Virginia SOL 4.RL.2.C
The Standard
Identify the narrator of a story and the speaker of a poem.
Virginia Standards of Learning for English · Craft and Style
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students identify the voice telling a story and the voice speaking in a poem. They use clues in the text to separate that voice from the author.
What Mastery Looks Like
- Students correctly name or describe the narrator in a story and the speaker in a poem. They point to pronouns, actions, or details that reveal who is speaking.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may name the author instead of the voice telling the story or speaking in the poem. They may also assume the narrator is always the main character or that every poem's speaker is the poet.
How to Assess It
- Give students one short story paragraph and one short poem. Ask, "Who is telling or speaking in each text, and which words helped you decide?"
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Give pairs narrator cards and short passages, then have them match each passage to the voice telling it and underline clues.
Read a poem aloud and ask, "Who is speaking, and what details show that this voice is not automatically the poet?"
Play Voice Detective by displaying short excerpts while teams identify the narrator or speaker and earn points for citing exact clues.
Compare a sports report with an athlete's first-person account, then identify who tells each version and how the voices differ.
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Printable 4.RL.2.C Worksheet
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Related Standards
- K.FFR.1.D
Identify the author and illustrator of a text and define the role of each
- 5.RL.3.B
Compare and contrast the point of view from which different stories are narrated, including the difference between first-and third-person narratives.
- 3.RL.2.C
The 3rd Grade version of this standard.
- 6.RL.2.C
Explain how an author develops the point of view (e.g., first-person, third person limited, third-person omniscient) of the narrator or speaker in a text and in...
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