Grade 9 Voices & Perspectives worksheet
from Gradelings · Name: ______________________
How to explain it
- A perspective is a way of seeing, shaped by experiences and values.
- Ask whose voices are present and whose are missing, and question what a narrator leaves out.
- Many Indigenous communities share knowledge through oral storytelling, with their own protocols. Books by Indigenous authors share stories in their own voices.
Example: A narrator tells their own story but leaves out a mistake they made. What can a reader do? One narrator gives one side. Readers can look for what is missing. Answer: Question what is left out and look for other perspectives.
Question 1
A history textbook written long ago describes the arrival of settlers only from the settlers' view. What is a good next step for a reader?
- Assume the textbook is complete.
- Look for sources from other perspectives, including those of people who were already living there.
- Only read newer books.
- Stop reading history.
Look for sources from other perspectives, including those of people who were already living there.
Hint: Comparing perspectives gives a fuller picture.
Question 2
What does cultural appropriation mean?
- Using another culture's stories or symbols without permission, understanding or credit
- Learning a language in school
- Visiting a museum
- Sharing a story with permission and credit
Using another culture's stories or symbols without permission, understanding or credit
Hint: Respect means asking, learning and giving credit.
Question 3
A text says “Everyone knows teenagers don’t care about the environment.” What is the problem?
- It is a good thesis.
- It is a stereotype that makes a sweeping claim about a whole group.
- It quotes an expert.
- It uses statistics.
It is a stereotype that makes a sweeping claim about a whole group.
Hint: Words like “everyone” and “don't” ignore individual differences.
Question 4
A narrator tells their own story but leaves out a mistake they made. What can a reader do?
- Believe every detail.
- Stop reading.
- Question what is left out and look for other perspectives.
- Assume the narrator is lying about everything.
Question what is left out and look for other perspectives.
Hint: Good readers notice gaps and compare accounts.
Question 5
A poem is printed in its original language beside an English translation. How can this honour the speaker's voice?
- It keeps the original words visible so meaning is not lost.
- It makes the poem shorter.
- It replaces the author's name.
- It hides the original language.
It keeps the original words visible so meaning is not lost.
Hint: Translation can lose meaning, so keeping the original respects the speaker.
Question 6
Which choice shows respect when learning about a community's cultural story?
- Skip the source to save space.
- Retell it as your own.
- Change it to be funnier.
- Ask whether it is appropriate to share and credit the source.
Ask whether it is appropriate to share and credit the source.
Hint: Respect includes permission, accuracy and credit.
Question 7
Which of these is a primary source?
- A modern textbook summary
- A summary on a website
- A movie made a hundred years later
- A letter written by someone who lived through the event
A letter written by someone who lived through the event
Hint: A primary source comes directly from the time or the person involved.
Question 8
An autobiography is…
- a poem about nature
- a list of facts about places
- a made-up adventure
- the story of a person's life written by that person
the story of a person's life written by that person
Hint: “Auto” means self. The author writes about their own life.
Question 9
What is a perspective?
- A type of rhyme
- A spelling rule
- A way of seeing something, shaped by experiences and values
- A kind of map
A way of seeing something, shaped by experiences and values
Hint: Different people can see the same event differently.
Question 10
Why might two people describe the same event differently?
- One of them must be lying.
- They may have different experiences, values and information.
- Events never happen the same way twice.
- They have different handwriting.
They may have different experiences, values and information.
Hint: Our backgrounds and experiences shape what we notice and how we tell it.
Answer key
- 1. Look for sources from other perspectives, including those of people who were already living there.
- 2. Using another culture's stories or symbols without permission, understanding or credit
- 3. It is a stereotype that makes a sweeping claim about a whole group.
- 4. Question what is left out and look for other perspectives.
- 5. It keeps the original words visible so meaning is not lost.
- 6. Ask whether it is appropriate to share and credit the source.
- 7. A letter written by someone who lived through the event
- 8. the story of a person's life written by that person
- 9. A way of seeing something, shaped by experiences and values
- 10. They may have different experiences, values and information.
Want more than 10 questions?
In Gradelings the questions change every time and adjust to your child, with hints and kind feedback.