Unit Plan 5 (Grade 8 ELA): Point of View & Perspective
Grade 8 ELA unit: students analyze how narrator perspective shapes content, style, and meaning. They compare first-person and third-person points of view, examine irony and reliability, and practice rewriting scenes for precision, concision, and tone that match each narrative perspective.
Focus: How narrator/POV shapes content, style, and meaning; comparing perspectives
Grade Level: 8
Subject Area: English Language Arts (Reading—Literature; Language—Style)
Total Unit Duration: 5 sessions (one week), 50–60 minutes per session
I. Introduction
Stories change when perspective changes. This week, students analyze how narrator choice (first person, third-person limited/omniscient) and focalization shape what readers know, how we feel, and why. They’ll evaluate reliability, track dramatic irony, and compare two perspectives on the same event. At the sentence level, they’ll fine-tune wording for precision and effect to match perspective.
II. Objectives and Standards
Learning Objectives — Students will be able to…
- Analyze how a narrator’s point of view and access to information shape content, style, and meaning; explain effects such as suspense, humor, or irony (RL.8.6).
- Cite and integrate the most relevant textual evidence (quotes/paraphrases with line references) to support perspective analysis (RL.8.1).
- Choose and adjust language (voice, tone, concision; active vs. passive; conditional/subjunctive where appropriate) to express ideas precisely when discussing or briefly rewriting from another perspective (L.8.3).
Standards Alignment — CCSS Grade 8
- RL.8.6: Analyze how differences in the point of view of the characters and the audience or reader (e.g., created through dramatic irony) create effects.
- RL.8.1: Cite the textual evidence that most strongly supports an analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences.
- L.8.3: Use knowledge of language and its conventions when writing/speaking/reading/listening; express ideas precisely and concisely; maintain consistency in style and tone (including use of active/passive voice and mood for effect).
Success Criteria — student language
- I can name the narrator type and explain what they know/withhold and why it matters.
- I can show how a specific line/choice creates suspense, humor, or irony.
- I can compare two perspectives on the same event and explain how meaning changes.
- My analysis uses precise, concise language and integrates the strongest evidence.