Materials & Prep
Copy the teacher-created story “The Empty Chair” and the three guided-practice excerpts below. Students need a writing utensil. Display or write the distinction: author = the person who creates the text; narrator = the voice telling the story. No special materials are needed.
Opening: Commit to a Prediction
Display“If a story says, ‘I knew he had stolen my seat,’ do we know that the author believes he stole it? Why or why not?” Students privately choose yes or no and write one reason. Ask two or three students to defend their choices.
ConfrontSay, “Many readers treat the narrator and the author as the same person. Today we will test that idea.” Do not correct every response yet. Tell students to keep their prediction because they will revisit it after reading.
Read: Read “The Empty Chair” aloud while students follow. Ask students to mark one place where the narrator describes what happened and one place where the narrator makes an assumption.
The Empty Chair
On Monday, I arrived early enough to claim my usual seat by the window. A new boy was already sitting there. He looked at me and smiled, which proved he knew the seat was mine.
I dropped my notebook on the desk harder than I meant to. Ms. Ortiz told me to choose another seat, so I sat behind him. During class, he kept touching the zipper on his backpack. He was probably hiding something important. At lunch, I told Tessa that the new boy had stolen my seat.
“Did he know it was your seat?” she asked.
“Everyone knows,” I said.
After class, I passed the window and noticed a paper taped beneath the desk. It said, “Reserved for Eli during science.” My name was not Eli. The next morning, I arrived early again. The boy stood when he saw me.
“I think this is yours,” he said, handing me the pencil I had dropped the day before. “I’m Eli. I just moved here, and I didn’t know where to sit.”
His voice did not sound smug. It sounded tired. I had filled in his story before I had even learned his name.
Mini-Lesson: Separate Author and Narrator
DefineThe author is the real person who creates the story. The narrator is the voice inside the story that tells us what happens. The narrator may be honest, mistaken, biased, or limited. First person tells us the narrator uses “I,” but it does not prove that the narrator is the author.
ModelThink aloud: “The narrator says, ‘which proved he knew the seat was mine.’ I notice the narrator has evidence that Eli smiled, but a smile does not prove what Eli knew. The narrator turns a small observation into a confident conclusion. That shows the narrator’s point of view is suspicious and quick to judge.”
Worked exampleUse the sentence “He was probably hiding something important.” First, identify the detail the narrator actually sees: Eli touches his backpack zipper. Next, identify the narrator’s interpretation: Eli must be hiding something. Finally, explain the effect: the author makes us experience Eli through the narrator’s suspicious point of view, while the narrator’s limited knowledge makes the judgment seem unreliable.
MisconceptionAsk, “Did the author steal the seat?” Students should answer that the narrator, not necessarily the author, claims Eli stole it. Clarify that the author created the narrator’s words and choices, but the narrator is the character speaking in the story.
Check for understandingStudents complete this sentence aloud or in writing: “The narrator is not automatically the author because…” Require students to include either “voice inside the story” or “created by the author.”
Guided Practice: Trace the Point of View
DisplayHave students annotate each excerpt by underlining the observed detail and circling the narrator’s judgment. Then discuss the effect of each choice.
Excerpt 1: “He looked at me and smiled, which proved he knew the seat was mine.”
Excerpt 2: “During class, he kept touching the zipper on his backpack. He was probably hiding something important.”
Excerpt 3: “His voice did not sound smug. It sounded tired. I had filled in his story before I had even learned his name.”
AskFor each excerpt, students identify what the narrator knows, what the narrator assumes, and what the author helps the reader understand about the narrator. Guide students toward these responses: the narrator notices a smile but assumes its meaning; notices movement but invents a reason; then recognizes that the earlier judgments were unsupported.
Turn and talk“How does the narrator’s limited knowledge shape the way we see Eli?” Require partners to point to one exact phrase before answering.
ScaffoldProvide this frame for students who need it: “The author develops the narrator’s point of view as by showing . The phrase ‘’ reveals that the narrator . This affects the reader because .” Students may first select from these words: suspicious, quick to judge, observant, embarrassed, limited.
Independent Writing: Explain the Author’s Choices
WriteStudents write one well-developed paragraph answering: “How does the author develop the narrator’s point of view in ‘The Empty Chair’?” Require a claim, two short pieces of textual evidence, and explanation of how each detail affects the reader’s understanding of the narrator.
PromptStudents may focus on the narrator’s assumptions, loaded word choices such as “stolen,” or the contrast between what the narrator thinks and what Eli later explains. Remind them that naming first person is only a starting point. Their paragraph must explain what the first-person narration shows about the narrator’s thinking.
CirculateLook for students calling the narrator “the author.” Ask, “Which character is speaking these words? Who created that character?” Also check that students explain the effect of a detail rather than merely labeling the point of view.
ExtensionStudents who finish early rewrite the sentence “He looked at me and smiled, which proved he knew the seat was mine” from a more cautious narrator’s point of view. Below it, they explain how the changed wording would alter the reader’s view of Eli and the narrator.
Closing Check: Exit Ticket
Exit ticketAnswer both questions in three to four sentences.
- Is the narrator of “The Empty Chair” the same person as the author? Explain the difference.
- Choose one detail from the story and explain how the author uses it to develop the narrator’s point of view.
ExpectedA strong response identifies the narrator as the voice telling the story, separates that voice from the author, cites a specific detail, and explains what the detail reveals about the narrator’s assumptions, feelings, or limited knowledge.