her family or even the doctors each of their perspectives and words can easily show how they feel about the stripes.  This book is always a class favorite and looking at the how and why behind the characters is a an easy fit.

This book is truly outstanding.  This great historical tale of making a quilt that leads to freedom would be great in many parts of the curriculum.  The imagery is fantastic, but the characters are easily to relate to and resonate with the readers.  There are so many examples and discussions of character's actions that make this a great choice every year.

Golem is another classic tale rooted in Jewish history.  The clay figure comes to life to help protect and then is called back after his mission is over.  This book brings up really great discussion and questions for students but helps study characters because you see both positive and negative in people.  This is another great story to analyze.

All of the above stories are in QR Listening Center Pack you can see more about by clicking on the picture.  They are great stories to illustrate this message and the rigorous self checking questions take it a step further. 

I also love to make a great anchor chart for character traits and make sure to differentiate between physical and behavioral traits.

We always use "prove it" words to show the examples that were illustrated in the story.

I love to have a list of example traits that students glue in their notebooks and can refer back to.  We do this often during the year since this topic can be brought up with nearly every story.  Almost always we refer to positive traits and I think it is worth noting that negative traits do have their place to in helping analyze behavior.  That is one of the reasons I like to include traditional tales because they showcase this better than some other books. 

There is also something to be said about the rich vocabulary that comes with discussing character traits.  Usually the words seem large at first and breaking them down and talking about them is crucial for students.  These always show up on standardized tests and half the battle is understanding and breaking down those words.  

0