POINTS OF VIEW IN

A Fifth Grade Lesson Plan

LITERATURE By Danica Puente

ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS
UTAH CORE STANDARDS
Why is it important to examine both sides of a
controversial issue?
Readin g: Lit er at u r e
St an dar d 6 Are personal narratives an accurate source of primary
Describe how a narrator ?s or information?
speaker ?s point of view What benefits are there to knowing the reasoning behind
influences how events are an opposing viewpoint?
described.
St an dar d 7
Analyze how visual and
multimedia elements contribute
St u den t Object ives
to the meaning, tone, or beauty
of a text St u den t s can ...
St an dar d 9 Evaluate a piece of literature and determine point of view.
Compare and contrast stories in Analyze a piece of literature and be able to express the
the same genre (e.g., mysteries opposite view of the narrator.
and adventure stories) on their
approaches to similar themes
Infer from contextual clues the motive for a narrator 's
and topics.
point of view.

Social St u dies St an dar d 4

Students will understand that Create their own narratives with opposing viewpoints.
the 19th century was a time of
incredible change for the United
States, including geographic Vocabu lar y
expansion, constitutional crisis,
and economic growth.

Object ive 2c
Identify the range of individual
responses to the growing
political conflicts between the
North and South
 INSTRUCTIONAL PLANS
WORKSHEETS &
Day 1 ASSESSMENTS
- The first lesson of this module introduces students to
multiple viewpoints on the same issue.
- Explain to students that they will be reading about life during
the Civil War for Northerners, Southerners and Westerners
and for Caucasian and African American individuals.
- Have students fill out a KWL worksheet for the life of African
American slaves.
- Read the book "Christmas in the Big House, Christmas in the
Quarters"

- Discuss the similarities and differences between the two

viewpoints expressed in the story and the reasons for the
similarities and differences.
Day 2
- Direct students to the Libr ar y of Con gr ess Ar ch ives where
they will choose a slave narrative to read.
- Give students time to read a narrative and take notes.
- Have students share what they learned from the stories they
chose to read
- Watch the following video about John C. Calhoun with
students

- Discuss Calhoun's views on the roll of state government

compared to how they were functioning up to that point.
- Compare and contrast the views of people in favor of and
opposing slavery using the interactive Venn diagram found
h er e.
INSTRUCTIONAL PLANS ADDITIONAL
Day 3 RESOURCES
- Introduce the idea that the idea of a hero or villain can
depend on your viewpoint. Use the example of the story
of Jack and the Beanstalk. Is Jack the hero or the villain?
Read the book Trust Me, Jack's Beanstalk Stinks!: The Story of Khan Academy
Jack and the Beanstalk as Told by the Giant (The Other Side of the
Story) Discuss with students which story is more
believable. Did hearing the other side change their
mind? How can we be sure that we are getting both
sides of an issue?
- Form students into groups of two students . In these Utah Education Network
groups students will create two characters with different
viewpoints of the same story.
- Give students free reign to choose the setting, time
period and circumstances for their two characters.
Day 4
PBS The Good Stuff
- Each group will create a Venn Diagram for each main
character so that there are commonalities between the
two characters but a main issue of disagreement.
- Students will then be given time to develop each story
Crash Course
Days 5 - 7
- Each student pair will create animated stories for their
characters using Adobe Spar k
Day 8 - 9
- Each student group will take turns presenting their
videos to their classmates and explain why they chose
the imagery used in each story.
 REFLECTIONS

The preceding lesson plan is appropriate for fifth grade literature and
social studies because it addresses the core standards by allowing
students to see examples of slavery as seen from more than one point
of view. Students are able to explore stories on their own and use
reasoning to determine the commonalities and differences in
opposing viewpoints.

I believe that this lesson plan and the technologies used allow for
modification and augmentation of traditional resources.
By using the Library of Congress students are able to obtain
information from a reliable source for new information on life during
the Civil War.

Breaking the lesson plan up into multiple sessions and multiple inputs
(lecture, video, group work and creating) allows students with different
learning types the opportunity to learn and absorb the information in
the way that will be appropriate for their specific learning type.

Giving students the freedom to create and write their own stories
allows them autonomy for their subject and method of conflict.
Using AdobeSpark lets them choose to illustrate their stories with
photos or take video of their own and incorporate it.