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English lesson plan · 10th grade (Year 11 in England) · 45 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 · 5 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.
  1. What point of view is this extract written in? Lena hoped the letter was real. Across town, her brother laughed, knowing it was a prank, while their mother worried about both of them. (first person / second person / third person limited / third person omniscient) → third person omniscientPrompt: Look at the pronouns: I/we (first), you (second), he/she/they (third).
  2. Read the question and choose. Why might a writer choose a first-person narrator for a mystery? (it lets the reader know every character's secrets / the reader learns clues only as the narrator does, which builds suspense / it means there can be no dialogue / it makes the story less personal) → the reader learns clues only as the narrator does, which builds suspensePrompt: Think about how much each type of narrator knows.
  3. 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 · 5 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 · 10 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 · 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 the proposed answer correct? An omniscient narrator reveals that a character's friend is secretly planning to betray her. What effect does this create? → dramatic irony and tension, because we know more than she does (yes, it is correct / no, it is not correct) → yes, it is correctPrompt: Who is telling the story, and when (present or looking back)?
  2. Read the question and choose. 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 / distance: events feel long ago / objectivity: we see every character's thoughts / humour: it makes events funny) → immediacy: we experience events with the narrator as they happenPrompt: Who is telling the story, and when (present or looking back)?

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. 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? → distance: events feel long ago (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)?
  2. Read the question and choose. A narrator describes a disastrous party but insists, "Everyone had a wonderful time." What might the writer be suggesting? (the writer made a mistake / the party really was wonderful / the narrator is omniscient / the narrator is unreliable, so readers should question their account) → the narrator is unreliable, so readers should question their accountPrompt: 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

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The effect of narrative perspective and tense

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  1. Question 1

    Read the question and choose. A story switches between two first-person narrators in alternating chapters. What is the main benefit?

    • A. readers see the same events from two viewpoints
    • B. readers learn nothing about either character
    • C. it removes all suspense
    • D. it makes the story shorter

  2. Question 2

    Is the proposed answer correct? An older narrator looks back on her childhood in the past tense. What does this allow? → suspense about whether she survived

    • A. yes, it is correct
    • B. no, it is not correct

  3. Question 3

    Read the question and choose. A guidebook says, "You turn left at the fountain and you'll see the old gate." Why use second person?

    • A. it guides the reader directly, as if they are there
    • B. it makes the text a poem
    • C. it shows the writer's private thoughts
    • D. it creates an unreliable narrator

  4. Question 4

    Is the proposed answer correct? An older narrator looks back on her childhood in the past tense. What does this allow? → reflection: she can comment on what she understands now that she didn't then

    • A. yes, it is correct
    • B. no, it is not correct

  5. Question 5

    Is the proposed answer correct? An older narrator looks back on her childhood in the past tense. What does this allow? → access to every character's thoughts

    • A. yes, it is correct
    • B. no, it is not correct

  6. Question 6

    Read the question and choose. An older narrator looks back on her childhood in the past tense. What does this allow?

    • A. suspense about whether she survived
    • B. reflection: she can comment on what she understands now that she didn't then
    • C. access to every character's thoughts
    • D. a faster pace

  7. Question 7

    Read the question and choose. A story is told in the first person, present tense: "I open the door. Something moves." What is the main effect?

    • A. humour: it makes events funny
    • B. distance: events feel long ago
    • C. immediacy: we experience events with the narrator as they happen
    • D. objectivity: we see every character's thoughts

  8. Question 8

    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? → objectivity: we see every character's thoughts

    • A. yes, it is correct
    • B. no, it is not correct

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Answer key: The effect of narrative perspective and tense

  1. 1. A. readers see the same events from two viewpoints

  2. 2. B. no, it is not correct

  3. 3. A. it guides the reader directly, as if they are there

  4. 4. A. yes, it is correct

  5. 5. B. no, it is not correct

  6. 6. B. reflection: she can comment on what she understands now that she didn't then

  7. 7. C. immediacy: we experience events with the narrator as they happen

  8. 8. B. no, it is not correct