So who's telling this story, anyway?

Understanding point of view is an important skill in comprehension for young readers (RL.2.6.). Knowing that who's telling the story can impact how the story is told helps us understand the story better. One way to build an understanding of point of view is thinking about how a voice would sound when read aloud and how a new character's voice would change. This was the task that 2nd graders were working on in the library this week.



There is a very cute book called The Cat, The Dog, Little Red, the Exploding Eggs, the Wolf and Grandma written & illustrated by Diane and Christian Fox. In the story, a frustrated cat keeps trying to tell the story of Little Red Riding Hood. The overly exuberant dog keeps interrupting the cat's retelling with his own ideas for the story. Hilarity ensues.

After reading the story out loud, we discussed:
Me: How did you know which character was speaking? 
Student: Your voice changed for each character.
Me: Why do you think I chose a quiet voice for the cat? 
Student: The cat was trying to be patient with the dog. When my mom tries to be patient, her voice gets really quiet.
Me: Why do you think I chose to read loud and fast for the dog?
Student: The dog was excited and kept interrupting.
Me: Is that the only choice that can be made?
Student: No

Then, we turned the book into a Reader's Theater. Working in pairs, students chose who was the cat and who was the dog for one page. They read through the dialogue a couple of times first to get the feel of the text (and help with fluency). Then they thought about the voice they were going to do. Should it be angry? Sleepy? Happy? Excited? Silly?

Two by two, the students performed for the class and we recorded them. It was a fun way to help understand point of view. As one student said at the end: "I get it now. The dog doesn't like the story the way it is, so he tries to change it." Bingo!

The next week we continued this activity using the wonderful series of books by Mary Ann Hoberman called You Read to Me, I'll Read to You. Students worked in groups of two and practiced the piece they were going to read. What would a broomstick sound like? What would a pea sound like? Once the students practiced their reading and voices, we filmed again.