Engaging and Creative Advanced Irony, POV, and Perspective Activity

It was 2:00 PM, 6th period, and I had a couple of advanced students sitting at their desks, vacantly staring at their independent book, clearly done with their assignment (and their day).

They’d crushed the Voices from the Woods project early (check that one out here) and were pretending to read—but let’s be real, they were just staring at me.

I had two options: let them stare holes into my soul for the rest of class or pivot.

So, I searched my drive for a resource I had on the back burner. One I’d been saving for just this kind of moment—a super short story called “Sentry”.

Now, if you haven’t read Sentry before, it’s a chef’s kiss choice for middle schoolers. Not only is it short (🙌), but it also sneaks in some advanced skills like irony, point of view, and perspective.

It’s perfect as a review or an extension activity for students who need more of a challenge.

Here’s how you can use it in your classroom:

1. Read and Analyze​
Start by having students read the story and answering thought-provoking “cosmic analysis” questions to explore themes of perspective, bias, and irony.

Here are a couple of examples of questions I used:

• How does the point of view influence your feelings toward the soldier?

• Why do you think the soldier views the aliens as “cruel, hideous, and repulsive monsters”?

These questions will push your students to think critically about how point of view shapes perception and bias.

2. Alien Artistry​
Take it a step further with a creative twist!

Have students create two comic strips:

• The first, from the soldier’s perspective, captures a key scene as he perceives it.

• The second retells the same scene—but this time, from the alien’s (human’s!) perspective.

Encourage them to use thought bubbles and narration to highlight the stark differences in how the same moment can be interpreted depending on point of view.

Want to Try It?

I’m sharing the short story and one of the Sentry questions as a FREEBIE to help you get started. Use it as a quick way to gauge if this activity is a good fit for your students or as a warm-up to the full lesson.

If you’re looking for the entire lesson—complete with the story, all the analysis questions, the comic strip activity, and answer key—you can find it inside ELA Unlimited. It’s ready to download and use with no prep needed.

This resource really helped me challenge those advanced students who needed a little extra something , and I hope it’ll do the same for you.

Here’s to keeping our advanced students engaged and learning,
Savannah