English lesson plan · 4th grade (Year 5 in England) · 60 minutes
Possessive pronouns and determiners
Grammar
CCSS L.4.1CCSS L.2.1England: Y4 GPS (possessive pronouns)England: KS2 SATs GPS
Objective and success criteria
Students will: Possessive pronouns and determiners.
- 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: Pronouns
Leads to: Determiners: articles, demonstratives, possessives and quantifiers
Materials: Sentence strips, Highlighters, Mini whiteboards, Mini whiteboards, A short model text on the board, Printed student sheet (below).
Warm-up · 6 min
- Quick retrieval from earlier learning (Pronouns). Students answer on mini whiteboards.
- Show answers together and note who needs support in the main task.
- Choose the pronoun that fits. Mr Okoro teaches music. ___ plays the piano. (He / It / She / They) → HePrompt: Who or what is the gap talking about?
- Choose the pronoun that fits. Max lost his hat. ___ looked everywhere for it. (He / She / We / They) → HePrompt: Who or what is the gap talking about?
- Choose the pronoun that fits. Please give the book to Ana. Give it to ___. (she / him / they / her) → herPrompt: Who or what is the gap talking about?
Hook · 6 min
- Show a sentence with the grammar point used wrongly and ask what sounds odd.
- Share the objective: Possessive pronouns and determiners. Read the success criteria together.
I do: model it · 12 min
- Work through the example out loud, saying why you do each step, not just what you do.
- Example: Choose the correct word. I think that bike is ___ (belongs to him).
- Step 1: Possessive determiners (my, your, his, her, its, our, their) go before a noun; possessive pronouns (mine, yours, his, hers, ours, theirs) stand alone. None of them has an apostrophe.
- Step 2: Put it back into the sentence and read it aloud: "I think that bike is his."
- Step 3: So the answer is: his
- Answer: his
- Pause after each step and ask a student to say what comes next.
We do: guided practice · 12 min
- Do these together. Students try each step on whiteboards before you reveal it.
- Use the hints as prompts rather than giving the answer.
- Choose the correct word. The twins forgot ___ lunch boxes. (theirs / they're / their / there) → theirPrompt: Is the word before a noun (my, your, its…) or standing alone (mine, yours, hers…)?
- Choose the correct word. The cat licked ___ paw. (it is' / it's / its / its') → itsPrompt: Is the word before a noun (my, your, its…) or standing alone (mine, yours, hers…)?
You do: independent practice · 17 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 · 7 min
- Two questions on their own. Sort answers into got it / nearly / not yet to plan the next lesson.
- Choose the correct word. The tree dropped ___ leaves in October. (it's / their / its' / its) → itsPrompt: Is the word before a noun (my, your, its…) or standing alone (mine, yours, hers…)?
- Choose the correct word. The red bucket is ___ (belongs to them). (there's / theirs' / theirs / their) → theirsPrompt: Is the word before a noun (my, your, its…) or standing alone (mine, yours, hers…)?
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: Pronouns.
- 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: Determiners: articles, demonstratives, possessives and quantifiers.
- 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