Teaching Point of View

Teaching Resources › Reading Teaching Guides › Teaching Point of View

Point of view answers one question about any story: who is telling it? Students who can name the narrator understand a story more deeply — whose thoughts they get to hear, whose side they are seeing. The whole skill comes down to a set of pronoun clues that students can learn to spot in a single sentence. This guide covers how to teach point of view in grades 3–6 and pairs with the printable point of view worksheets for practice.

Point of view is the perspective the story is told from — the position of the narrator relative to the events. The fastest way in is through the pronouns the narrator uses.

First Person: The Narrator Is in the Story

In first person, the narrator is a character telling their own story, using I, me, my, we:

• I walked into the classroom and felt my heart race.
• You only get this character’s thoughts and feelings — no one else’s.

Third Person: The Narrator Is Outside the Story

In third person, the narrator is not a character — they stand outside and describe the characters using he, she, they, the names:

• She walked into the classroom and her heart raced.
• The narrator is a voice telling us about the characters, not one of them.

Spotting the Difference: Pronoun Clues

This is the test that does most of the work: look at the pronouns. If the narrator says I and me, it is first person. If the narrator says he, she, and they about everyone, it is third person. One sentence is usually enough to decide.

Third-Person Limited vs. Omniscient

For older students, third person splits in two:

• Limited — the narrator follows one character and shares only that character’s thoughts.
• Omniscient — the narrator is all-knowing and can share any character’s thoughts.

Why Point of View Matters

Point of view shapes what a reader knows and whom they root for. A story told by the villain feels very different from the same events told by the hero. Noticing the narrator is part of understanding how characters are built and reading a story closely.

A Teaching Sequence That Works

1. Who is telling the story? — the core question.
2. First person — the I/me/we pronouns.
3. Third person — the he/she/they pronouns.
4. The pronoun test to tell them apart.
5. Limited vs. omniscient for third person (older students).

Where Students Get Stuck (and How to Help)

1. Confusing point of view with the main character

Assuming a story about a girl must be first person. Fix: the pronoun test — check whether the narrator says I or she.

2. Mixing up the narrator and the author

Thinking the I in a story is the writer. Fix: the narrator is a role inside the story; the author is the real person who created it.

3. Second person

The rarer you narration (“You open the door…”). Fix: name it briefly as a third possibility, but keep the focus on first vs. third.

Where This Connects

• Story elements. Point of view is one of the pieces of a story: teaching story elements.
• Character development. Whose head we are in shapes how we know a character: teaching character development.
• Comprehension. Naming the narrator is part of the reading comprehension strategies guide.
• Writing. Students who can name point of view can choose one on purpose in their own stories.