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7th grade · English Language Arts · Unit 9 of 13

Whose Story?

First, second and third person

What your child practices

Telling first, second and third person apart, finding the clues, and imagining how a different narrator would change the story.

Maine Learning Results learning standard: Reading 9 · first, second and third person

How we explain it

Children can open this short lesson before they practice.

  1. First person: the narrator says I and shares their own feelings.
  2. Second person: the story speaks to the reader as you.
  3. Third person: he, she, they. A different narrator would notice and know different things.

Example: “You step into the cave. Your flashlight flickers.” What point of view is this? The story speaks to the reader directly. It uses you and your. Answer: second person

Whose Story? in Maine

In the Maine Learning Results, this is unit 9 of 13 in 7th grade English Language Arts, after Punctuation Power and before Roots & Word Parts.

Gradelings describes a child's practice on this unit as Beginning, Approaching, Meeting or Exceeding (Four practice steps). That reflects practice, not a report-card mark: the teacher decides the mark.

Source: Maine Department of Education

Sample questions

A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.

  1. Question 1

    What point of view is this?

    The Referee

    From the middle of the court, Mr. Alvarez blew his whistle. He saw the ball touch the line, but the crowd groaned. He was sure he had made the right call.

    • first person
    • third person
    • second person

  2. Question 2

    What point of view is this?

    The Last Bus

    I ran as fast as I could, but the bus doors closed in front of me. My heart sank. I would have to walk home in the dark.

    • first person
    • second person
    • third person

  3. Question 3

    Which words show the point of view?

    The Last Bus

    I ran as fast as I could, but the bus doors closed in front of me. My heart sank. I would have to walk home in the dark.

    • you and your
    • I and my
    • she and her

  4. Question 4

    How might a player telling this story differ?

    The Referee

    From the middle of the court, Mr. Alvarez blew his whistle. He saw the ball touch the line, but the crowd groaned. He was sure he had made the right call.

    • It would have no ending.
    • The player might think the call was unfair.
    • The ball would not exist.

  5. Question 5

    Why might an author choose first person?

    • to share one character's thoughts closely
    • to avoid using pronouns
    • to describe every character's thoughts

  6. Question 6

    A story speaks to the reader as you. What point of view is it?

    • second person
    • third person
    • first person

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