Primary 5 · English · Literature
Narrative point of view
Comparing stories told in first person and third person, and considering how the narrator shapes what readers know.
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These lessons were written around Australian Curriculum strands and matched to Singapore levels by age (Primary 1 is the first year of primary school). They are not aligned to MOE syllabuses or the PSLE, so check them against the syllabus your child is working towards.
Learning goals
Learners will
- Identify whether a story is told in first person or third person.
- Explain how the narrator's point of view affects what readers know.
- Rewrite a short passage from a different point of view.
Success looks like
- I can use pronoun clues to decide whether a story is in first or third person.
- I can explain what a first-person narrator can and cannot know.
- I can rewrite a few sentences changing first person to third person or the other way around.
The big idea
Every story has a narrator – the voice telling it. The narrator's point of view decides how much readers know and whose feelings they share.
In first person, a character inside the story tells it using I, me, my and we. 'I pushed open the gate and my heart was thumping.' We see everything through that character's eyes, so we feel close to them.
But a first-person narrator only knows what they see, hear, think and feel. They cannot tell us what is in another character's head, and they might even be wrong about what is happening.
In third person, a narrator outside the story uses he, she, they and characters' names. 'Sophie pushed open the gate. Her heart was thumping.'
Some third-person narrators stay close to one character and only know that character's thoughts. Others are all-knowing (omniscient) and can move between characters: 'Sophie thought the house was empty. Upstairs, Mr Grant held his breath and hoped she would leave.' The reader now knows something Sophie does not, which builds suspense.
Pronoun clue: look at the narration, not the speech marks. A character can say 'I' in dialogue even in a third-person story. Check the words outside the speech marks.
Authors choose point of view on purpose. First person feels personal and private, like reading a diary. Third person can show a bigger picture and let readers know more than any one character.
Worked examples
Identifying the point of view
Original passage: 'Ben stared at the empty fish tank. "Where did you go?" he whispered.' Is this first or third person?
- Ignore the words inside the speech marks.
- Look at the narration: 'Ben stared' and 'he whispered' use a name and 'he'.
- There is no 'I' or 'my' in the narration.
Answer: Third person. The narrator uses 'Ben' and 'he', and the narrator is not a character.
Changing third person to first person
Rewrite in first person, as Ava: 'Ava grabbed her umbrella and ran to catch the bus.'
- Ava becomes the narrator, so 'Ava' becomes 'I'.
- 'Her umbrella' becomes 'my umbrella'.
- Keep the action the same.
Answer: 'I grabbed my umbrella and ran to catch the bus.'
What does the narrator know?
Original passage: 'I waited by the door for Grandpa. I was sure he had forgotten me.' Can the reader be sure Grandpa has forgotten?
- This is first person, so we only know what the narrator thinks.
- 'I was sure' tells us the narrator's feeling, not a fact.
- Grandpa might be stuck in traffic or planning a surprise – the narrator cannot know.
Answer: No. A first-person narrator can only share their own thoughts, so the reader cannot be sure what Grandpa is really doing.
Practice check
Have a go, then check your answers. Each answer comes with an explanation.
Answer guide for parents
'I pressed my ear to the door and held my breath.' What point of view is this?
First person — The narrator uses 'I' and 'my', so a character is telling the story.
'Zara hoped nobody would notice the broken vase, while in the kitchen, her brother was already planning to tell Mum.' What kind of narrator is this?
An all-knowing third-person narrator — The narrator knows the thoughts of two different characters, so it is an all-knowing (omniscient) third-person narrator.
What is one limit of a first-person narrator?
They can only tell what they see, hear, think and feel. — A first-person narrator cannot see inside other characters' minds.
Which one-letter pronoun is the strongest clue that a story is told in first person?
I — First-person narrators refer to themselves as 'I'.
Rewrite in first person: 'Leo grabbed his bag and ran.'
I grabbed my bag and ran. — 'Leo' becomes 'I' and 'his' becomes 'my'.
Which sentence is written in third person?
They raced each other to the old oak tree. — 'They' is a third-person pronoun. The others use 'we', 'my' or 'I'.
What do we call the voice that tells a story? (one word)
narrator — The narrator tells the story, either as a character (first person) or from outside (third person).
Why might an author choose first person for a story about a nervous first day at a new school?
So readers feel close to the character's private worries — First person lets readers share the narrator's thoughts and feelings directly, like reading a diary.
Watch out for
- Counting 'I' inside speech marks as first-person narration. Learners must check the narration outside the dialogue.
- Believing a first-person narrator always tells the whole truth. They can only share what they know and believe, and they can be mistaken.
- Thinking third person means the narrator knows everything. Some third-person narrators only follow one character.
Tips for parents
- Open three books from your shelf and read the first paragraph of each together. Decide which point of view each uses.
- Ask, 'What does this narrator not know?' when reading a first-person story.
- Retell a family event aloud twice – once as 'I' and once as 'she' or 'he' – and talk about what changes.
Go further
- Retell a well-known fairy tale in first person from the point of view of the 'villain', such as the wolf or the giant.
- Write a short scene in third person where the reader knows a secret that the main character does not.
- Write a diary entry from the point of view of a family pet describing an ordinary day.
About 45 minutes
You'll need
- Exercise book and pencil
- Two or three novels or picture books from home
- Highlighter
Key words
- narrator
- The voice that tells the story.
- point of view
- The position from which a story is told – who is telling it and what they can know.
- first person
- A story told by a character inside it, using 'I', 'me', 'my' and 'we'.
- third person
- A story told by a narrator outside the action, using 'he', 'she', 'they' and characters' names.
- all-knowing narrator
- A third-person narrator who can tell us what every character thinks and feels (also called an omniscient narrator).
Still tricky?
For parents
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