Whose Story Is It? First- and Third-Person Point of View

About This Resource

A complete Grade 7 ESL reading pack on narrative point of view. Students learn to tell first-person narration (I, me, we) from third-person narration (he, she, they), compare limited and all-knowing narrators, read the same event told two ways and rewrite a paragraph from a different point of view. Includes slides, a lesson plan, worksheet, quiz, homework, A5 flashcards, a rubric, Word files and answer keys.

Overview

Every story has a narrator, the voice that tells it. In first person, the narrator is a character in the story and uses I and we, so readers share that character's thoughts but only know what that character knows. In third person, the narrator is outside the story and uses he, she and they. A third-person limited narrator follows one character, while an all-knowing (omniscient) narrator can tell us what everyone thinks. Students read one event, a lost dog in a market, told in both ways, identify clues, discuss what each version shows and hides, and then rewrite a short paragraph.

Resource Details

Subject: ESL
Topic: Point of View: First and Third Person
Category: Reading
File Type: PDF
File Size: 402.2 KB
Published: 13 Nov 2026
Downloads: 0

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Grade 7 ESL (ages 12–13), B1 55 minutes Reading inference writing discussion

Learning Objectives

Identify first-person and third-person narration using pronoun clues.
Explain what readers can and cannot know with each point of view.
Rewrite a short passage from a different point of view.

How to Use This Resource

Tell a short anecdote with I, then retell it with he or she. Ask: "What changed?"
Teach the two points of view with the slides, then read both versions of the market story together.
Students complete activities 3 to 6. Use the quiz and send the homework page home.

Classroom Activity Ideas

Pronoun detectives: students highlight narrator pronouns in short extracts from class readers.
Hot seat: a student answers questions in role as the first-person narrator.
Switch it: pairs rewrite a fairy tale opening in first person from the villain's view.

Differentiation

Support: give students a pronoun checklist and short extracts of three sentences. Challenge: students compare a limited and an omniscient version and explain which creates more suspense.

Assessment

Use the worksheet and quiz to check identification. Use the rubric for the rewriting task in activity 6.

Teacher Tips

Remind students that dialogue can contain I even in a third-person story; they should look at the narration outside the speech marks. Second person (you) is rare in stories, so mention it briefly only if students ask.

What's Included

12-page printable PDF lesson pack: teacher lesson plan with timings, materials and differentiation
Key vocabulary list (6 words with meanings and examples)
Student worksheet (6 activities)
Quiz / assessment (3 parts)
Homework practice page
Printable flashcards: 6 A5 picture cards (separate PDF)
Assessment rubric (4 levels)
Lesson slides (editable PowerPoint)
Editable Word version of all student pages
Complete answer key (also as a separate PDF)

Additional Files

Lesson Slides (PPTX)
Editable Student Pages and Lesson Plan (DOCX)
A5 Flashcards (PDF)
Answer Key (PDF)

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