“Teaching Dual Perspectives Through Adventure Stories”
One of the quiet joys of writing for middle-grade readers is witnessing how fully they step into a story. Young readers don’t hover at the edges—they immerse themselves. They imagine what they would do, what choices they might make, and how differently those choices might turn out.
This becomes especially powerful when a story offers more than one perspective.
In my middle-grade novel, A Pirates’ Pact, twin brothers Kik and Mac navigate challenges that stretch them—sometimes together, sometimes apart. Although the story is written in close third person, readers are given a front-row seat to how differently each boy interprets the same moment. Kik tends to observe, reflect, and question, while Mac leaps, tests boundaries, and charges ahead. Their contrasting instincts reveal not only who they are as individuals, but how perspective shapes story.
For teachers and librarians, this contrast is an opportunity: dual perspectives naturally spark conversations about point of view, empathy, voice, and character motivation.
Why Teach Dual Perspectives?
It deepens empathy.
Students begin to understand that even people who care deeply for one another experience the world differently. This opens doors to discussions about intention, impact, and the many ways identity shapes perception.
It strengthens comprehension.
Comparing two interpretations of the same event helps students practice inference, identify bias, and attend to textual clues—skills essential as they progress toward more complex texts.
It supports writing craft.
Once students see how worldview shapes voice, they begin to use it intentionally in their own writing. They hear the difference in pacing, tone, and vocabulary when they slip into another character’s skin.
Mini-Lesson: How Would the Other Character Tell This Scene?
Choose a short, high-tension moment from A Pirates’ Pact—for example, when the boys break a treasured family heirloom and uncover a hidden piece of a map.
After reading together, ask students:
- What does Kik believe just happened?
- How does Mac interpret it?
- What assumptions does each brother make about the other?
Then invite students to rewrite the scene from the other brother’s perspective.
As they write, students quickly discover:
- how word choice shifts with personality,
- how pacing reflects impulsiveness or caution,
- how emotional tone changes the entire moment.
This often opens into a personal reflection:
How do you see events differently from your siblings, friends, or classmates—and what value lives in those differences?
Classroom Project: Two Voices, One Story
Have students write a short narrative (1–2 pages) from two viewpoints—siblings, teammates, rivals, or even two sides of the same protagonist (the brave self vs. the uncertain self).
Encourage them to explore:
- what each voice wants,
- what each misunderstands,
- how the conflict shifts when both perspectives matter.
This project helps reluctant writers focus not on inventing an entire story, but on exploring interpretation. The heart of the work lies in how each character experiences the moment.
Why Adventure Stories Enhance Perspective Work
Adventure applies pressure—and pressure reveals character.
When students watch two characters navigate the same storm, literal or metaphorical, they begin to understand that perspective is not an ornament; it is the engine of story. Kik and Mac model how two people can move through the same world and come away with entirely different truths.
This is fertile ground for literacy learning, SEL conversations, and writing craft exploration.
Classroom Connections
A Pirates’ Pact can be used to support discussions about sibling dynamics and interpretation, point-of-view analysis, comparing character motivations, writing voice exploration, empathy, and social–emotional learning. It also pairs well with books like Wonder (multiple perspectives & empathy), Because of Mr. Terupt (group POV), and The View From Saturday (interwoven voices).
Final Thoughts
Stories give students a safe place to practice perspective—one of the most essential skills they will ever learn. Over and over, young readers tell me how much they love slipping between Kik and Mac’s viewpoints, and how those shifts help them better understand their own lives.
If you bring A Pirates’ Pact into your classroom or library—or if you’d like discussion guides or additional activities—I’m always happy to share. I hope your readers find their own unexpected connections as they explore these two voices, one story.
Published February 20, 2024 by Sooner Started Press
About the Book: Two brothers, a hidden secret, and an adventure of a lifetime.
On the pirate island of Bosch, almost eleven-year-old twins Kik and Mac are facing a storm of changes. With a father from Edo and a Bosch mother, the brothers navigate the challenges of identity, friendship, and family in their own unique ways.
Mac, daring and mischievous, finds himself in a whirlwind of trouble as he strives to impress new friends. Meanwhile, Kik, quiet and observant, grapples with his heritage and a heartfelt secret he’s not ready to share.
When a ball thrown in anger fractures a family heirloom, a hidden piece of a pirate treasure map emerges, setting them on a quest that will shake up their relationship and reshape their understanding of family.
A Pirates’ Pact is a tale of friendship, self-discovery, and the enduring strength of family ties. Will Kik’s and Mac’s pact withstand the challenges ahead? Embark on this middle grade adventure where bonds are forged, secrets are unveiled, and treasures go beyond gold and jewels.
Published September 29, 2025 by Sooner Started Press
About the Book: A rebellious heart. A tempestuous romance. A plot that could bring down a nation. In Bosch, loyalty isn’t just earned—it’s tested.
Grey Shima has her future all planned graduate, enlist, and follow in the footsteps of her fearless mother, Master Commander Kat Wallace. But when Grey meets the magnetic and passionate Edmund Sinclair, her world tilts.
He’s not just another boy with good hair and dangerous ideas—he’s a revolutionary, dead set on exposing the ugly truth behind the glittering power that fuels Bosch. Caught between love and legacy, Grey finds herself questioning her training, her purpose, and her heart.
But she’s not alone. Sy Mercer, Grey’s best friend, has stood by her side throughout her childhood. Smart, steady, and secretly in love with her, Sy sees the danger Grey can’t—or won’t—acknowledge. As Grey spirals deeper into a movement that may not be what it seems, Sy must confront his own fears and decide how far he’s willing to go to protect her… even if it means losing her.
Because love, like revolution, is rarely without sacrifice.
In a postapocalyptic world rebuilding from ruin, For the Love of Glitter is a YA speculative romance about betrayal, resistance, and finding your true north—even when everything else is falling apart.
About the Author: Award-winning author Sarah Branson was a midwife for close to thirty years, helping families welcome their little ones into their arms in the hospital, at a birth center, and at home. Now she writes feminist speculative fiction with plenty of action, adventure, revenge, and romance. Her stories are firmly rooted in the strength and resiliency of the human spirit.
Sarah first started conjuring stories of pirates when her family hopped a freighter to Australia when she was seven. As a child and as an adult, she traveled extensively across the US and the globe. Her children grew up in Northern Michigan, swimming in Sturgeon Bay and Little Traverse Bay. Over the years, she has worked as a receptionist, retail clerk, writing tutor, business owner, and certified nurse midwife. She also taught science and history to middle school and high school students in the U.S., Brazil, and Japan. Through these myriad experiences, Sarah developed a deep appreciation for people’s strength and endurance.
Her debut novel, A Merry Life, has been honored as the 2022 Connecticut Adult Fiction winner by the Indie Author Project, and was the 2022 Kindle Book Award winner for science fiction and was named a 2022 Book of the Year finalist in the action/adventure and science fiction categories by the Independent Author Network. It is the first book in the four-book new adult series Pirates of New Earth. The second book in the series, Navigating the Storm was a finalist for The Eric Hoffer Award. The series was followed by a young adult spin-off, Unfurling the Sails, a finalist for the 2023 Foreword Indies Award and for the 2024 Independent Author Network in both action/adventure and young adult categories. In 2024, A Pirates’ Pact, her first middle-grade book, was released and garnered a Best Book Cover Page Turner Award. A stand-alone novel North Country, A Kat Wallace Adventure, was released in January 2025. Her latest book For the Love of Glitter was released in September 2025.
Readers can connect with Sarah Branson on Facebook, Instagram, and Goodreads.
To learn more, visit SarahBranson.com
Thank you, Sarah, for this lesson!
