Skills / Ages 8 to 11 / Reading and writing
Identify a pronoun
Spotting the short words that stand in for a noun, like he, she, it, they, him, them, my and their, so a name does not have to repeat.
Why it matters
Two lessons in the book start with a pronoun already found. One draws an arrow from the pronoun back to the noun it stands for. The other asks which form to use, like her or hers, its or it's. Neither can begin until your child sees a pronoun on sight.
What it looks like when your child can do it
- Hearing "Dad lost his keys, and he found them in the car," your child picks out his, he and them.
- Your child can say which noun a pronoun stands for, like they meaning the neighbors.
- Your child counts I, me, we and us as pronouns, not only he and she.
How to teach it at the kitchen table
- 01
Show the problem pronouns solve
Say: "Maya fed Maya's dog, and then Maya walked Maya's dog." It sounds silly. Now say: "Maya fed her dog, and then she walked it." The short words that took the place of the name and the dog are pronouns.
- 02
Learn the short list
Pronouns are a small family, so the list can be learned. Read these out loud together a few times: I, me, you, he, him, she, her, it, we, us, they, them. Then read the owning words: my, mine, your, yours, his, hers, its, our, ours, their, theirs.
- 03
Ask who the word means
When your child finds a pronoun, ask who or what it stands for. If they can point back to a noun, like he meaning Dad, they found a real pronoun. Words like I, me, we and you are the exception, because they point to the person talking or the person listening instead of back to a noun.
- 04
Hunt pronouns in a real book
Open any book your child likes and hunt pronouns on one page. Most pages are full of them, so your child sees how often writers lean on these small words.
You will need: An index card with the pronoun list · Any book your child likes
Try it together
Try 1
Say: "Grandma baked bread, and she gave it to us." Ask for every pronoun.
Listen for She, it and us. She means Grandma, it means the bread, and us means the person talking and the people with them.
Try 2
Say: "The boys grabbed their bikes and rode them to the park." Ask for the pronouns and who they mean.
Listen for Their and them. Their means the boys, and them means the bikes.
Try 3
Say: "I lent my book to Sam, and he loved it." Ask for all the pronouns.
Listen for I, my, he and it. I and my mean the person talking, he means Sam, and it means the book.
Try 4
Say: "The cat licked its paw." Ask which word is the pronoun and who it means.
Listen for Its, meaning the cat. Owning words like its, his and their are pronouns too, and this one is the stretch.
Watch for
- Her does two jobs. In "I saw her" it stands for a person, and in "her hat" it shows who owns the hat. Both times it is a pronoun.
If it is not there yet
- Write the pronoun list on a card and keep it beside your child while reading. Finding words from a list comes before finding them from memory.
- Go back to the silly repeated-name sentences. Hearing why a pronoun is needed often makes the words stick.
A few days of this is normal, and it is time well spent. The lesson will still be there, and it will go faster.
Where this skill comes up
The Parts of Speech, Told by the Greek Myths · Lesson 7
Pronouns and Their Antecedents
Needs it because the arrow starts at the pronoun, so the child has to recognize one on sight.
The Parts of Speech, Told by the Greek Myths · Lesson 8
Possessive Pronouns
Needs it because this sheet asks which pronoun form to use, which assumes pronouns are already recognized.