Common Core ELA2nd GradeReading: Literature

RL.2.6: Characters’ Points of View and Voices

Also written as CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.2.6 · Cluster: Craft and Structure.

The Official Wording

Acknowledge differences in the points of view of characters, including by speaking in a different voice for each character when reading dialogue aloud.

Common Core State Standards, Grade 2, Reading: Literature · Read it at the source · Checked October 14, 2026

What RL.2.6 Means in Plain English

Second graders notice when two characters feel differently about the same thing, then prove it out loud: each character’s lines get their own voice. A thrilled sister’s line sounds loud and bouncy, her scared brother’s small and shaky.

In 1st grade (RL.1.6) children named who is telling the story at different points. Now they compare how the characters inside it see things. In 3rd grade (RL.3.6) students separate their own point of view from the narrator’s or a character’s.

RL.2.6 I Can Statements

I can tell how two characters feel differently about something.
I can find the words that show each character’s feelings.
I can use a different voice for each character’s lines.

RL.2.6 Worked Example

Three characters, one spider in the bathroom sink, and two ways of reading their lines aloud.

Read the Story

A fat brown spider sat in the bathroom sink.“Whoa! Look at its hairy legs!” cheered Lucia, leaning in close.Her little brother Mateo backed against the door. “Get it out,” he whispered. “Please, please get it out.”Abuelo slid a cup over the spider and a card underneath. “Let’s give our guest a ride outside,” he said softly.

A short passage written for this page.

Question: How does each character feel about the spider? How would you read their lines aloud?

Not Yet“They all see a spider.” Then all three lines are read in the same flat voice.It tells what everyone sees, not how each one feels about it, and the flat reading hides the difference the story is built on.

Meets the Standard“Lucia thinks the spider is cool, so I read her line loud and excited. Mateo is scared, so his voice is tiny and shaky. Abuelo is calm, so I read him slow and gentle.”It names a different point of view for each character, takes it from their words and actions, and turns it into a matching voice.

Question Stems to Use

How does… feel about…?Which words show it?Does everyone feel the same way? How do you know?What voice fits this character?Read it again in that character’s voice.

Common Mistakes with RL.2.6

Every character in the reader’s own voice

Lucia, Mateo and Abuelo all read in the same flat tone

Try this: Have children name one feeling per character before reading aloud, then pick a matching voice: loud, tiny, slow or bouncy.

Funny voices with no reason

Mateo read in a growly monster voice

Try this: Ask “Why that voice?” and accept it only when the child points to words like whispered or please, please.

Thinking the characters all feel the same

“They’re all scared of the spider.”

Try this: Make a two-column chart, character and feeling, and fill one row per character from their words before deciding who agrees.

Where RL.2.6 Fits

Comes BeforeRL.1.6Identify who is telling the story at different points in a text.

AlongsideRL.2.3Describe how characters respond to major events and challenges.RF.2.4Read aloud with accuracy and expression on repeated readings.

Comes NextRL.3.6Tell their own point of view apart from the narrator’s or a character’s.

Practice RL.2.6

Quick Check

How does Lucia feel about the spider? Which words show it?
Excited: she cheers “Whoa! Look at its hairy legs!” and leans in close.
How should Mateo’s line be read, and why?
Quietly and shakily, because he “whispered” and backed against the door. He is scared.
How does Abuelo see the spider?
As a guest: he calls it “our guest” and gives it “a ride outside,” so he is calm and kind.

RL.2.6: Other Names

RL.2.6CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.2.6