Grade 1 · English Language Arts and Reading
Quarter 3 · Week 7 · TEKS
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This Grade 1 English Language Arts lesson focuses on helping students listen to and experience texts told from first-person and third-person points of view. Students will engage with stories and oral texts, identify the narrator's perspective, and discuss how the narrator's point of view influences the story. This lesson supports students in understanding author's craft and purpose by analyzing how different perspectives communicate meaning.
Students should be familiar with basic story elements such as characters and setting and have experience listening to stories read aloud.
First-person texts are stories or narratives told by a character within the story using words like "I" or "we." The narrator is a character who shares their own experiences and feelings. Third-person texts are told by a narrator outside the story who uses words like "he," "she," or "they" to describe the characters and events. Understanding who is telling the story helps students grasp the author's purpose and how the story is shared.
Teachers can model identifying the narrator by reading a short first-person story aloud and pointing out the use of "I" and "me." Then, read a third-person story and highlight the use of "he," "she," or "they." Discuss with students who is telling each story and how that changes what we know about the characters and events. Use guiding questions like "Who is telling this story?" and "How do you know?" to support student understanding.
The narrator's point of view affects what information is shared and how the story feels. A first-person narrator shares personal thoughts and feelings, making the story more personal and close. A third-person narrator can share information about many characters and events, giving a broader view. Discussing these differences helps students analyze the author's choices and understand how they influence meaning.
Use shared reading and oral storytelling to engage students. After listening, prompt students to talk about the narrator and point of view. Encourage them to use examples from the text to explain their ideas. This practice builds comprehension and oral language skills while reinforcing the lesson's focus.
After discussion, students can draw a picture or write a simple sentence about who is telling the story and what they learned. This allows students to express understanding in multiple ways and supports diverse learning styles. Teachers can guide students to include clues from the text in their responses.
Listen to this short story: "I went to the park today. I saw my friend and we played on the swings." Who is telling this story? How do you know?
The story is told by a character who uses the word "I," indicating first-person narration. The narrator is sharing their own experience.
The story is told by the narrator who says "I," so it is first-person.
Listen to this short story: "She went to the park today. She saw her friend and they played on the swings." Who is telling this story? How do you know?
The story uses "she" and "they," which shows the narrator is outside the story telling about someone else. This is third-person narration.
The story is told by someone outside the story using "she," so it is third-person.
Introduce the lesson by asking students if they have ever told a story about themselves or someone else. Explain that stories can be told from different points of view.
Students share examples of times they told a story about themselves or someone else.
This activity activates prior knowledge about storytelling and introduces the concept of different narrators.
Read aloud a short first-person story, emphasizing the narrator's use of "I" and "me." Then read a short third-person story, emphasizing "he," "she," or "they."
Listen carefully to both stories and notice the words the narrator uses.
Listening to both types of texts helps students experience the difference between first- and third-person narration.
Discuss with students how the narrator's point of view changes what we learn about the story and characters. Use a chart to record their ideas.
Participate in the discussion and share ideas about how the narrator's perspective affects the story.
This phase helps students analyze the author's craft by understanding how point of view influences meaning.
Have students draw a picture or write a sentence about one of the stories, focusing on who told the story and what they learned about the narrator's point of view.
Create a drawing or write a sentence that shows understanding of the narrator's perspective.
This activity allows students to apply their learning creatively and reinforce comprehension.
Ask students to explain orally or in writing who is telling a new short story and how they know. Provide feedback and clarify misunderstandings.
Respond to questions about the narrator's point of view using examples from the story.
This assessment checks for understanding of first- and third-person narration and the ability to use text evidence.
Listen carefully to both stories and notice the words the narrator uses.
What word tells you that a story is told by a character in the story?
The word "I" shows the story is told by a character (first-person).
If a story uses the words "he" or "she," who is telling the story?
The story is told by someone outside the story (third-person).
Listen to this sentence: "I felt happy when I played with my dog." Is this first-person or third-person? How do you know?
It is first-person because the narrator uses "I."
Why might an author choose to tell a story in third-person instead of first-person?
To tell about many characters or events that one character wouldn't know.
How does knowing the narrator's point of view help you understand a story better?
It helps you know whose thoughts and feelings are shared and what information you get.
Provide sentence starters like "The story is told by..." to help students explain narration. Use visuals showing "I" for first-person and "he/she/they" for third-person. Allow students to draw pictures to express understanding if writing is difficult.
Use simple language and repeat key vocabulary like "I," "he," and "she." Show pictures or gestures to represent first-person and third-person narration. Provide bilingual books or texts if available to support comprehension.
Ask students to compare how the story feels different when told in first-person versus third-person. Encourage students to create their own short first-person and third-person stories. Discuss how authors use point of view to create different effects in stories.
Encourage families to read stories together and talk about who is telling the story. Ask students to share examples of first-person and third-person stories they hear at home.
In this lesson, students learned to listen to and experience texts told from first-person and third-person points of view. They practiced identifying the narrator by listening for clues like "I" for first-person and "he," "she," or "they" for third-person. Students discussed how the narrator's perspective influences the story's meaning and expressed their understanding through speaking, drawing, and writing. This foundational skill supports comprehension and appreciation of author's craft in storytelling.
Use the exact standards alignment and retrieved-source provenance stored with this enrichment.