Lesson 27: Look Both Ways, Narrative Writing, Part 4

In the previous lesson, we tracked moments in Look Both Ways when a character started to see a person or situation differently. Today, we are using one of those moments to show how the same event can feel completely different depending on who is telling it. This matters for our final writing because strong writers do not just tell what happened; they shape how readers understand what happened.

Retell and Paraphrase Partner Check

Place students with a nearby partner, and have each student keep the book and last lesson’s notes or homework in front of them.

Say these Directions: Open to the scene you marked for homework. First, Partner A will retell the moment in one or two sentences. Then Partner B will paraphrase it back and name the perspective shift. After that, switch roles.

• Ask: Which moment from your homework shows a character beginning to see someone or something in a new way?

  • I chose the bathroom scene when Mr. Munch finds Canton. At first, the moment feels mostly tense and confusing, but once Mr. Munch helps Canton breathe, the scene starts to feel calmer and more caring.

• Ask: Why does that moment connect to our essential question about stories, empathy, and community?

  • That moment connects because when a reader understands what Canton is going through, it is easier to feel empathy instead of judgment. Hearing more of a person’s story can change how others respond to them.

Connection to Today’s Learning:

Students have named a moment of changed understanding; next, they will study how writers make that change visible on the page.

Language Study

Use a short line from the scene in which Mr. Munch helps Canton to show how a writer can build a perspective through what a character says and notices.

Say these Directions: We are going to look closely at one short line from the scene and use it as a mentor for our own writing. The goal is to notice how the author helps us hear a character’s voice so we can do that in our own paragraph.

Target Sentence: "Come on, Canton. Count to ten with me."

When I study this line, I notice that the author does not stop to explain that Mr. Munch is caring. Instead, the dialogue lets me hear it. The words with me matter because they show that Mr. Munch is stepping into the moment with Canton, not just giving orders from a distance. If I rewrite this scene from Mr. Munch’s perspective, I need to keep that same event, but I can add what he notices and thinks. For example, I might write: “I kept my voice steady because I did not want Canton to feel alone.” That extra sentence does not change what happened. It changes what the reader understands about why the character says it. That is what perspective writing does; it keeps the moment but changes the lens.

Say these Directions: In your journal, rewrite the line as if Mr. Munch is telling the story himself. Add one short internal thought after the dialogue.

• Ask: How does adding an internal thought change what the reader understands about the speaker?

  • Adding an internal thought helps the reader understand the speaker’s reason and emotion. It can show that Mr. Munch sounds calm on the outside even if he is worried on the inside.

Connection to Today’s Learning

Students have practiced how to move from an outside view of a scene to an inside view of a character; now they will plan that same move with a full moment from the text.

Learning in Action A: Plan the New Perspective (RL.6.6) (12 minutes)

Turn-and-Talk

Students should use the moment they selected in homework or choose one now from a previously read scene in Look Both Ways.

Before I draft, I need a plan for what will stay the same and what will change. The event should stay the same because I am still writing about the same scene from the book. What changes is the narrator’s lens: what that person notices, what that person feels, and what that person wants the reader to understand. If I choose the bathroom scene and switch from Canton’s experience to Mr. Munch’s perspective, I would not change the setting or the action. Instead, I would ask, “What would Mr. Munch notice first? What might worry him? What would he want Canton to feel?” Those planning questions help me write a paragraph that sounds like a new narrator instead of a summary of the old one.

Say these Directions: Take out your Ordinary Moments Graphic Organizer from Lesson 3. Jot notes for one moment you may rewrite today. Then talk through your plan with your partner.

[insert Ordinary Moments Graphic Organizer]

• Ask: What moment are you keeping the same, and which new narrator will tell it?

  • I am keeping the moment when Mr. Munch finds Canton in the bathroom, and I am changing the narrator to Mr. Munch.

• Ask: What would the new narrator notice or care about that the original version does not focus on as much?

  • Mr. Munch would probably notice Canton’s breathing and how upset he looks, but he would also notice small details about the room and think about how to help right away.

• Ask: How will the new perspective change the reader’s understanding of the scene?

  • The new perspective will make the scene feel more protective and calm. The reader may understand Mr. Munch better and see that he is trying to make Canton feel safe.

Learning in Action B: Draft the Perspective-Change Paragraph (W.6.3.b) (18 minutes)

Students draft in their journals or on journal paper. Circulate to confer on voice, internal thinking, and whether the paragraph stays faithful to the original scene.

Display the following writing model if needed for support and guidance:

I pushed my mop bucket into the second-floor bathroom, expecting the same noisy mess I usually found after school. Instead, I saw Canton curled up in the far stall, trying to breathe like the air had turned heavy around him. For one second I froze, but then I reminded myself that Canton did not need a shocked face staring back at him. “Canton?” I said, keeping my voice low. “Can I come in?” He looked up fast, and I could tell he was scared, not trying to get into trouble. I knelt down and thought, Stay calm so he can borrow your calm. “Come on,” I told him. “Count to ten with me.”

In this version of the moment, the reader can understand that Mr. Munch is not just an adult who appears in the scene; he is someone trying to make Canton feel safe.

As I draft, I am making choices on purpose. I start by grounding the reader in the same moment from the book, so the scene still feels familiar. Then I add what this narrator notices first, because that tells the reader what matters most to this character. I include dialogue, but I do not stop there. I also add an internal thought so the reader can hear what stays hidden inside the narrator’s mind. Near the end, I make sure the paragraph shows a new understanding of the scene, not just a copied version of the original. That is how I know I have truly shifted the perspective.

Say these Directions: Write one paragraph that retells your chosen moment from a different character’s perspective. Include at least two lines of dialogue, at least one internal thought, and a closing sentence that helps the reader understand how this narrator sees the moment.

• Ask: What new understanding do you want your reader to have by the end of your paragraph?

  • I want my reader to understand that Mr. Munch is paying close attention and trying to help Canton feel less alone. The scene should feel more caring and steady from his perspective.

Lesson 27 Writing Rubric: Narrative Paragraph — Perspective Shift in Look Both Ways

Writing prompt: Analyze how the narrator's perspective shapes a scene in Look Both Ways, then rewrite that scene from a different character's point of view using vivid details to show how perspective changes what we notice.

Quickwrite

Transition students from drafting to reflection by reminding them that writers make meaning through perspective choices, not only through plot.

Say these Directions: In 2–3 sentences, explain how rewriting the scene from a new perspective changed the meaning of the moment. Cite at least two specific details from the original scene or from your rewrite to support your thinking.

• Ask: How did the new perspective change what the reader understands about the moment?

  • Rewriting the scene from Mr. Munch’s perspective made the moment feel less mysterious and more caring. In the original scene, Canton’s panic stands out most, but in my rewrite I focused on Mr. Munch keeping his voice calm and telling Canton to count to ten with him. Those details help the reader understand that the scene is also about an adult noticing pain and choosing to help.

Optional Sentence Starter:

In the original scene, the reader mainly understands ___. In my rewrite, the reader also understands ___ because ___.

Connection to Future Learning

Today’s work shows that perspective is one of the tools writers use to shape empathy. In the next lesson, students will keep building that skill as they prepare writing and discussion work for the unit’s Showcase.

Revise today’s paragraph in your Journal.

Say these Directions: Reread your paragraph and add one sentence that names the scene using a text landmark and one sentence that explains how the new perspective builds empathy for the narrator or another character.

Example text landmark starters:

• In the bathroom scene when Mr. Munch finds Canton, ...

• In the moment when ___ first notices ___, ...

• Right after ___ says ___, ...