Find who is telling the story at different points, explain how the narrator or speaker changes the story, and write your own narrative in order with a picture that clarifies it

Learning goal: This lesson teaches Ohio's 2026 standards RL.1.6 and W.1.3, first implemented in 2027-28: identify who is telling the story at various points in a literary text and explain how the narrator or speaker affects the story; then write a personal or fictional narrative with a clear topic, at least two events in order, details about what happened, temporal words to show sequence and some sense of closure; and, when sharing it, create or use a visual display that clarifies ideas, thoughts and feelings (SL.1.5). The earlier grade 1 lesson on this site asked who tells a passage. The 2026 reading statement also asks for the second half: explaining how the teller changes what we learn and feel. The 2026 writing statement asks for a clear topic in the narrative, which the earlier grade 1 narrative lesson on this site did not teach.

For the adult: Read Part 1, Part 2 and the poem aloud. Do not tell children who is telling Part 2 at first. Let them find the clues.

Original story — The Kite on the Fence

Part 1

Ava and her little brother Ben ran to the field with a red kite. The wind was strong. Ava let the string out, and the kite climbed high. Ben clapped. Then a gust pulled the kite sideways. The string slipped from Ava's hand. The kite dipped and caught on the top of the tall fence.

Ava looked up at it. She saw a long branch on the grass. "Stay here, Ben," she said. "I will ask Dad to help."

Part 2

I stood by the fence all by myself. I felt small. The kite flapped up there like a bird that wanted to get down. I was afraid the wind would rip it. I held the bottom of the fence and whispered, "Hold on, kite."

Then I saw Ava and Dad coming across the grass. Dad lifted the kite off the top with the long branch. It had one little tear. Ava said, "We can tape it." I was so glad I jumped up and down.

Original poem — What the Puddle Says

I sit in the road when the rain is done.
I shine like a spoon in the morning sun.
Boots splash in me and I spill and spread.
By supper I'm gone; there's dry road instead.

Narrator and speaker. The narrator is the one telling a story. The speaker is the voice talking in a poem. Sometimes the narrator is outside the story: this narrator is not one of the characters and tells about them using names and words like she, he and they. Sometimes the narrator is a character in the story: this narrator uses I, me and my in the telling, not just inside quotation marks.

Finding the teller at different points. A story can change tellers. Look for clues in each part.

- In Part 1, the teller says "Ava and her little brother Ben ran" and "Ava looked up at it." The teller uses names and she. The only I is inside quotation marks ("I will ask Dad"), and that is Ava talking, not Ava telling the story. So Part 1 has an outside narrator.
- In Part 2, the teller says "I stood by the fence all by myself." Who stood by the fence? Ava told Ben to stay there, so I is Ben. The I is not inside quotation marks, so Ben is telling this part.
- In the poem, the speaker says "I sit in the road when the rain is done" and "Boots splash in me." The speaker is the puddle.

How the teller affects the story. This is the big idea. The teller decides what we find out.

- The outside narrator in Part 1 can tell us what both children do and what Ava sees (the branch). It moves quickly through the action. But it does not tell us Ben's feelings inside.
- When Ben tells Part 2, we learn his thoughts and feelings: he "felt small," he was "afraid the wind would rip it," and he whispered to the kite. In this story, we learn these because Ben tells Part 2; the outside narrator of Part 1 does not tell them. (Some outside narrators do tell what characters feel. This one does not.) Ben does not tell us what Ava said to Dad while she was gone: he was not there, and he does not say that anyone told him later. A character narrator usually tells only what that character sees, hears, thinks and feels, or finds out from someone else.
- Because Ben is little and alone, his part feels slower and more worried. The same event (waiting by the fence) told by the outside narrator might be only one sentence: "Ben waited by the fence."
- In the poem, the puddle as speaker makes an ordinary thing feel alive. We see the day from the puddle's side: it shines, gets splashed and is "gone" by supper. The speaker is not a real talking puddle; the poet chose that voice to make us notice the puddle.

Now you tell a story (W.1.3). Children also write their own narrative, with adult support for spelling and dictation where needed. A personal narrative tells something that really happened to the writer, so the writer is a character narrator and uses I, like Ben in Part 2. A fictional narrative tells a made-up story; the writer can use an outside narrator, like Part 1, or let a character tell it. Either kind needs five things.
1. A clear topic: the whole story is about one happening, and the reader can tell what it is. One easy way, used in this lesson, is a first sentence that names it, such as "My kite got stuck on the fence." A story can also make its topic clear through its first events.
2. At least two events in order: what happened first, and what happened next.
3. Details about what happened: what the teller saw, did, heard or felt, such as "It flapped like a bird."
4. Temporal words that show the sequence: first, next, then, after that, at last, finally.
5. Some sense of closure: an ending that finishes this happening, such as how it turned out or how the teller felt: "We taped it, and I was glad."
A sentence about something else, such as what the writer ate for lunch, does not belong, because it leaves the topic. Choosing the teller is part of writing, too: if I tell my own story, readers learn my feelings but not what other people were thinking.

A picture that clarifies (SL.1.5). When children share a narrative aloud, they also create or use a visual display: a drawing they make, or a picture they choose, that helps listeners understand. A display can clarify three things. An idea: what happened, such as the kite caught on top of the tall fence, drawn with the fence and the kite so listeners can see where it is. A thought: what someone was thinking, shown with a thought bubble (Ben's "Will the wind rip it?", since he was afraid the wind would rip it) or a short label. A feeling: how someone felt, shown with a face (Ben's worried mouth and wide eyes while he waits, a big smile when the kite comes down) and, if needed, a feeling word such as afraid or glad. A picture of the kite alone does not show that Ben was afraid; the face, the bubble or the label does. When presenting, the child points to each part and says what it shows: "This is the kite on the fence. My face is worried here because I thought the wind would rip it." Every part of the display should fit the words of the story. An extra detail the story does not mention is fine if it fits and changes nothing (a bird in the sky over the field), but a detail that changes what happened, such as a dog running off with the kite or Dad already at the fence before Ava goes to get him, would mislead listeners.

A common mistake. Many children think that anyone who says I in quotation marks is the narrator. Quotation marks show a character speaking. The narrator is the voice outside the quotation marks. Another mistake is thinking a character narrator knows everything. Ben does not tell how Ava found Dad; he only sees them "coming across the grass."

A fully worked model. Question: "Who tells Part 2, and how does that change the story?" Model answer: "Ben tells Part 2. I know because the teller says 'I stood by the fence,' and Ava told Ben to stay by the fence. Because Ben tells it, I learn that he felt small and was afraid the kite would rip. The outside narrator in Part 1 did not tell me his feelings. But Ben doesn't tell me what happened when Ava went to get Dad, because he wasn't there." The answer names the teller, gives the clue, tells what we learn and tells what we cannot learn.

Worked example 1: Name the teller in Part 1. Clue hunt: the telling uses "Ava," "Ben," "she." The one I is inside quotation marks: "I will ask Dad to help." Step 1: Is I outside the quotation marks anywhere in Part 1? No. Step 2: The teller talks about both children by name and never tells about itself, so in this part the teller is not one of the characters. Answer: "An outside narrator tells Part 1. Ava says 'I' only when she is talking."

Worked example 2: Name the teller in Part 2 and explain the effect. Clue: "I stood by the fence all by myself." Step 1: I is outside quotation marks, so a character is telling. Step 2: Who was at the fence? Ava said, "Stay here, Ben." Step 3: So Ben is telling. Effect: we hear Ben's feelings ("I felt small," "I was so glad I jumped up and down"). Limit: Ben doesn't tell us what Ava said to Dad; he was not with them, and nobody tells him in the story.

Worked example 3: The speaker of the poem. Clue: "Boots splash in me." Something that boots splash in, in the road, after rain, is a puddle. Answer: "The puddle is the speaker. Because the puddle talks, I notice things from its side, like being splashed and drying up by supper. It makes the puddle seem like it has a day of its own." Check the poem's title too: What the Puddle Says agrees with the clues.

Worked example 4: Retell a moment with a different teller. Take "Dad lifted the kite off the top with the long branch." If Ava told this part, she might say, "I watched Dad lift the kite off the top of the fence with the long branch." The event stays the same, and nothing new happens in it; only the teller changes, so we now hear it as Ava saw it, and a story told by Ava could go on to tell her feelings instead of Ben's.

Worked example 5: Write a short personal narrative (W.1.3). Topic: the day my hat blew away. Plan the events on fingers: (1) the wind took my hat; (2) I chased it; (3) my friend caught it. Draft: "My hat blew away at recess. First, the wind pulled it off my head. Next, I ran after it across the wet grass. Then my friend Kai grabbed it by the fence. At last I put it back on, and I was glad to have it." Check: the first sentence gives the clear topic; there are three events in order; details (across the wet grass, by the fence) tell what happened; first, next, then, at last show the sequence; the last sentence closes the happening. Because I tells it, the reader learns what the writer did and felt, but not what Kai was thinking: the same limit Ben had.

Representation task (with an adult): Make a two-column chart: Part 1: outside narrator and Part 2: Ben tells. Under each, the child draws or dictates one thing we find out in that part and one thing we do not find out. Circle every I in Part 2 that is outside quotation marks.

Independent performance: The adult reads a new short story or poem your class knows that has a clear teller. The child (orally or with dictation) (1) says who is telling the story or poem, (2) gives one clue word that proves it, (3) tells one thing we learn because of that teller, and (4) tells one thing that teller cannot tell us, or how the story would sound different if someone else told it.

Success criteria: The teller is correctly named for that part. The clue is a real word from the text, such as I outside quotation marks or a character's name. The effect names something the reader learns or feels because of the teller. The adult notes whether the child needed the prompt "Is the I inside quotation marks?"

Writing task (W.1.3): With adult support, the child writes or dictates a personal or fictional narrative of three to five sentences: a clear topic (for example, a first sentence that tells it), at least two events in order joined by temporal words (first, next, then, finally), at least one detail about what happened and a closing sentence. Then the child says who is telling it: I, or an outside narrator. Success criteria for the writing: the topic is clear (from the first sentence or the opening events); the events are in order; at least one temporal word shows the sequence; one detail tells what happened; the ending finishes the happening. The adult records which parts were dictated or spelled with help.

Picture task (SL.1.5): The child creates or chooses one picture for the narrative that clarifies an idea (what happened), a thought (a thought bubble or a label) and a feeling (a face or a feeling word), then points to each part while telling the story to a partner. Success criteria for the picture: it matches the story; the child can say which part shows what happened, which shows what someone thought and which shows how someone felt.