https://nifa.usda.gov/ 

program/4-h-positive-youthdevelopment 

National Institute 

of Food 

and Agriculture 

United States 

Department of 

Agriculture 

lesson plan: activity 1.7 

lesson details introduction 

Exploring point of ViEw through litEraturE 

A FederAl PArtnershiP For steM educAtion 

expeditionary

skills

for life 

 

 

 

National Aeronautics 

and Space 

Administration 

age/grade level 

Elementary School 

learner outcoMes 

Youth will identify how their personal 

tendencies resulted in success or 

failure in literature circle discussion. 

success indicators 

Youth will reflect on personal 

tendencies and identify whether it 

was a success or failure. 

life skills 

Social skills, communication, 

managing feelings, accepting 

differences, concern for others, 

sharing 

national standards 

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL5.1 

Engage effectively in a range of 

collaborative discussions (one-onone, in groups, and teacher-led) with 

diverse partners on grade 5 topics 

and texts, building on others’ ideas 

and expressing their own clearly. 

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL5.4 

Report on a topic or text or present 

an opinion, sequencing ideas 

logically and using appropriate facts 

and relevant, descriptive details to 

support main ideas or themes; speak 

clearly at an understandable pace. 

21st Century: Life and Career Skills / 

SOCIAL AND CROSS-CULTURAL 

SKILLS / Interact effectively with 

others; work effectively in diverse 

teams 

prep tiMe 

30 minutes 

activity tiMe 

1 hour 45 minutes (all activities 

combined) 

Materials list 

• Copies of literature circle job

sheets; one set of the four jobs

sheets for each small group. (If

groups will be reading more than

one book then multiple copies of

literature circle job sheets will be

needed.)

• Books – one per small group

(Examples: Storm Boy, The

Rainbow Fish, Grandfather Tang’s

Story, The Giving Tree. No

endorsement of these books is

implied or intended.) 

Handouts 

• Vivid Visualizer Job Sheet

• Awesome Artist Job Sheet

• Quick Questioner Job Sheet

• Clever Connector Job Sheet

suggested space 

Open space with comfortable 

seating for reading 

suggested group size 

Literature circle discussions work 

best with small groups of four youth 

per group. Suggested number is five 

groups with 20 total youth. 

references 

Perception and Communication 

http://study.com/academy/lesson/ 

how-perception-influences-thecommunication-process.html 

Perception Process 

http://2012books.lardbucket.org/ 

books/a-primer-on-communicationstudies/s02-communication-andperception.html 

Role of Perception in Communication 

https://www.reference.com/
 

world-view/role-perception-playcommunication-e69365ea2a428bd6
 

Do you remember the first time you

met your best friend? What was

your first thought about that person? Did you think they looked scary, 

funny, smart, stupid or strange? The first 

thoughts that ran through your mind were 

your point of view or perceptions of the 

person. 

Perception is the getting, figuring out, and 

organizing of information. Perception’s effect on 

the communication process is all about how the 

same message can be interpreted or understood 

differently by different people. 

People organize information and communicate 

that information to others in a variety of ways. 

Past experiences, culture and even the mood 

you are in all contribute to different perceptions 

of the same communication. 

Each person’s perception is unique, and perception greatly affects how we communicate with 

each other. Effective communication comes 

from a deeper understanding of your own 

perceptions and the perceptions of others. 

Think of it this way. Everyone wears their own 

goggles. In other words, everyone sees the world 

slightly differently through the goggles they’re 

wearing at the time. These goggles can be 

colored by many things: their past experiences, 

their upbringing, what they know (and don’t 

know) about a given situation, their mood and 

emotions at the time, and so on. Everyone sees 

differently through their own eyes, and finding 

out what others see differently can be a fun way 

to learn about someone. 

continued next page >> 
page 2

lesson plan: activity 1.7 

Exploring point of ViEw through litEraturE 

expeditionary

skills

for life 

>> continued from previous page

activity instructions
 

activity: literature circle (60 Minutes)
 

Preparation: 

Complete sample Literature Circle Jobs for each book that 

is being used in this activity. 

Discuss: 

Gather groups around facilitator to introduce the short 

stories you have chosen for them to read in their small 

groups. 

Introduce each book by showing them the cover and 

having them read the title. For each book, ask: 

• What do you think this story is about?

• Do you think you will like this story? Why or why

not?

• Add a question that relates specifically to the book

being discussed. 

Introduce the different roles associated with a Literature 

Circle. 

• Clever Connector is responsible for making connections about the story - text to self, text to text, or 

text to world. 

• Quick Questioner is responsible for asking questions related to the assigned reading. There are 

question prompts on the sheet. 

• Awesome Artist draws a picture that represents a

part of the book.

• Vivid Visualizer brings the story to life by recording

the images visualized during the reading. 

Directions: 

1. Explain that they are going to form Literature

Circles. Each circle will have four youth and each

youth will take on a different role. In other words,

each youth will experience the story from a different point of view and for a different purpose.

2. Divide the youth into groups of four. Provide 

one book and one set of job sheets to each group. 

3. Allow each youth (or assign) to select which job

role they will take on.

4. Allow time for each group to read their book and

complete their job sheets.

5. Within their small groups have each youth share

their completed job sheet and explain the point of

view they were using. 

Discuss (whole group): 

• Is this what you predicted the book to be about?

• Were you successful with your literature circle job?

• Can you identify a personal tendency you noticed

during your prediction or while completing your 

job sheet? (Personal tendency refers to a line of 

action or movement.) 

• Did your personal tendency cause you to be

successful or unsuccessful? 

If time allows, have groups rotate books and Literature 

Circle Jobs. Go through the process again. This is especially important since each student will pick their favorite 

Literature Circle Job first. The second time through, they 

now can be encouraged to complete a job that they might 

not be as comfortable with. 

Note: If possible, recruit older youth to assist with each 

small group. These older youth could be responsible for 

creating the example Literature Circle Job sheets for a specific book. Then they could ask guiding questions of the 

small group reading that book to assist the younger youth 

in completing their Literature Circle Job sheets. 

debrief activity (15 Minutes) 

Present the group with a value statement. Examples: 

• The Fourth of July is more fun than Memorial Day.

• Vegetables are healthier than fruit.

• Soccer is more exciting than football. 

Ask the youth to arrange themselves in a single line from 

Strongly Agree to Strongly Disagree. Remind the youth that 

there is no correct response, just different perceptions. 

Encourage discussion so each youth can find a place in line.

continued next page >>
page 3

lesson plan: activity 1.7 

Exploring point of ViEw through litEraturE 

expeditionary

skills

for life 

>> continued from previous page

applied cHallenge (30 Minutes) 

1. Have each youth think about all the ways they hope

others think about them. Example: Sally is nice, Fred is

strong, Maria is cheerful, Juan is good at math, etc.

2. Each youth should then write a description or draw an

image that represents one of those ways they hope

others think about them.

3. One at a time, each youth should stand in front of the

group and allow the group to share words that describe that youth in a positive manner.

4. The youth should then share their description or image

with the group.

5. The group should then respond with what they think

the description or image means. Point out how similar

or different the group’s description is to how the

individual youth described themselves.

The purpose is for youth to recognize that perceptions, like 

people, can be unique. Taking the time to learn the perceptions of others can help us understand and communicate 

better. 

instructor’s notes 
page4

lesson plan: activity 1.7 

Exploring point of ViEw through litEraturE 

expeditionary

skills

for life 

Vivid Visualizer
 

The Vivid Visualizer brings the story to life by recording the images 

visualized (pictured in your head) during the reading. The author’s 

word choice helps the reader visualize the reading through the 

senses. Responses may start with the following prompts: 

I visualized .... I could feel .... 

I could picture .... I could hear .... 

I imagined .... I could smell .... 

In my mind I could see .... I could taste.... 

Visualizations: 

1. 

2. 


3.
page 5

lesson plan: activity 1.7 

Exploring point of ViEw through litEraturE 

expeditionary

skills

for life 

Awesome Artist
	

The Awesome Artist draws a picture that represents a part of the 

book or chapter. You may draw something that represents: 

Setting Problem Activity 

Character Solution An interesting event 

Caption:
 
page 6

lesson plan: activity 1.7 

Exploring point of ViEw through litEraturE 

expeditionary

skills

for life 

Quick Questioner
	

The Quick Questioner is responsible for asking questions related to 

the assigned reading. Questions may start with the following 

prompts: 

Suppose .... What caused .... 

What would happen if .... How .... 

I wonder .... What might .... 

Why did .... If .... 

Questions: 

1. 

2. 


3. 

page 7

lesson plan: activity 1.7 

Exploring point of ViEw through litEraturE 

expeditionary

skills

for life 

 

Clever Connector
	

The Clever Connector is responsible for making connections about 

the story or the chapter. 

Text to self: 	 I relate to the story because.....
 

I felt like the character when.....
 

I could understand when....
 

Text to text: 	 The character/setting/problem/theme/ 

illustrations reminds me of another book... 

Text to world: This reminds me of... 

Connections: 

1. 

2. 


3. 

activity 1.7: learner assessMent 

These questions are about things you learned during this 

activity. Please check the circle that best describes you. 

Q1 

Q2 

Q3 

activity 1.7: learner assessMent 

These questions are about things you learned during this 

activity. Please check the circle that best describes you. 

Q1 

Q2 

Q3 

activity 1.7: learner assessMent 

These questions are about things you learned during this 

activity. Please check the circle that best describes you. 

Q1 

Q2 

Q3 

activity `1.7: learner assessMent 

These questions are about things you learned during this 

activity. Please check the circle that best describes you. 

expeditionary

skills


for life

expeditionary

skills


for life 

I understand what the word “perception” means. 

Not at all like me 

A little like me 

Somewhat like me 

A lot like me 

I understand why someone might view a story differently 

from me. 

Not at all like me 

A little like me 

Somewhat like me 

A lot like me 

I understand the different roles in a literature circle. 

Not at all like me 

A little like me 

Somewhat like me 

A lot like me 

expeditionary

skills


for life

expeditionary

skills


for life 

I understand what the word “perception” means. 

Not at all like me 

A little like me 

Somewhat like me 

A lot like me 

I understand why someone might view a story differently 

from me. 

Not at all like me 

A little like me 

Somewhat like me 

A lot like me 

I understand the different roles in a literature circle. 

Not at all like me 

A little like me 

Somewhat like me 

A lot like me 

Q1
 

Q2
 

Q3
 

I understand what the word “perception” means. 

Not at all like me 

A little like me 

Somewhat like me 

A lot like me 

I understand why someone might view a story differently 

from me. 

Not at all like me 

A little like me 

Somewhat like me 

A lot like me 

I understand the different roles in a literature circle. 

Not at all like me 

A little like me 

Somewhat like me 

A lot like me 

I understand what the word “perception” means. 

Not at all like me 

A little like me 

Somewhat like me 

A lot like me 

I understand why someone might view a story differently 

from me. 

Not at all like me 

A little like me 

Somewhat like me 

A lot like me 

I understand the different roles in a literature circle. 

Not at all like me 

A little like me 

Somewhat like me 

A lot like me