Tell speaking from narration

Supplied materials

• Paper and pencil, or a browser text area. All named people/events/records are fictional learning inputs.
• Worked case: Title: Night Light. Mia said, "Look at the bright moon!" A cup answered her. Verse: I watch the light / It shines at night.
• Primary check: Title: Play Day. A fox said, "Hear the bell ring!" Verse: We laugh all day / We run and play.
• An adult may read every direction and answer choice aloud; learners may respond by speaking, pointing or drawing.
• Original poem, four lines in one stanza: I see a boat, Beside a coat. The soft wind sings, And lifts small wings. Original script: JO: Can we watch the boat? LEA: Yes, from the bench. [They sit.] Notice the rhyming pair boat/coat and the human action sings given to wind. The bracketed direction is acted, not spoken.

Learn the idea

Direct speech records what a character says. Quotation marks frame the spoken words; a tag such as she said tells who spoke but is outside the speech.

Find the opening and closing quotation marks. Read only those words as the character voice, then identify the tag separately.

Example to read or listen to: Title: Night Light. Mia said, "Look at the bright moon!" A cup answered her. Verse: I watch the light / It shines at night. The answer is Look at the bright moon!. Look at the bright moon! appears inside the quotation marks. The title, speaker tag and surrounding narration are different parts of the text.

1. Read or listen to the worked example. Say what the reading or writing task asks you to find. An adult can help with unfamiliar words.
2. Find the opening and closing quotation marks. Read only those words as the character voice, then identify the tag separately.
3. Check the worked solution: Look at the bright moon!. Look at the bright moon! appears inside the quotation marks. The title, speaker tag and surrounding narration are different parts of the text.
4. Try the question and the practice questions. Point to the words that helped you choose before checking the feedback.

Check your reasoning

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Take it further

Optional extra practice: Write or dictate two original rhyming lines ending in rain and train. Add one sight detail. Write one quotation a character says, with an adult helping punctuation. Explain whether the event is ordinary fiction or fantasy using an actual action. Practice this lesson’s skill as you complete the task. Use this idea to check your work: Direct speech records what a character says. Quotation marks frame the spoken words; a tag such as she said tells who spoke but is outside the speech.

Nothing here is saved to an account or sent to a teacher. The answer download includes your current choice and any checked feedback. It does not include choices from the separate More practice section. Download that section separately.