What is Your Child Learning?
Eighth graders are learning to analyze how narrative perspective shapes understanding. This goes beyond identifying first or third person - students must recognize when a narrator might be unreliable (biased, limited, or misleading), understand what a perspective reveals and conceals, and analyze why an author chose a particular narrator to tell a story.
On Florida's FAST assessment, students will analyze how authors develop different points of view and how perspective creates specific effects.
Key Vocabulary
Narrative Perspective: Whose eyes we see the story through and what they can or can't know
Unreliable Narrator: A narrator whose account can't be fully trusted - they might be biased, limited, or deceptive
Bias: When personal feelings or experiences affect how someone tells a story
Dramatic Irony: When the reader understands something the narrator or character doesn't
Reveals/Conceals: What a perspective shows us and what it hides from us
Activities to Try at Home
📰 News Story Comparison
Find the same news story covered by different sources:
- Read how two different outlets report the same event
- "What does this source emphasize? What does the other source emphasize?"
- "What might each source be leaving out?"
- "How does the choice of whose perspective to feature affect understanding?"
- This shows perspective bias in real-world contexts!
🎬 Movie/Show "Other Perspective" Discussion
After watching something together, discuss alternative perspectives:
- "We saw this story from [main character's] point of view. How would it look from [other character's] view?"
- "What did the main character not know or misunderstand?"
- "If the villain told this story, what would be different?"
- "Why did the filmmakers choose to show us this character's perspective?"
👨👩👧 Family Story Retelling
Take a family event everyone remembers and have each person tell it:
- A holiday, vacation, or memorable moment
- Have each family member share their version
- Notice what each person remembers differently
- Discuss: "Why do we remember different details? Whose version is 'right'?"
- This demonstrates how perspective naturally varies even in real life!
🔍 "Spot the Unreliability" Book Discussion
When your child is reading, discuss narrator reliability:
- "Can we trust everything this narrator tells us? Why or why not?"
- "What might the narrator be wrong about?"
- "Does the narrator seem to have strong emotions that might affect their view?"
- "What information might the narrator not have?"
Questions to Ask When Discussing Perspective
- Identifying Perspective: "Whose eyes are we seeing this through?"
- Limitations: "What can this narrator NOT know or see?"
- Bias Detection: "Does this narrator have strong feelings that might affect their story?"
- Reveals/Conceals: "What is this perspective showing us? What is it hiding?"
- Alternative Views: "How would this look from someone else's perspective?"
- Author's Choice: "Why did the author choose THIS narrator to tell this story?"
Parent Tip: Unreliable Doesn't Mean Lying
An important concept at 8th grade is that unreliable narrators aren't always deliberately dishonest. They might be:
- Limited: They simply don't have all the information
- Biased: Their emotions color their interpretation
- Young or inexperienced: They don't fully understand what they're seeing
- Self-deceiving: They believe things about themselves that aren't true
Help your child see that perspective naturally shapes truth - even honest people see things differently!
Signs of Unreliable Narration to Look For
- Contradictions: The narrator says one thing but evidence suggests another
- Strong emotions: Anger, jealousy, or fear that might distort perception
- Self-interest: The narrator benefits from telling the story a certain way
- Missing information: Gaps in what the narrator knows or tells us
- Other characters' reactions: Do others respond as the narrator expects?
Informacion para Padres (Spanish Summary)
Que esta aprendiendo su hijo? Los estudiantes de octavo grado analizan como la PERSPECTIVA NARRATIVA afecta la comprension. Deben reconocer cuando un narrador puede ser NO CONFIABLE (parcial, limitado o enganoso), entender lo que una perspectiva REVELA Y OCULTA, y analizar por que un autor eligio un narrador particular.
Concepto clave: Un narrador no confiable no siempre esta mintiendo - puede simplemente tener informacion limitada, emociones fuertes, o no entender completamente lo que esta viendo.
Preguntas para hacer:
- "A traves de los ojos de quien estamos viendo esto?"
- "Que NO puede saber este narrador?"
- "Como se veria esto desde otra perspectiva?"
- "Por que eligio el autor este narrador?"
Actividad en casa: Despues de ver una pelicula juntos, discutan como se veria la historia desde el punto de vista de un personaje diferente. Que entenderiamos diferente?