Language Unit: Pronouns in subject position (I, She, He, It)
This unit was written for elementary children, however, if you have older students who need to develop this concept, you can use a similar format with age-appropriate materials and activities.
As you develop this concept, use vocabulary and sentence structures that the students already know.
Tell students what they will learn and why
Teacher demonstration/modeling
- Have several sentences, each telling a student something to do, written on strips of paper, for example: Put a book on the table; Sit down on a chair; Erase the board; Drink some water.
-
Give a sentence strip to a student (Emma).
Emma reads it and does what the sentence
says.
- Students give a sentence telling what Emma did. Write the sentence on the board, Emma put a book on the table.
- Students read (say/sign) the sentence.
-
Ask Emma to read the sentence.
- Tell Emma and the students that Emma needs to change the first word. She is talking about herself so she doesn’t say her name. She says I.
- Put a line through the word Emma and write I above it. Have Emma read the sentence again using I.
Repeat the steps with another student (Jesse).
Guided practice
If your students have some usable hearing, in all guided practice activities, encourage them to notice how the words/sentences look when lipreading and how they sound. If appropriate, present lipreading and auditory discrimination activities using the words and sentences from the unit.
-
Tell the students to watch what you do
(Throw a paper in the waste basket).
- Ask the students for a sentence telling what you did. Elicit the response: Ms. Julie threw a paper in the wastebasket. Write the sentence on the board.
- Tell the students: You are right! That is what you would say/sign: I threw a paper in the wastebasket.
- Write it on the board.
- Ask the students why you would say/sign I instead of Ms. Julie.
- Give a sentence strip to another student. Student reads and does what it says.
- Student says/signs what he/she did. Elicit response: I threw a ball. Have the student write the sentence on the board.
- Student explains why she/he used the pronoun I instead of a name.
- Repeat steps 2-3 times with other students.
Independent practice
- Give
each student 3 sentences; each sentence tells about a
characteristic of the child, e.g., Samuel has black hair.
Samuel is tall. Samuel has brown eyes.
- Students rewrite sentences that tell about themselves, changing the name to the pronoun I.
- Each student reads her/his original sentences, then reads the rewritten sentences, and explains why the rewritten sentence uses the pronoun I.
- During your instructional reading time, have the students read a story that frequently includes the pronoun I. Each time they read the pronoun I, have them identify who is talking.
Independent Application
- Hold the students responsible for using the pronoun I correctly when writing.
- Incorporate the pronoun I into all other activities during the school day and emphasize its use.
- Encourage the students to use the pronoun whenever it is appropriate throughout the day in speech/sign/writing.
Teacher demonstration/modeling
- Review the concept and activities from the previous step.
- Tell the students that today they will learn about the pronoun she.
- Ask them what they already know about the word she.
- Tell
Emma: Walk to the bookcase.
- Ask the other students what Emma did. Elicit response: Emma walked to the bookcase.
- Write the sentence on the board.
- Tell Emma to find a book about a fish. Ask the other students what Emma did.
- Write the response on the board under the first sentence (Emma found a book about a fish).
- Read the sentences; point out that each sentence begins the same (with the name Emma).
- Draw a line through the word Emma in the second sentence and write She above it.
- Tell the students that instead of repeating the name, they can use another word ( pronoun) for a girl: she.
- Students say/sign the sentences with you.
Tell students what they will learn and why
Guided practice
If appropriate, include lipreading and auditory discrimination activities in the activities during guided practice.
- Before
the lesson begins, write three pairs of sentences on a
chart. Use names that are different from the names of
girls in your class. For example:
- Mary tripped on the rug.
- Mary fell down.
- Student reads the first pair of sentences. Give the support necessary for the student to cross out the name in the second sentence and write She.
- Students read the sentences.
- Repeat using other students for the rest of the sentence pairs.
- Have
more sentence pairs written on a second chart. Use
a girl, a woman, a lady, and Grandma in the sentences instead
of names, for example:
- A girl bought a candy bar.
- _____ paid 50 cents.
Repeat all of the steps above using boys’ names and the pronoun he.
Independent practice
- Give each child a worksheet with sentence pairs similar to those used during explicit instruction.
- Draw a line in the second sentence instead of writing in a name or a pronoun.
- Students complete their papers by writing the correct pronoun He or She on the line.
Independent application
-
Children read a story that includes frequent use of the
targeted pronouns.
- Each time they read the pronoun I, he, or she, have them identify who is talking.
Develop the concept of the pronoun it using procedures and activities similar to those used for I, She, and He.
Independent application
Review all of the pronouns from the unit (I, He, She, It).
-
Children read a story that includes frequent use of the
pronoun it.
- Each time they read the pronouns I, she, he, or it, have them identify who is talking.
- Incorporate the new pronouns into language experience stories and all other activities during the school day and emphasize the pronouns.
- Encourage the students to use pronouns whenever appropriate throughout the day in speech/sign/writing.