Boy sitting at desk with paper in front of him and pencil in hand
In my early years of teaching upper elementary, I struggled to help my students understand the difference of 1st and 3rd person in a story. Honestly, I think I overcomplicated it!
I began having my students determine WHO was telling the story based on the pronouns used and the information that was given. Using a simple graphic organizer and several mentor texts, it slowly became easier for my students to see the point of view of a passage. The books below are just a few of the books (all by Aaron Reynolds) that I used for modeling various points of view! 
If you are interested in snagging any of these books, click the picture to find it on Amazon. 
Mentor Text with text "Creepy Carrots!" and Graphic Organizer with text "Point of View"

Creepy Carrots

I love everything that Aaron Reynolds writes, and I put it to work during the week that I teach Point of View. This is a hilarious story written in the third person about a bunny who believes that carrots are following him everywhere. And they are! They are playing a trick on him. The reason is pretty funny!

Mentor Text with text "President Squid" and Graphic Organizer with text "Point of View"

President Squid

This book is just FUN to read aloud! Squid has five reasons why he should be the president. He wears a tie, has the biggest house ever, he’s famous, he likes to talk, and he would be good at being the BIG BOSS! Once he meets a Sardine, his thoughts change. Whether those changes are for good or not…🤷🏻‍♀️
It’s a silly book that my students LOVED having read aloud. We used this book to talk about a story told in the first person point of view, but you could also use it to review sequence, making predictions or synthesis. 
Mentor Text with text "Carnivores" and Graphic Organizer with text "Point of View"

Carnivores

Maybe carnivores just get a bad rep. Sharks for example, why they are just fast eaters. The Big Bad Wolf? Well, he was just a quiet walker. He isn’t sneaky.

In this hilarious book, the Carnivores get together to support one another as they discover that being a carnivore isn’t a bad thing. It is just who they are. This book is witty and perfect for an upper elementary kids. It also ties in perfectly with a unit on ecosystems.

Mentor Text with text "Nerdy Birdy" and Graphic Organizer with text "Point of View"

Nerdy Birdy

My kids loved this book and Nerdy Birdy Tweets! I love using this particular book to train my students to see WHO is telling the story. What point of view is the book written in?

This story is about a bird who loves all things nerdy. It takes him a while to “find his flock” and feel like he fits in. I watch my fifth graders struggle to fit in every year. They need a reminder that it can take a while. Be you, and your flock will find you! 

Click here for your FREE Mentor Text Cheat Sheet!

Do you love mentor texts as much as I do? Have trouble organizing them all?

Do you want to use mentor texts but you don’t know where to start?

I have a FREE Mentor Text Cheat Sheet for you! In this Google Sheet, you’ll find MY list of Mentor Texts and the reading skills that I use them to teach. You can add your own books, sort by author or reading skills, find shortcuts to my blog posts, AND

>>>my favorite feature<<<
>>>cue the drum roll, please<<<

Choose from a dropdown menu to show where you can find the book. For example, I use a boatload of mentor texts in my reading instruction. I can’t afford to buy them all. I find some in our school library, the local library, borrow from my teacher friends, and SOME of them, I do own!

Using the dropdown menu, you can easily remind yourself where you can find your mentor text when you need it! Click the image above OR click here to grab it.