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English lesson plan · 4th grade (Year 5 in England) · 45 minutes

Pronoun or noun? Make it clear who is meant

Grammar

CCSS L.4.3.ACCSS L.6.1.DEngland: Y4 GPS (choosing nouns or pronouns for clarity and cohesion)

Objective and success criteria

Students will: Pronoun or noun? Make it clear who is meant.

  • I can answer questions on today's skill on my own, without help.
  • I can explain each step and say why it works.
  • I can check my answer and spot a mistake.

Before and after

Needs first: Who or what does the pronoun point back to?

Leads to: I or me? Sam and I, Sam and me

Materials: Sentence strips, Highlighters, Mini whiteboards, Mini whiteboards, A short model text on the board, Printed student sheet (below).

Warm-up · 5 min

  • Quick retrieval from earlier learning (Who or what does the pronoun point back to?). Students answer on mini whiteboards.
  • Show answers together and note who needs support in the main task.
  1. When the geese saw the fox, they honked loudly. Who or what does "they" refer to? (the hens / the geese / the fox / the farmers) → the geesePrompt: Find the pronoun, then look back earlier in the sentence.
  2. Choose the pronoun that matches the noun it refers to. The cat licked ___ paws. (their / them / its / it's) → itsPrompt: Who or what owns the thing? Is it one or more than one?
  3. Rosa told her brother that she would walk the dog. Who does "she" refer to? (her brother / the dog / Rosa / Rosa's mum) → RosaPrompt: Find the pronoun, then look back earlier in the sentence.

Hook · 5 min

  • Show a sentence with the grammar point used wrongly and ask what sounds odd.
  • Share the objective: Pronoun or noun? Make it clear who is meant. Read the success criteria together.

I do: model it · 10 min

  • Work through the example out loud, saying why you do each step, not just what you do.
  • Example: Grandpa and Dad fixed the shed, and then he made tea. Why is this sentence unclear?
  • Step 1: A pronoun is unclear when it could refer to more than one noun. Use the noun instead.
  • Step 2: So the answer is: We can't tell who made the tea.
  • Answer: We can't tell who made the tea.
  • Pause after each step and ask a student to say what comes next.

We do: guided practice · 10 min

  • Do these together. Students try each step on whiteboards before you reveal it.
  • Use the hints as prompts rather than giving the answer.
  1. When the dog chased the cat, it ran up a tree. Why is this sentence unclear? (Dogs cannot chase cats. / 'It' could be the dog or the cat. / It needs a full stop in the middle. / It is in the wrong tense.) → 'It' could be the dog or the cat.Prompt: Find each pronoun (he, she, it, her, they).
  2. Which version is clearest and reads best? (Gran baked a pie. It cut her into eight slices for us. / She baked it. She cut it into eight slices for us. / Gran baked a pie. She cut it into eight slices for us. / Gran baked a pie. Gran cut the pie into eight slices for us.) → Gran baked a pie. She cut it into eight slices for us.Prompt: Repeating the same noun again and again sounds clumsy.

You do: independent practice · 10 min

  • Students work on the student sheet. Circulate and check the first two answers of every student early.
  • Students who finish: write a question of their own for a partner, with the answer.

The 8 questions are on the student sheet below, with answers in the key.

Exit ticket · 5 min

  • Two questions on their own. Sort answers into got it / nearly / not yet to plan the next lesson.
  1. Which version is clearest and reads best? (The robot rolled into the room. The robot switched on the robot's lights and the robot beeped. / The robot rolled into the room. They switched on their lights and beeped. / It rolled into it. It switched on its lights and beeped. / The robot rolled into the room. It switched on its lights and beeped.) → The robot rolled into the room. It switched on its lights and beeped.Prompt: Repeating the same noun again and again sounds clumsy.
  2. When the dog chased the cat, it ran up a tree. Why is this sentence unclear? (It is in the wrong tense. / 'It' could be the dog or the cat. / It needs a full stop in the middle. / Dogs cannot chase cats.) → 'It' could be the dog or the cat.Prompt: Find each pronoun (he, she, it, her, they).

Watch out for

  • Naming the feature but not using it in their own sentences.
  • Thinking a sentence is right because it sounds right when spoken casually.

Support and stretch

Support

  • Review first: Who or what does the pronoun point back to?.
  • Use concrete materials: sentence strips.
  • Give the first step of each question, or a partly worked example to finish.
  • Pair with a confident partner for the guided practice.

Stretch

  • Move on to: I or me? Sam and I, Sam and me.
  • Explain a common mistake in writing and how to fix it.
  • Write a word problem that uses today's skill, then solve a partner's.

Homework and more practice

Free online practice with hints and printable worksheets for this skill: eurekami.com/english/grade-4.

Free lesson plan from eurekami.com/lesson-plan-builder

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Pronoun or noun? Make it clear who is meant

Name

Date

Score/ 8

  1. Question 1

    Priya showed Zara a photo of her cat. Why is this sentence unclear?

    • A. We can't tell whose cat it is.
    • B. Photos can't show cats.
    • C. It is a fragment.
    • D. It needs a comma.

  2. Question 2

    Rewrite the sentence so it matches the meaning in brackets. Which is best? When the dog chased the cat, it ran up a tree. (The cat ran up the tree.)

    • A. When the dog chased the cat, it ran up a tree.
    • B. When it chased it, it ran up a tree.
    • C. When the dog chased the cat, the cat ran up a tree.
    • D. When the dog chased the cat, the dog ran up a tree.

  3. Question 3

    Which version is clearest and reads best?

    • A. She baked it. She cut it into eight slices for us.
    • B. Gran baked a pie. It cut her into eight slices for us.
    • C. Gran baked a pie. She cut it into eight slices for us.
    • D. Gran baked a pie. Gran cut the pie into eight slices for us.

  4. Question 4

    Sam told Leo that he had won the prize. Why is this sentence unclear?

    • A. It has no verb.
    • B. We can't tell whether 'he' means Sam or Leo.
    • C. It should be a question.
    • D. It uses too many nouns.

  5. Question 5

    Rewrite the sentence so it matches the meaning in brackets. Which is best? Sam told Leo that he had won the prize. (Leo won.)

    • A. He told him that he had won the prize.
    • B. Sam told Leo that Sam had won the prize.
    • C. Sam told Leo that Leo had won the prize.
    • D. Sam told Leo that he had won the prize.

  6. Question 6

    When the dog chased the cat, it ran up a tree. Why is this sentence unclear?

    • A. It needs a full stop in the middle.
    • B. 'It' could be the dog or the cat.
    • C. It is in the wrong tense.
    • D. Dogs cannot chase cats.

  7. Question 7

    Rewrite the sentence so it matches the meaning in brackets. Which is best? Priya showed Zara a photo of her cat. (The cat is Priya's.)

    • A. She showed her a photo of her cat.
    • B. Priya showed Zara a photo of her cat.
    • C. Priya showed Zara a photo of Priya's cat.
    • D. Priya showed Zara a photo of Zara's cat.

  8. Question 8

    Grandpa and Dad fixed the shed, and then he made tea. Why is this sentence unclear?

    • A. It needs more adjectives.
    • B. It should say 'shed's'.
    • C. We can't tell who made the tea.
    • D. It has two verbs.

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Answer key: Pronoun or noun? Make it clear who is meant

  1. 1. A. We can't tell whose cat it is.

  2. 2. C. When the dog chased the cat, the cat ran up a tree.

  3. 3. C. Gran baked a pie. She cut it into eight slices for us.

  4. 4. B. We can't tell whether 'he' means Sam or Leo.

  5. 5. C. Sam told Leo that Leo had won the prize.

  6. 6. B. 'It' could be the dog or the cat.

  7. 7. C. Priya showed Zara a photo of Priya's cat.

  8. 8. C. We can't tell who made the tea.