Point of View | Answer Keys

Student Concept Worksheet Answers

Question	Answer
1	A. First Person The narrator uses "I" and "my" - "I couldn't believe my eyes" and "I ripped it open, my fingers trembling."
2	C. Third Person Omniscient The narrator knows Liam's thoughts ("thought he had made a mistake") AND his mom's feelings ("secretly relieved"). Multiple characters' inner states = omniscient.
3	We know BOTH Liam's thoughts ("thought he had made a mistake") AND his mom's secret feelings ("secretly relieved"). Third person limited would only show one character's thoughts.
4	Sam was so nervous that he/she dropped his/her lunch tray. Changed "I" to "Sam" or "he/she" and "my" to "his/her"
5	B. What other characters are truly thinking In first person, we only know the narrator's thoughts. Other characters' inner feelings are hidden from us.

Practice Worksheet Answers

Question	Answer
1	A. First Person
2	The narrator uses "I," "my," and "me" throughout - "I had been baking," "my stomach sank," "I couldn't help but smile."
3	The reader knows only the narrator's thoughts and feelings (nervous about messing up, stomach sinking, wondering what's wrong).
4	B. What Grandma is really thinking when she smiles mysteriously In first person, we can't know Grandma's actual thoughts - we only see her "mysterious smile" from the outside.
5	C. Third Person Omniscient
6	The narrator reveals MULTIPLE characters' thoughts: Jayden's nervousness, Marcus's thoughts about deserving captain, the teammates' opinions, and Coach Williams's experience with captains. Limited POV would only show one character's inner world.
7	1) Jayden (felt palms grow sweaty, wanted to be captain), 2) Marcus (thinking the same thing, wondering if Jayden was nervous), 3) Coach Williams (had learned that best captains are often surprised). Also acceptable: the teammates (had already made up their minds).
8	B. It allows readers to understand multiple perspectives and know things the characters don't.
9	B. Third Person Limited
10	We only know Sophia's thoughts and observations. We see Sophia "wondered," "imagination, she told herself," and "she couldn't tell" what Grandma felt. We never enter Grandma's mind directly - we only see her external actions (froze, expression changed, took a deep breath).
11	B. "Sophia noticed her grandmother's expression change, but she couldn't tell if it was sadness, surprise, or something else entirely." This sentence shows the limitation - Sophia (and readers) cannot know what Grandma is really thinking.
12	Readers would know: 1) What Grandma is actually feeling when she sees the photo (sadness? surprise?), 2) Who the woman in the photo is, 3) Why Grandma says "that's a story for another day" - what the story actually is.
13	Version A is First Person (uses "I," "my"). Version B is Third Person Omniscient (uses "Mia," "she," "Mr. Park" and knows BOTH characters' thoughts).
14	In Version A (first person), readers only experience the narrator's anticipation - we feel their countdown to freedom but can't know what the teacher is thinking. In Version B (omniscient), readers get a broader view - we see Mia's restlessness AND Mr. Park's nostalgic amusement AND his dread about grading essays. The omniscient version shows how the same moment feels different to different people.

FAST Format Quiz Answers

Question	Answer
1	A. First Person
2	B. "I wondered if he was nervous too, but his face gave nothing away." This shows the narrator CANNOT know Aiden's true feelings - a clear limitation of first person.
3	B. Readers experience the narrator's anxiety and uncertainty directly.
4	C. Third Person Omniscient
5	C. "Their mother watched from the doorway, amused" AND "Maya narrowed her eyes. She didn't trust him." This shows the narrator knows BOTH the mother's amusement AND Maya's distrust - multiple characters' thoughts = omniscient.
6	B. The reader knows another pizza is coming, but Maya and Jackson don't. The omniscient narrator tells us "What neither sibling knew" - readers know something the characters don't, creating dramatic irony.
7	B. That Jackson plans to use a trick coin. Maya doesn't know about Jackson's plan - she's suspicious but doesn't know the specific trick. First person Maya would hide this information.
8	A. In "The Science Fair," readers feel one character's emotions; in "The Last Slice," readers have a wider view of the situation and know secrets characters don't.
9	See rubric and sample response below.
10	See rubric and sample response below.

Question 9 Scoring Rubric

Score	Criteria
2	Clearly explains how first-person POV shapes understanding; provides specific text evidence; explains what we know AND what we don't know because of this POV
1	Addresses how POV affects understanding but with limited evidence or incomplete explanation
0	Does not explain POV effects; lacks evidence; off-topic

Sample 2-Point Response for Question 9:
The first-person point of view lets readers deeply understand the narrator's anxiety about the science fair. We feel their nervousness directly - "My hands trembled" and "my stomach dropped" show their physical reactions to stress. We also hear their inner doubts: "What if my volcano didn't even work? What if I embarrassed myself?" Because it's first person, we experience their journey from fear to triumph when the volcano works. However, this POV also limits us - we can only wonder about Aiden like the narrator does ("I wondered if he was nervous too, but his face gave nothing away"). We're as uncertain about others as the narrator is, which makes us sympathize with their experience.

Question 10 Scoring Rubric

Score	Criteria
2	Provides TWO specific examples of information that would be hidden in Jackson's limited perspective; explains why each would be unknown
1	Provides one clear example or two vague examples; partial explanation
0	Does not identify hidden information; confuses what would be known vs. unknown; off-topic

Sample 2-Point Response for Question 10:
If "The Last Slice" were told from Jackson's third person limited perspective, readers would NOT know two important things. First, we wouldn't know that their mother had already ordered another pizza - Jackson doesn't know about this, so readers wouldn't either. The dramatic irony would disappear. Second, we wouldn't know that Maya "didn't trust him" - we would only see her "narrowed eyes" from the outside, not her inner suspicion. Jackson might think she's just being difficult, not that she suspects him of having a trick. These missing pieces would make the story feel very different - less complete but more like real life where we can't read minds.

Quick Reference: POV Identification

Point of View	Pronoun Clues	What Readers Know
First Person	I, me, my, we, us	Only the narrator's thoughts, feelings, and experiences
Third Person Limited	he, she, they, him, her	Only ONE character's thoughts; others seen from outside
Third Person Omniscient	he, she, they, him, her	MULTIPLE characters' thoughts; may know things no character knows