Minds On
Let’s explore and brainstorm
Let’s explore a TVOK News Video: "The Big Picture.” As you explore the video, consider the question:
- Whose thoughts, feelings and ideas are expressed?
Action
Who is sharing?
You may have noticed that Heidi White was the main narrator in the Minds On section video. The narrator is the person who is telling the story or sharing ideas. She shared her experiences working as an astronomer. When we explore different oral texts, we may find that the information or story is told from different perspectives.
First-person perspective
When we explore an oral text told from a first-person perspective, the narrator is a character in the story. Words you will notice include: “I,” “My” and “Me.”
Third-person perspective
When we explore an oral text told from a third-person perspective, the narrator is not a character in the story. Words you will notice are: “She,” “He,” and “They.”
Let’s examine a passage from the video we explored
Press ‘Passage from video’ to access and identify different word clues.
My name is Heidi White and I’m an astronomer. So, an astronomer is a scientist that studies outer space. And this includes planets, stars, galaxies, even the universe as a whole.
So, the thing I love most about my job is that I’m a person that loves to solve puzzles, and the universe is full of mysteries left unsolved, questions left unanswered, and it’s really exciting that every single day I get to sit down and work to discover things that nobody’s ever seen before.
You may have noticed that Heidi uses word clues like “my,” “I’m,” and “I.” This means that she is sharing using first-person perspective.
What if we wanted to change this passage to a different perspective? Would the message change?
Let’s see what happens if we change this passage to third-person narrative.
Press ‘Hint’ to access how we can change a passage to a third-person narrative.
We can do this by replacing the word clues “my,” “I’m,” and “I” with Heidi’s name and “she” or “they.” Words like “so” at the beginning of a phrase also let us know that the narrator is sharing using a first-person perspective.
Change to third-person narrative
Here is Heidi’s narrative from the “TVOK News: The Big Picture” video. Let’s change this passage from a first-person perspective to a third-person perspective. You can work on this task by completing the Narratives of Different Perspectives Chart in your notebook or using the following fillable activity document.
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First-person perspective: My name is Heidi White and I’m an astronomer. So, an astronomer is a scientist that studies outer space. And this includes planets, stars, galaxies, even the universe as a whole. So, the thing I love most about my job is that I’m a person that loves to solve puzzles, and the universe is full of mysteries left unsolved, questions left unanswered, and it’s really exciting that every single day I get to sit down and work to discover things that nobody’s ever seen before. |
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Third-person perspective:
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Press the ‘Activity’ button to access Narratives of Different Perspectives Chart.
Press ‘Hint’ to access a sample of what the passage might look like in a third-person perspective.
Heidi White is an astronomer. An astronomer is a scientist that studies outer space. This includes planets, stars, galaxies, even the universe as a whole.
The thing that Heidi loves most about her job is that she is a person that loves to solve puzzles, and the universe is full of mysteries left unsolved, questions left unanswered, and she is really excited that she can sit down and work to discover things that nobody’s ever seen before every single day.
Student Success
Think-Pair-Share
What did you notice about the text after we changed it to a third-person perspective?
Discuss with a partner, if possible.
Note to teachers: See your teacher guide for collaboration tools, ideas and suggestions.
Press ‘Differences’ to access how the first-person perspective is distinct from the third-person narrative.
Consolidation
Whose perspective?
Let’s explore another video “Raven’s Quest – Morgan.”
Select the correct answer.
Let’s flip the script
Explore the passage from the video “Raven’s Quest – Morgan” below and determine which word clues are used.
Can you create a different version of the text? Change the perspective by locating and changing word clues. You can complete the Different Perspectives Chart in your notebook or using the following fillable activity document.
Once you are finished, share if possible.
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First-person perspective: What I’m wearing is called a Métis sash. I like the white because it represents the connection between us, and our earth and I like the yellow because it represents hope and our bright future. |
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Third-person perspective:
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Press the ‘Activity’ button to access Different Perspectives Chart.
Remember the different perspectives
Press the following tabs to explore the differences between first-person perspective and third-person perspective.
Think about what you have learned
- What did you learn during this activity?
- Will it change the way you explore oral texts?
- How does the message change when we change the perspective?
Reflection
As you read through these descriptions, which sentence best describes how you are feeling about your understanding of this learning activity? Press the button that is beside this sentence.
I feel…
Now, record your ideas using a voice recorder, speech-to-text, or writing tool.