Unit Plan 5 (Grade 7 ELA): Point of View & Perspective
Grade 7 ELA unit: students analyze how point of view shapes content, tone, and reader understanding. They evaluate narrator reliability, compare perspectives across texts, and refine analytical writing for concision and precision using evidence-based reasoning.
Focus: How narrator/POV shapes content and style; comparing perspectives
Grade Level: 7
Subject Area: English Language Arts (Reading Literature; Language—Style)
Total Unit Duration: 5 sessions (one week), 50–60 minutes per session
I. Introduction
Narrators are filters. This week, students examine how point of view (POV)—first person, third person limited/omniscient, frame narration, epistolary—shapes what we learn and how it sounds. They’ll analyze narrator reliability and bias, connect diction/syntax/tone to perspective, and compare perspectives across texts or characters. Writing tasks emphasize concise, precise analysis and smooth evidence use.
II. Objectives and Standards
Learning Objectives — Students will be able to…
- Analyze how an author develops and contrasts points of view (between narrators/characters or across texts) and how POV shapes content and reader understanding (RL.7.6).
- Cite several pieces of textual evidence—quotes and targeted paraphrases—to support analysis of explicit statements and inferences about perspective and reliability (RL.7.1).
- Revise for concision and precision in analytical writing by eliminating redundancy, tightening wordy phrasing, and choosing language that matches purpose and tone (L.7.3).
Standards Alignment — CCSS Grade 7
- Reading Literature 7.6 (RL.7.6): Analyze how an author develops and contrasts points of view of different characters or narrators.
- Reading Literature 7.1 (RL.7.1): Cite several pieces of textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly and inferences.
- Language 7.3 (L.7.3): Use knowledge of language and its conventions; choose language that expresses ideas precisely and concisely, recognizing and eliminating wordiness and redundancy (and adjusting for context and audience).
Success Criteria — student language
- I can name the POV and explain how it shapes what we know (and don’t know).
- I can evaluate a narrator’s reliability/bias with two+ pieces of evidence.
- I can compare perspectives and explain what each adds to the story.
- I can write concise analysis: strong verbs, no filler, smoothly integrated quotes.