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English lesson plan · 4th grade (Year 5 in England) · 45 minutes

First-hand or second-hand account?

Reading Comprehension

CCSS RI.4.6England: Y4 Reading (recounts and reports)England: Y5/6 Reading (viewpoint)

Objective and success criteria

Students will: First-hand or second-hand account?.

  • 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: Who is telling the story? First person or third person

Leads to: the next skill in this area.

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 · 5 min

  • Quick retrieval from earlier learning (Who is telling the story? First person or third person). Students answer on mini whiteboards.
  • Show answers together and note who needs support in the main task.
  1. Is this told in the first person or the third person? My heart thumped as I climbed onto the stage. (first person (I, me, we) / third person (he, she, they, names)) → first person (I, me, we)Prompt: Look at the pronouns. Is the narrator part of the story?
  2. Which sentence retells this in the THIRD person? I grabbed my scarf and ran to the bus. (I grabbed her scarf and ran to the bus. / Ellie grabbed her scarf and ran to the bus. / Ellie grabbed my scarf and ran to the bus. / She grabbed my scarf and I ran to the bus.) → Ellie grabbed her scarf and ran to the bus.Prompt: Every first-person word (I, my, we, our) must change.
  3. Is this told in the first person or the third person? The robot blinked its blue eyes and rolled towards the door. (first person (I, me, we) / third person (he, she, they, names)) → third person (he, she, they, names)Prompt: Look at the pronouns. Is the narrator part of the story?

Hook · 5 min

  • Read the first lines of a short text aloud and ask what students predict will happen and why.
  • Share the objective: First-hand or second-hand account?. Read the success criteria together.

I do: model it · 10 min

  • Work through the example out loud, saying why you do each step, not just what you do.
  • Example: Is this a first-hand or a second-hand account? We finally reached the top of the mountain. My legs were aching, but the view made me forget the pain.
  • Step 1: A first-hand account is by someone who was there. A second-hand account is by someone who heard or read about it.
  • Step 2: So the answer is: first-hand: written by someone who was there
  • Answer: first-hand: written by someone who was there
  • Pause after each step and ask a student to say what comes next.

We do: guided practice · 10 min

  • Do these together. Students try each step on whiteboards before you reveal it.
  • Use the hints as prompts rather than giving the answer.
  1. Is this a first-hand or a second-hand account? Farmers say baby chicks are very light and need to be kept warm for their first weeks. (first-hand: written by someone who was there / second-hand: written by someone who was not there) → second-hand: written by someone who was not therePrompt: Did the writer see or do this themselves?
  2. Read the question. What can a first-hand account usually tell you that a second-hand account cannot? (facts from many different sources / events from long before the writer was born / how the writer felt at the time / what experts think) → how the writer felt at the timePrompt: Ask: was the writer actually there?

You do: independent practice · 10 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 8 questions are on the student sheet below, with answers in the key.

Exit ticket · 5 min

  • Two questions on their own. Sort answers into got it / nearly / not yet to plan the next lesson.
  1. Read the question. What can a first-hand account usually tell you that a second-hand account cannot? (how the writer felt at the time / events from long before the writer was born / what experts think / facts from many different sources) → how the writer felt at the timePrompt: Ask: was the writer actually there?
  2. Is this a first-hand or a second-hand account? Dear diary, the storm last night was terrifying. Our lights went out and I hid under my duvet. (first-hand: written by someone who was there / second-hand: written by someone who was not there) → first-hand: written by someone who was therePrompt: Did the writer see or do this themselves?

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: Who is telling the story? First person or third person.
  • 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

  • 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-4.

Free lesson plan from eurekami.com/lesson-plan-builder

eurekami

First-hand or second-hand account?

Name

Date

Score/ 8

Pepper's First Week: A Diary

Saturday. Today we collected Pepper from the rescue centre. She is a skinny brown dog with one floppy ear and one ear that stands straight up. In the car, she shook the whole way home, and I held her blanket so she could smell it. I felt nervous too. Sunday. Pepper hid behind the sofa all day. Mum says rescue dogs sometimes need time to trust people because they do not know what is going to happen next. I lay on the floor and read my comic out loud so she could get used to my voice. Tuesday. A breakthrough! When I got back from school, Pepper crept out and sniffed my shoes. Then she licked my hand. I stayed completely still, although I wanted to cheer. Thursday. We went to the park on her lead. A bicycle rang its bell, and Pepper jumped behind my legs. I knelt down and talked to her calmly until her tail started wagging again. Friday. Tonight Pepper fell asleep with her head on my foot. I didn't move for an hour, even though my foot went numb. I think she has decided she lives here now.

  1. Question 1

    Read "Pepper's First Week: A Diary". Is this diary a first-hand or a second-hand account?

    • A. first-hand: the writer was there and shares their own feelings
    • B. second-hand: it was copied from a book
    • C. neither: it is a poem
    • D. second-hand: the writer only heard about it

  1. Question 2

    Is this a first-hand or a second-hand account? The climbers reached the summit just after noon, according to the expedition's website.

    • A. first-hand: written by someone who was there
    • B. second-hand: written by someone who was not there

A Helicopter on Mars

In February 2021, NASA's Perseverance rover landed on Mars. Tucked underneath it was a passenger: a tiny helicopter called Ingenuity. It weighed only about 1.8 kilograms, a little less than a big bag of flour. Flying on Mars is much harder than flying on Earth. The air on Mars is extremely thin, about one hundredth as thick as the air we breathe. Helicopter blades push against the air to lift off, so with so little air, Ingenuity's blades had to spin very fast: about 2,400 times a minute. On 19 April 2021, Ingenuity rose about three metres into the Martian sky, hovered for about forty seconds and landed again. It was the first powered, controlled flight on another planet. Engineers on Earth cheered, even though the radio signals took several minutes to reach them. Ingenuity was only meant to make five test flights. Instead, it made 72. It scouted ahead for the rover, taking photos of rocks and slopes so that drivers on Earth could choose safe routes. In January 2024, one of Ingenuity's blades was damaged during a landing, and the mission ended. The little helicopter still sits on Mars today, and engineers are already using what they learned to design bigger flying machines for future missions.

  1. Question 3

    Read "A Helicopter on Mars". Is this a first-hand or a second-hand account?

    • A. first-hand: the writer lives on Mars
    • B. second-hand: the writer reports facts but was not there
    • C. first-hand: it is the helicopter's diary
    • D. first-hand: the writer flew the helicopter

  1. Question 4

    Read the question. What is a strength of a second-hand account?

    • A. It is always more exciting.
    • B. It tells you exactly how one person felt.
    • C. The writer was always there.
    • D. It can bring together facts from many sources.

  2. Question 5

    Is this a first-hand or a second-hand account? Farmers say baby chicks are very light and need to be kept warm for their first weeks.

    • A. first-hand: written by someone who was there
    • B. second-hand: written by someone who was not there

  3. Question 6

    Read the question. Which source is a SECOND-HAND account of a football final?

    • A. a video diary filmed by the goalkeeper
    • B. a blog by a fan who was in the stadium
    • C. a sports website article written from the TV pictures
    • D. a player's diary after the match

  4. Question 7

    Is this a first-hand or a second-hand account? Dear diary, the storm last night was terrifying. Our lights went out and I hid under my duvet.

    • A. first-hand: written by someone who was there
    • B. second-hand: written by someone who was not there

  5. Question 8

    Read the question. Which source is a FIRST-HAND account of life on the International Space Station?

    • A. a school project about space
    • B. a diary written by an astronaut on board
    • C. a newspaper report written on Earth
    • D. an encyclopedia article about the station

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Answer key: First-hand or second-hand account?

  1. 1. A. first-hand: the writer was there and shares their own feelings

  2. 2. B. second-hand: written by someone who was not there

  3. 3. B. second-hand: the writer reports facts but was not there

  4. 4. D. It can bring together facts from many sources.

  5. 5. B. second-hand: written by someone who was not there

  6. 6. C. a sports website article written from the TV pictures

  7. 7. A. first-hand: written by someone who was there

  8. 8. B. a diary written by an astronaut on board