To familiarize your students with the basic concept of first and third person point of view, have students pair up. One member of the pair should tell the other about “the best thing that happened to me” yesterday. Then have the partners recount the story to the class. Ask students the difference between telling a story about themselves and a story that happened to someone else. Discuss how the words they used -- “I” and “me,” “he” or “she” and “him” or “her” -- were different.
Review a story that your students are already familiar with, such as “The Three Little Pigs” or “Little Red Riding Hood.” If possible, have your students recount the story to you. Now, read them a story that tells the same events from another point of view, such as “The True Story of the Three Little Pigs” by Jon Scieszka or “Honestly, Red Riding Hood Was Rotten!” by Trisha Speed Shaskan. Discuss with your students what point of view the new story was in, how the point of view changed the story, and why the author might have wanted to use this new point of view.
Pass out masks of characters your students are familiar with -- Little Red Riding Hood, the Big Bad Wolf, Cinderella or others. Before they put the masks on, ask them to write a story about this character, from “outside” the mask, using the words “he” or “she” and “him” or “her.” Now have your students put on the masks and ask them to write a story from “inside” the mask, using the words “I” and “me.”
In conjunction with a historical unit, have students retell the story of a historical event from a new perspective. First, review the historical event, asking the students what they remember about it and who the story is about. Then, ask them what other perspectives there are on the story -- who else could tell it. Have each student choose a perspective and write the story from that point of view. Have students read their stories, and discuss how the story changes based on point of view.