Whose Story Counts?

Overview

Students compare the first-person perspective in Jon Scieszka’s The True Story of the Three Little Pigs with the traditional version of The Three Little Pigs. Through a quick evidence hunt and paired discussion, they identify how the narrator’s viewpoint changes the reader’s understanding of the wolf, the pigs, and the events.

Learning intentions

• WALT identify whose perspective is represented in each text.
• WALT find evidence showing how a narrator presents characters and events.
• WALT compare how two versions of the same story shape meaning.
• WALT explain how a perspective can include some viewpoints and leave out others.

Success criteria

• I can name the narrator and describe their position in each story.
• I can use a word, phrase, or event as evidence.
• I can explain one important difference between the two perspectives.
• I can suggest how the story might change if another character told it.

Curriculum links

• Critical Analysis: Context and purpose — explaining how people, places, topics, and ideas are represented in texts.
• Critical Analysis: Context and purpose — identifying the positions and perspectives represented and considering how the text’s purpose influences its presentation.
• Critical Analysis: Interpretations and connections — examining included and excluded perspectives to challenge or reinterpret a text.
• English practices — discussing, comparing, and supporting interpretations with evidence.

Lesson structure (20 minutes)

1. 0–3 min · Hook: Who should we believe? Teacher displays the opening question in the hook and comparison slides: “If two people describe the same event differently, how can we decide what to believe?” Briefly remind students of the traditional story: the wolf is usually presented as the dangerous attacker. Students silently choose which account they would trust, then share one reason with a partner.

2. 3–6 min · Direct teach: Perspective. Teacher explains that perspective is the position or viewpoint from which a story is told. Model a simple example: “I was pushed” and “I moved past someone” can describe the same event differently. Introduce the comparison questions on the perspective teaching slides: Who is speaking? What do they want us to believe? Which details support their version? Students repeat the questions and identify the narrator of each version.

3. 6–11 min · Evidence hunt. Teacher reads or revisits a short selected extract from The True Story of the Three Little Pigs, in which Alexander T. Wolf presents himself as misunderstood and explains the sneeze and the houses. Students work in pairs with the two-perspectives evidence worksheet. They highlight or record one detail that makes the wolf seem reasonable and one detail that makes him seem suspicious. Teacher circulates, prompting: “What does the wolf say about himself?” and “What information does he control?”

4. 11–15 min · Compare and move. Teacher places “traditional story” and “Wolf’s story” at opposite sides of the room, using the compare-and-move prompt. Read statements such as “The wolf is dangerous,” “The wolf wants us to feel sympathy for him,” and “The pigs’ perspective is limited.” Students move to the side that best matches the perspective in the text they are considering, then justify their choice to a nearby student using evidence. Students may stand, point, or hold up their worksheet if movement needs adapting.

5. 15–18 min · Reinterpret the story. Teacher asks pairs to complete the comparison sentence on the two-perspectives evidence worksheet: “The traditional story represents the wolf as ___, whereas The True Story of the Three Little Pigs represents him as ___ because ___.” Invite two or three responses. Clarify that a narrator may be biased or unreliable: a first-person account is not automatically the complete truth. Students add one possible missing perspective, such as a pig, neighbour, or police officer.

6. 18–20 min · Exit reflection. Teacher displays the final prompt in the plenary and exit prompt and students complete the final box on the two-perspectives evidence worksheet: “The most important difference between the stories is ___.” They must include one piece of evidence and explain how it affects the reader. Collect worksheets as students leave.

Resources

• the perspective comparison slide deck
• the two-perspectives evidence worksheet
• Copies of The True Story of the Three Little Pigs
• A familiar traditional version of The Three Little Pigs
• Highlighters or coloured pencils
• Board and pens
• Optional headphones or quiet reading space for students who need reduced auditory load
• the discussion sentence stem desk mat

Assessment

• During the evidence hunt, check that students can distinguish a narrator’s opinion from an event and can point to textual evidence.
• Listen during the movement discussion for comparisons using “whereas”, “because”, or another clear connective. Prompt students to revise unsupported opinions.
• Use the exit reflection to assess whether each student can identify a perspective difference, provide evidence, and explain its effect on meaning.

Differentiation

• Provide the discussion supports in the discussion sentence stem desk mat and read all prompts aloud. Offer sentence frames: “The wolf wants readers to think ___”; “In the traditional story, ___, but in the retelling, ___.”
• For students with dyslexia, provide an accessible extract with a clear sans-serif font, generous spacing, and optional text-to-speech or paired reading. Do not require public reading.
• For students with ADHD, keep instructions visible, use the short timed stages, allow purposeful movement, and assign clear pair roles: evidence finder and explanation builder.
• For students with APD, face the class when speaking, reduce background noise, give one instruction at a time, and provide written versions of key questions. Students may respond by pointing, writing, or speaking.
• Extend confident readers by asking them to identify a detail the wolf leaves out and explain how that omission affects the reader’s judgement.