Teach Narration and Point of View in Literature

Narrative voice is the perspective from which a story is told, such as first person, third person limited or third person omniscient. Sometimes it is easy to determine the point of view of the narrator, but other times, it can be a little tricky! 

This narration and point of view resource has been designed to help your students identify narrative voice in a literary text. It features three carefully written stories, each showcasing one of these narrative voices. Following each passage, students answer targeted comprehension questions that guide them to recognise and explain the narrative style being used.

The texts featured in this resource are:

• The Presentation Day (first person)
• Lost on the Trail (third person limited)
• Festival of Lights (third person omniscient)

This resource downloads as a black-and-white PDF or editable Google Slides file. Answers are also included in the download. By engaging in this activity, students will build a strong foundation for understanding how the narrator shapes the reader’s perspective. 

Multiple Opportunities for Exploring Narrative Point of View

This resource contains three different texts, giving teachers the opportunity to introduce, reinforce and assess students’ understanding of narrative voice in a variety of ways. Here’s how you might provide multiple and varied learning opportunities for your students: 

• Whole-Class Task – Project the first person narration passage onto your interactive whiteboard. Read the passage aloud together, stopping to highlight key phrases that reveal the narrator’s perspective. Answer the questions together as a class, discussing as a group how the voice shapes the story.
• Literacy Rotations or Small Groups – Assign the third person limited passage to pairs or small groups. Have the students read the passage aloud together, asking them to identify the narrative voice and then answer the questions collaboratively. They could then share their findings with the class for comparison.
• Homework or Independent Work – Have the students read the third person omniscient passage on their own and complete the accompanying comprehension questions to demonstrate their individual understanding.This could also be completed as a homework task or assessment checkpoint.

Download This Narrator and Point of View Resource

Getting started with this resource is simple. Use the Download button above to access the full set of passages, accompanying questions and associated answer pages.

As this resource contains answer pages, we recommend printing one copy of the entire file, then selecting and removing the pages you wish to photocopy for the students.

With ready-made stories and comprehension questions, this resource saves teachers time while helping students gain confidence in identifying the narrator and point of view.

This resource was created by Kaylyn Chupp, a Teach Starter collaborator.

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