Unit Plan 5 (Grade 4 ELA): Point of View and Narrator’s Voice

Focus: Comparing narration and perspective; voice in scenes

Grade Level: 4

Subject Area: English Language Arts (Reading Literature, Writing, Language)

Total Unit Duration: 5 sessions (one week), 45–60 minutes per session

I. Introduction

This week, readers and writers investigate who is telling the story and how the telling changes what we notice and feel. Students compare first- vs. third-person narration, examine narrator perspective (knowledge, bias, tone), and practice writing scenes where voice is clear through dialogue and description—polishing the punctuation of dialogue throughout. By Friday, each learner will explain how point of view shapes a scene, and publish a short scene that shows a distinct narrator’s voice with correctly punctuated dialogue.

II. Objectives and Standards

Learning Objectives — Students will be able to…

1. Identify and compare point of view (first vs. third; limited vs. omniscient) and explain how narrator perspective changes details and tone.
2. Write a scene that shows narrator voice using dialogue and description to reveal thoughts and feelings.
3. Use commas and quotation marks correctly in dialogue; start a new paragraph for a new speaker.

Standards Alignment — CCSS Grade 4

• RL.4.6 (compare/contrast point of view and differences in narration)
• W.4.3c (use dialogue and description to develop experiences/events and show character responses)
• L.4.2b (use commas and quotation marks to mark direct speech and quotations)

Success Criteria — student language

• I can name the point of view and tell how it changes what the reader knows/feels.
• I can write a scene with voice: dialogue + description show how characters react.
• My dialogue uses quotation marks, commas, and paragraph breaks correctly.