Grade Levels: 3-5, 6-8

In the BrainPOP ELL movie Action! (L3U6L1), Ben and Moby make a movie about their school. The two are having so much fun reminiscing about their school days, that they don’t realize the mistake they’ve made! What is it? Watch to find out. In this lesson plan, adaptable for grades 3-8, students identify and use featured vocabulary words in different contexts, and create projects that demonstrate their understanding of perspective.

Lesson Plan Common Core State Standards Alignments

Students will:

  1. Discuss and apply the meaning of “multiple perspectives” to various examples.
  2. Use academic vocabulary words in different contexts.
  3. Create a project that demonstrates their understanding of multiple perspectives.

Materials:

  • BrainPOP ELL
  • Images to introduce the idea of perspective and point of view
  • Index cards

Vocabulary:

Point of view, perspective, focus, investigate, evidence
Multiple meaning words: view, instrument

Preparation:

For Activity 1, What Do You See?, gather optical illusion images. Search Google Images for “optical illusions” to find many examples, such as the famous image of the woman who looks very old or young. There is also the well-known image of the rabbit and duck, and the image of the faces that also looks like a vase. Any image by M.C. Escher is also perfect for this activity.

For Activity 2, Describe the Word, write the following words on one side of the index cards, and one of the description tasks on the other side. Make two cards for each word. Read more about Describe the Word activities here.

The Words: focus, perspective, view, investigate, evidence, instrument

Description Tasks

Focus
Use the word focus as if you were a photographer.
Use the word focus as if you were a writer.

Perspective
Use the word perspective as if you were an artist.
Use the word perspective to describe a situation among friends.

View
Use the word view as if you were a tour guide or a tourist.
Use the word view as if you were a film-maker.

Investigate
Use the word investigate as if you were a detective.
Use the word investigate as if you were a scientist.

Evidence
Use the word evidence as if you were a police officer.
Use the word evidence as if you were a teacher.

Instrument
Use the word instrument as if you were a musician.
Use the word instrument as if you were a scientist.

Lesson Procedure:

  1. What Do You See? Introduce the concepts of perspective and point of view by using pictures that can be seen in different ways (see Preparation). Discuss as a class, or have partners discuss, how the pictures can show more than one image. Encourage students to discuss the different things they see, and how that relates to how they look at the image.
  2. Describe the Word. After watching the Vocabulary movie for Action! (L3U6L1), distribute the cards you created for the Describe the Word activity: focus, perspective, view, investigate, evidence, and instrument (See Preparation). Alternatively, you can write the tasks for each word on the board if you are conducting a whole class activity. Change the tasks or add more as needed. Students may respond in writing or orally, and may do this activity in small groups or with a partner.
  3. Multiple Perspectives Project. Before assigning this project, you may want to give students more context and opportunities to engage with the concept of multiple perspectives, or understanding something from other points of view. Some activities include:
    • Use children’s books to prompt discussion. Many children’s books deal with the theme of multiple perspectives, including classics like Alice in Wonderland, The Little Prince, or the Winnie-the-Pooh books. There are also many wonderful picture books, such as Hey, Little Ant by Phillip M. Hoose, or Encounter by Jane Yolen, which tells the story of Christopher Columbus landing in a new land from a young Taino boy’s point of view. Examples of books for older readers include Flipped by Wendelin Van Draanen or Wonder by R.J. Palacio.
    • Think of any age-appropriate issue that your students might relate to and do a role-play from different perspectives.
    • Do a modified Four Corners activity. Prepare four signs using chart paper to hang or attach in the four corners of the classroom (or adapt to however many perspectives you want to include). Write a question or prompt on the board that states the issue. For example: Should students be allowed to have cell phones in school? On each paper, write the person whose perspective the students will represent. For example: Teacher / Principal / Student / Parent. Randomly assign students to each corner. Give them time to discuss their arguments and write bullet points on their chart papers. When they are ready, each group shares their points about the issue as the rest of the class listens quietly. After they have listened to, and considered, all of the perspectives, ask them to move to the corner that they now agree with.
    After students have an understanding of seeing something from different perspectives or points of view, have them illustrate what this means. They may choose any medium to show their understanding of the concept, but they must include clear examples of different perspectives. Some examples of projects are:

    Write a short story, skit, or poem;
    Write and illustrate a comic strip;
    Tell an anecdote or story;
    Draw an image or images;
    Create a presentation.
  4. Discuss It. Before or on a repeat showing the movie Action! (L3U6L1), invite students to discuss how it feels to be new to a school. Encourage students to share ideas about what might make them feel welcome at a new school. Tell them that in this movie, Ben and Moby are making a video for new students at their school. Ask students what they might include in a video about their school. After sharing ideas, watch the movie as a class.