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Your Point of View and the Narrator's

A 40-minute Grade 3 lesson on distinguishing your own point of view from that of the narrator or the characters.

Your Point of View and the Narrator's is a free 40-minute Grade 3 English lesson plan for Common Core standard RL.3.6 — separate what you think from what the narrator or the character thinks. It is timed across 5 sections, gives the exact wording to use where the wording carries the meaning, names 3 misconceptions with the teaching move that addresses each, and ends with an exit ticket and a printable worksheet with its answer key.

Grade:
Grade 3
Length:
40 minutes
Standard:
RL.3.6

Grade 3 · Reading: Literature

RL.3.6

Distinguish their own point of view from that of the narrator or those of the characters.

Objective

Students will be able to state what a character thinks and what the narrator shows about an event, each backed by the text, and state their own view separately as their own.

Students are successful when they can

  • Fills the Character column with something the character says or thinks, quoted from the text.
  • Fills the Narrator column with something the narrator shows that the character does not notice or say.
  • Fills the Me column with their own opinion, beginning "I think...".
  • Names one place where their view and the character's are different.

What you need

  • "The Five-Dollar Note" (the story in the Teach section) on chart paper
  • A three-column sheet per pair headed Narrator, Character, Me
  • Four sentence strips for the warm-up
  • The printable practice sheet linked at the end of this plan

The lesson

Warm-up — who thinks that?

5 min
  1. Show four strips one at a time: 1) "'This is the best day of my life!' shouted Rosa." 2) "The sky was a heavy gray." 3) "Rosa was sure the rain would never stop." 4) "It was a silly plan, though nobody said so."
  2. For each, ask: "Whose view is this — Rosa's, or the person telling the story?" Answers: Rosa, narrator, Rosa (the narrator is reporting what she thinks), narrator.
  3. Linger on strip 4. Ask: "Did Rosa think it was silly?" We do not know. The narrator is giving their own opinion. Name it: the narrator is the voice that tells the story.

Teach — three columns

13 min
  1. Read "The Five-Dollar Note": "Tom found a five-dollar note on the floor of the bus. Nobody was looking, so he slipped it into his pocket. 'Finders keepers,' he whispered. 'Whoever dropped it should have been more careful.' Tom did not notice the old woman two seats ahead, turning out her purse and searching the floor with a worried face."
  2. Fill the Character column together, with quotes: "Finders keepers." / "Whoever dropped it should have been more careful." Tom thinks it is fair to keep it.
  3. Ask: "What does the narrator show us that Tom does not see?" Fill the Narrator column: "the old woman... searching the floor with a worried face." Ask why the narrator put her there. Fish for: so we know someone is upset and the money matters to her.
  4. Now the Me column. Say clearly: "This column is NOT in the text. It is you." Model one: "I think Tom should give it to the bus driver, because someone is clearly missing it."
  5. Draw an arrow between the Character and Me columns and write "different." Then ask: "Does the narrator agree with Tom?" Fish for: probably not — showing the worried woman makes us doubt "finders keepers."
“That is what you think, and you are allowed to think it. Now show me where the book says it — and if it doesn't, it goes in the Me column, not the Character column.”

Guided practice — fill three

12 min
  1. Read a second story to pairs: "Jess borrowed her sister Ana's bike without asking. 'She never rides it anyway,' Jess thought, pedaling to the park. Back home, Ana stood by the empty shed, holding her helmet, with her friends waiting at the gate."
  2. Pairs fill all three columns. Expected: Character — "She never rides it anyway"; Narrator — Ana by the empty shed, holding her helmet, friends waiting; Me — their own opinion with a reason.
  3. Check: the Character and Narrator columns each need words from the text. The Me column needs "I think."
  4. Each pair says one sentence aloud: "Jess thinks ___, but I think ___."
“Two columns come from the book and need proof. One column comes from you and needs a reason. Do not mix them up.”

Independent practice

8 min
  1. Students complete the point-of-view page. The passage is on the sheet.
  2. Keep the Tom chart on the board as a model of all three columns.

Close

2 min
  1. Ask two students: "Tom thinks ___, but I think ___." Praise any answer where the two halves really differ.

What goes wrong, and why

Each of these is a reasoning error rather than carelessness. The fix addresses the reasoning.

Writes their own view in the Character column, e.g. "Tom knows he should give it back."

Why: The character is a person and so is the reader, and readers naturally assume others think what they would think. Their own judgment leaks into the character.

Fix: Ask: "Show me the words where Tom thinks that." There are none — he says "Finders keepers." Move their sentence to the Me column, where it is perfectly good, and refill the Character column from the quotes.

Assumes the narrator agrees with the main character, e.g. "The narrator thinks finders keepers too."

Why: The narrator follows Tom closely and reports his words, so the narrator seems to be on his side.

Fix: Point to the last sentence. Ask: "Did Tom see the old woman?" No. "Who did?" The narrator. Something the narrator shows that the character does not see is the narrator's own position.

Leaves the Me column empty or copies the text into it, e.g. "Me: Tom found money."

Why: They have learned that good reading answers come from the text, so giving an opinion feels like a mistake.

Fix: Say plainly that this column is the one place where the text cannot help. Give the starter "I think Tom should ___ because ___" and accept any reasoned view, including one that agrees with Tom.

If they are not there yet

  • Use two columns only, Character and Me, with the character's words already underlined in the story.
  • Provide the frame "Tom thinks ___. I think ___." for the closing sentence.
  • Use a story where right and wrong are clearer, e.g. a character who takes the last cookie and blames the dog.

If they finish early

  • Rewrite "The Five-Dollar Note" in the first person as Tom ("I found a note...") and decide whether the old woman can still appear. Explain why or why not.
  • Write the event from the old woman's point of view in three sentences, then compare her view with Tom's.
  • Argue Tom's side honestly in two sentences even if they disagree with him, then write their own view underneath.

Exit ticket

Read: "Kofi ate the last slice of cake. 'Nobody else wanted it,' he told himself. In the hall, Mia was coming in, smiling, with a clean plate." What does Kofi think? What do you think? Where do you differ?

What to look for: Kofi: "Nobody else wanted it" (quoted); Me: an "I think" view with a reason; a named difference. Matching columns mean the Me view was put in Kofi's head, so reteach the show-me-the-words check; no mention of Mia means the narrator's clue was missed.

Printable practice for RL.3.6

Free to print and copy, answer key included. Each sheet can generate a fresh set of problems for a retake.

Questions about Your Point of View and the Narrator's

How long does the Your Point of View and the Narrator's lesson take?

40 minutes, split across 5 timed sections: warm-up 5 min, teach 13 min, guided practice 12 min, independent practice 8 min, close 2 min. The minutes are stated per section and add up to the stated length, so the plan can be cut or extended at a section boundary rather than abandoned halfway.

Which standard does Your Point of View and the Narrator's teach?

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.3.6 — RL.3.6, Reading: Literature for Grade 3: “Distinguish their own point of view from that of the narrator or those of the characters.” In plain terms, separate what you think from what the narrator or the character thinks.

What do I need to teach this lesson?

"The Five-Dollar Note" (the story in the Teach section) on chart paper, a three-column sheet per pair headed Narrator, Character, Me, four sentence strips for the warm-up and the printable practice sheet linked at the end of this plan. Everything listed is either ordinary classroom equipment or a free printable from this site — there is nothing to buy and nothing to prepare beyond photocopying.

What mistakes should I expect in this lesson?

Three, each a reasoning error rather than carelessness: writes their own view in the Character column, e.g. "Tom knows he should give it back."; assumes the narrator agrees with the main character, e.g. "The narrator thinks finders keepers too." and leaves the Me column empty or copies the text into it, e.g. "Me: Tom found money.". The plan gives the thinking behind each one and the teaching move that addresses the thinking rather than the symptom.

How do I know whether the lesson worked?

The exit ticket asks: “Read: "Kofi ate the last slice of cake. 'Nobody else wanted it,' he told himself. In the hall, Mia was coming in, smiling, with a clean plate." What does Kofi think? What do you think? Where do you differ?.” Kofi: "Nobody else wanted it" (quoted); Me: an "I think" view with a reason; a named difference. Matching columns mean the Me view was put in Kofi's head, so reteach the show-me-the-words check; no mention of Mia means the narrator's clue was missed. That tells you whether the class needs a reteach or a thirty-second conversation before you plan tomorrow.

Is there a worksheet to go with Your Point of View and the Narrator's?

Yes — 1 printable RL.3.6 worksheet, linked at the end of the plan and free like the rest of the site. Each one comes with an answer key and 25 versions, so the practice after the lesson can be a different paper on every desk.

Is Your Point of View and the Narrator's free to use?

Yes. The plan, its printables and their answer keys are free to read, print and photocopy for your own class, with no account and no email capture. It was last reviewed on October 8, 2026. Please do not resell it or republish it as your own.

Last reviewed 2026-10-08. Aligned to RL.3.6 of the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts.