Pronouns — Year 4 Lesson Plan
National Curriculum: English Appendix 2 — Grammar: pronouns and possessive pronouns (Year 4)
Overview
Pupils learn to use pronouns to avoid repetition and improve cohesion in their writing. They explore personal, possessive, and relative pronouns, practising how to choose the right pronoun for clarity and how to avoid ambiguous pronoun reference.
Learning Objectives
- Identify and classify different types of pronoun.
- Use pronouns to avoid repetition in writing.
- Choose pronouns that match their antecedent in number and gender.
- Recognise when pronoun reference is ambiguous and how to correct it.
Key Vocabulary
Suggested Lesson Structure
Display a paragraph that repeats the same proper noun excessively. Ask: how could we improve this? Pupils suggest improvements, naturally introducing pronouns.
Introduce personal, possessive, and relative pronouns with examples. Explain the concept of antecedent: the pronoun must clearly refer to the correct noun. Show an ambiguous example ('Sam told Tom he had won — who won?') and discuss how to fix it.
Pupils rewrite a passage, replacing repeated nouns with suitable pronouns. Then identify three pronouns in a shared text and state their antecedents.
Pupils write a short paragraph about two characters, using pronouns carefully to maintain clarity. Peer-edit: can a partner tell who each pronoun refers to?
Discuss: when might a writer choose to repeat a noun instead of using a pronoun? Recap pronoun types and their purposes.
Common Misconceptions
- Pupils use pronouns without a clear antecedent, creating ambiguity — stress that the reader must know who or what the pronoun refers to.
- Confusing subject and object pronouns, e.g. 'Me and Jake went' instead of 'Jake and I went'.
Prior Knowledge
Pupils should already be able to:
- Ability to identify nouns and proper nouns.
- Basic understanding of singular and plural.
- Familiarity with common pronouns from everyday speech.
Want a personalised version of this lesson?
Use Staffroom to generate a complete lesson plan tailored to your class — add context about ability, recent learning, or specific pupils and get a plan ready to teach. Free trial, no card required.