English lesson plan · 10th grade (Year 11 in England) · 30 minutes
The effect of narrative perspective and tense
Reading Comprehension
CCSS RL.9-10.5CCSS RL.9-10.6England: GCSE English Language Paper 1 Q3 and Q4England: GCSE English Literature
Objective and success criteria
Students will: The effect of narrative perspective and tense.
- I can answer questions on today's skill on my own, without help.
- I can explain each step and say why it works.
- I can check my answer and spot a mistake.
Before and after
Needs first: First, second or third person narrators; Point of view and narrator
Leads to: Drama terms: soliloquy, aside, foil, hamartia, catharsis…; Narrative techniques: unreliable narrator, in medias res, frame narrative…
Materials: A short text or extract (one copy each), Highlighters, Question cards, Mini whiteboards, A short model text on the board, Printed student sheet (below).
Warm-up · 4 min
- Quick retrieval from earlier learning (First, second or third person narrators; Point of view and narrator). Students answer on mini whiteboards.
- Show answers together and note who needs support in the main task.
- What point of view is this extract written in? Marcus wasn't sure he could finish the race. His legs burned, and he told himself to keep going. (first person / second person / third person limited / third person omniscient) → third person limitedPrompt: Look at the pronouns: I/we (first), you (second), he/she/they (third).
- Read the question and choose. Why might a writer choose a first-person narrator for a mystery? (the reader learns clues only as the narrator does, which builds suspense / it makes the story less personal / it lets the reader know every character's secrets / it means there can be no dialogue) → the reader learns clues only as the narrator does, which builds suspensePrompt: Think about how much each type of narrator knows.
- What point of view is this extract written in? Lena stared at the letter. She wondered if her brother had written it as a joke. (first person / second person / third person limited / third person omniscient) → third person limitedPrompt: Look at the pronouns: I/we (first), you (second), he/she/they (third).
Hook · 3 min
- Read the first lines of a short text aloud and ask what students predict will happen and why.
- Share the objective: The effect of narrative perspective and tense. Read the success criteria together.
I do: model it · 7 min
- Work through the example out loud, saying why you do each step, not just what you do.
- Example: Read the question and choose. A story switches between two first-person narrators in alternating chapters. What is the main benefit?
- Step 1: Perspective and tense control closeness, knowledge and trust: present tense feels immediate; hindsight allows reflection; omniscience allows dramatic irony.
- Step 2: So the answer is: readers see the same events from two viewpoints
- Answer: readers see the same events from two viewpoints
- Pause after each step and ask a student to say what comes next.
We do: guided practice · 6 min
- Do these together. Students try each step on whiteboards before you reveal it.
- Use the hints as prompts rather than giving the answer.
- Is the proposed answer correct? A story is told in the first person, present tense: "I open the door. Something moves." What is the main effect? → immediacy: we experience events with the narrator as they happen (yes, it is correct / no, it is not correct) → yes, it is correctPrompt: Who is telling the story, and when (present or looking back)?
- Read the question and choose. A story switches between two first-person narrators in alternating chapters. What is the main benefit? (it makes the story shorter / it removes all suspense / readers learn nothing about either character / readers see the same events from two viewpoints) → readers see the same events from two viewpointsPrompt: Who is telling the story, and when (present or looking back)?
You do: independent practice · 7 min
- Students work on the student sheet. Circulate and check the first two answers of every student early.
- Students who finish: write a question of their own for a partner, with the answer.
The 6 questions are on the student sheet below, with answers in the key.
Exit ticket · 3 min
- Two questions on their own. Sort answers into got it / nearly / not yet to plan the next lesson.
- Is the proposed answer correct? A story is told in the first person, present tense: "I open the door. Something moves." What is the main effect? → humour: it makes events funny (yes, it is correct / no, it is not correct) → no, it is not correctPrompt: Who is telling the story, and when (present or looking back)?
- Read the question and choose. An older narrator looks back on her childhood in the past tense. What does this allow? (suspense about whether she survived / reflection: she can comment on what she understands now that she didn't then / access to every character's thoughts / a faster pace) → reflection: she can comment on what she understands now that she didn't thenPrompt: Who is telling the story, and when (present or looking back)?
Watch out for
- Answering from memory or opinion instead of evidence in the text.
- Copying a long quote without explaining what it shows.
Support and stretch
Support
- Review first: First, second or third person narrators.
- Use concrete materials: a short text or extract (one copy each).
- Give the first step of each question, or a partly worked example to finish.
- Pair with a confident partner for the guided practice.
Stretch
- Move on to: Drama terms: soliloquy, aside, foil, hamartia, catharsis…; Narrative techniques: unreliable narrator, in medias res, frame narrative….
- Explain a common mistake in writing and how to fix it.
- Write a word problem that uses today's skill, then solve a partner's.
Homework and more practice
Free online practice with hints and printable worksheets for this skill: eurekami.com/english/grade-10.
Free lesson plan from eurekami.com/lesson-plan-builder