Story Understanding and Characters

Grade

1st Grade

Duration

60 minutes

Class Size

20 students

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Standards Addressed

• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.1: Ask and answer questions about key details in a text.
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.6: Identify who is telling the story at various points in a text.

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Learning Objectives

By the end of this lesson, students will be able to:

• Ask and answer questions about the key details from a story read aloud.
• Identify the narrator of the story and explain who is telling the story at different points.
• Demonstrate comprehension through group discussion and individual responses.

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Materials Needed

• Large picture book suitable for 1st graders (e.g., “The Three Little Pigs” or another simple narrative with clear narration shifts)
• Chart paper and markers
• Story character puppets or small figurines representing story characters
• Individual student whiteboards and dry erase markers
• “Who is telling the story?” worksheet (simple images with blank space for student drawing or writing)
• Stickers or small rewards for participation

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Lesson Breakdown

1. Warm-Up: Setting the Purpose (10 minutes)

• Activity: Start with an interactive question session: “Have you ever told a story about something fun you did? Who was listening?”
• Introduce today’s goal: understanding ‘who tells a story’ and asking questions about it.
• Explain that today we will read a story and then find out who is telling it and what key parts we remember.

Teacher Tip: Use students’ names and experiences to make this relatable.

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2. Guided Read-Aloud & Narrative Voice Introduction (15 minutes)

• Read the chosen story aloud slowly and clearly, showing the pictures to the whole class.
• Use character puppets or figurines to emphasize who is “speaking” or narrating at various parts, modeling voice changes to indicate different narrators.
• Pause after important parts to ask questions (aligns with RL.1.1):
  • “Who is telling this part of the story?” (RL.1.6)
  • “What just happened in the story?”
  • “Can you tell me what you think will happen next?”

Teacher Tip: Use expressive voices and frequent eye contact to maintain engagement and reinforce who is telling the story.

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3. Collaborative Chart Creation: Story Question and Narrator Chart (10 minutes)

• Create two columns on chart paper: “Questions About the Story” and “Who is Telling the Story?”
• Invite students to help fill the chart: one student gives a question about a key detail; another identifies the narrator for selected story parts.
• Encourage citing text or pictures for evidence.

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4. Independent Practice: “Who Told It?” Worksheet (15 minutes)

• Distribute worksheets where students draw or write who they think is telling the story in different spots.
• Include prompts like: “Draw the person who is talking in this part,” or “Write or dictate who is telling us this part.”
• Circulate to assist and scaffold where needed.

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5. Group Sharing & Reflection (8 minutes)

• Have students share their favorite part of the story and who told that part.
• Encourage students to use sentence starters:
  • “I think __ told this part because __.”
  • “My favorite part was __ because __.”
• Reinforce key vocabulary: narrator, story, question, answer, character.

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6. Closing and Assessment (2 minutes)

• Recap the lesson objectives carefully.
• Give positive feedback to all students for participation.
• Use quick informal thumbs-up/thumbs-down or smiley face scale on how well they understood who told the story and key details.

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Differentiation and Accommodation

• For ELL Students: Use visual aids, gestures, and sentence frames during discussions.
• For Students Needing Extra Support: Provide one-on-one support with the worksheet or allow verbal responses instead of written.
• For Advanced Students: Challenge them to retell a short part of the story from a character’s point of view.

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Assessment

• Participation in question and answer segments during reading.
• Completed “Who Told It?” worksheet evaluated for comprehension accuracy.
• Observations during chart creation for understanding of narrator identity.
• Informal verbal sharing demonstrating grasp of key story details.

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Teacher Reflection Questions

• Were students able to identify the narrator consistently?
• Did asking questions improve students’ focus on key story details?
• What parts of the lesson engaged students most?
• How can I extend this concept in future lessons (e.g., comparing stories from different narrators)?

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By focusing on interaction, multimodal learning, and clear alignment with CCSS RL.1.1 and RL.1.6, this lesson plan reinforces foundational comprehension skills while keeping young learners engaged and supported.