What's That?

Learning intention:

I am learning to create literary texts that explore my own imagining.

Success criteria:

• I can identify the point of view a text is written from.
• I can reflect on the impact writing in the first person has on readers.
• I can compose an extract of an article written in the first person.

Essential knowledge:

Ensure students are aware that ‘point of view’ means the perspective a text is written from. View the video on Point of View, from The School Magazine site for further information.

Learning resource:

Display the following re-write of an extract from the article What’s That? that has been written from the third person point of view.

It’s a weird kind of fish. When people spot it, they’ll ask what it is. Can you guess its name?

Read What’s That? Discuss the point of view the article is written from. Ensure students correctly identify that it is written from the point of view of the fish. Discuss pronouns that allow students’ to identify this (e.g. ‘I’m’, ‘my’, ‘I’).

Discuss the impact writing in the first person has on reader engagement, comparing What’s That? to the extract displayed earlier. Students will comment on how writing from the point of view of the fish increases reader interest and engagement.

Invite students to share which version they prefer.

Inform students that they will be experimenting with writing in the first person.

View the webpage, Fish, from National Geographic Kids. Select one of the fish on the webpage (e.g., the Blue Marlin) and read the information included on the chosen fish. Note key points on the board about the chosen fish (e.g., Blue Marlin). For example:

• Blue Marlin are some of the largest, fastest and most recognisable fish in the world.
• They have cobalt blue and silvery white bodies.
• They have spear shaped upper jaws.
• They can grow up to 4.3 metres and can weigh up to 900 kilograms.
• The mother lays the eggs in the ocean and the eggs hatch with no parental care.
• Blue Marlins spend most their lives alone in the warm surface water of the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans.

Collaboratively compose a brief extract of an article as if writing from the Blue Marlin’s point of view by rewriting the information identified using the first person. Tell students not to include the name of the fish in the article as this will be up to readers to guess. For example:

From the time I hatch, I’m mostly alone. My size and spear shaped upper jaws award me the status of most recognisable fish in the ocean. My colouring makes me stand out, with my cobalt blue and silvery white scales. I’m not a fan of the cold, preferring to spend most of my time in the warm surface water of the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans.

Refer back to What’s That? emphasising how the article poses questions, such as:

Can you guess my name?

Discuss how you might edit the extract composed collaboratively, to follow the style of the article, What’s That? Suggest examples such as, ‘Do you know which type of fish I am yet?’ Make the suggested additions.

Tell students that they will be composing their own brief articles on a fish of their choice.

Place students in pairs or small groups. Instruct them to select another fish from the National Geographic Kids webpage and identify key facts. Tell students to compose a brief extract of an article about their chosen fish, including the facts they have identified. Remind students to write in the first person and to include questions.

Once students have had time to complete their extracts, instruct them to swap with another pair/group. Tell students to read the work of their peers and to follow the clues to see if they can correctly identify which fish their peer group has chosen to write about.