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 · 6 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.

Amira lent Tom her pencil because his was broken. Who does "her" refer to? (the pencil / Amira / Tom / Tom's mum) → AmiraPrompt: Find the pronoun, then look back earlier in the sentence.
Choose the pronoun that matches the noun it refers to. The trees lost ___ leaves in the autumn. (its / their / it's / there) → theirPrompt: Who or what owns the thing? Is it one or more than one?
When Grandpa and Leo finished the jigsaw, they cheered. Who does "they" refer to? (Grandpa and Leo / only Leo / the jigsaw / only Grandpa) → Grandpa and LeoPrompt: Find the pronoun, then look back earlier in the sentence.

Hook · 6 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 · 12 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 · 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.

Priya showed Zara a photo of her cat. Why is this sentence unclear? (It is a fragment. / Photos can't show cats. / It needs a comma. / We can't tell whose cat it is.) → We can't tell whose cat it is.Prompt: Find each pronoun (he, she, it, her, they).
Which version is clearest and reads best? (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. It cut her 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 · 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.

Rewrite the sentence so it matches the meaning in brackets. Which is best? Mia gave Ella her book back. (The book is Ella's.) (She gave her her book back. / Mia gave Ella's book back to her. / Mia gave Ella her book back. / Mia gave Mia's book back to Ella.) → Mia gave Ella's book back to her.Prompt: Read the meaning in brackets carefully.
Which version is clearest and reads best? (Leo and Omar built a raft. They tested it on the pond, and it floated! / Leo and Omar built a raft. Leo and Omar tested the raft on the pond, and the raft floated! / Leo and Omar built a raft. He tested them on the pond, and they floated! / They built it. They tested it on it, and it floated!) → Leo and Omar built a raft. They tested it on the pond, and it floated!Prompt: Repeating the same noun again and again sounds clumsy.

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

eurekami

Pronoun or noun? Make it clear who is meant

Name

Date

Score/ 8

1
Question 1
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. Sam told Leo that Leo had won the prize.
- B. He told him that he had won the prize.
- C. Sam told Leo that Sam had won the prize.
- D. Sam told Leo that he had won the prize.
2
Question 2
Which version is clearest and reads best?
- A. Mia found a shell. It washed her and put her on its shelf.
- B. She found it. She washed it and put it on her shelf.
- C. Mia found a shell. Mia washed the shell and Mia put the shell on Mia's shelf.
- D. Mia found a shell. She washed it and put it on her shelf.
3
Question 3
Grandpa and Dad fixed the shed, and then he made tea. Why is this sentence unclear?
- A. It should say 'shed's'.
- B. It has two verbs.
- C. We can't tell who made the tea.
- D. It needs more adjectives.
4
Question 4
Mia gave Ella her book back. Why is this sentence unclear?
- A. We can't tell whose book it is.
- B. It has no subject.
- C. It is too short.
- D. 'gave' is the wrong verb.
5
Question 5
Priya showed Zara a photo of her cat. Why is this sentence unclear?
- A. It needs a comma.
- B. It is a fragment.
- C. We can't tell whose cat it is.
- D. Photos can't show cats.
6
Question 6
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, the cat ran up a tree.
- B. When it chased it, it ran up a tree.
- C. When the dog chased the cat, it ran up a tree.
- D. When the dog chased the cat, the dog ran up a tree.
7
Question 7
Rewrite the sentence so it matches the meaning in brackets. Which is best? Mia gave Ella her book back. (The book is Ella's.)
- A. She gave her her book back.
- B. Mia gave Mia's book back to Ella.
- C. Mia gave Ella's book back to her.
- D. Mia gave Ella her book back.
8
Question 8
Sam told Leo that he had won the prize. Why is this sentence unclear?
- A. We can't tell whether 'he' means Sam or Leo.
- B. It should be a question.
- C. It has no verb.
- D. It uses too many nouns.

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

1. A. Sam told Leo that Leo had won the prize.
2. D. Mia found a shell. She washed it and put it on her shelf.
3. C. We can't tell who made the tea.
4. A. We can't tell whose book it is.
5. C. We can't tell whose cat it is.
6. A. When the dog chased the cat, the cat ran up a tree.
7. C. Mia gave Ella's book back to her.
8. A. We can't tell whether 'he' means Sam or Leo.