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Direct Instruction of Pronouns, Antecedents and other Tricky Grammar Structures

Tags

ELA: Reading Elementary School Strategy

Skills

Flexible Thinking Listening Comprehension Working Memory Verbal Reasoning

Direct Instruction of Pronouns, Antecedents and other Tricky Grammar Structures

If your student sometimes gets confused about the subject when reading

Instruction And Practice

  1. Objective: Pronouns can feel very abstract to some students. Provide explicit instruction to help these students concretely see the relationship between a pronoun and the word or phrase to which it refers (antecedent).
  2. Model and Practice: a) Use pictures to show the written pronoun and how it refers to an image. ("She" = picture of a woman; "he" = picture of a man; "hers" = woman holding an object.) Have students close their eyes and tell you what they see to be sure they visualize the relationship. b) Pick a simple text and visually show how to identify the antecedent of a pronoun. Circle the pronoun and underline the antecedent. Or highlight the pronoun in yellow and the antecedent in pink. c) Provide sufficient practice to ensure students can identify noun, verb and clause substitutes.

Why It Works (the Science Of Learning)!

Some students have difficulty understanding pronouns referrals when reading, which can interfere with their efficient comprehension. Taking the time to give them formal instruction using pictures and visual support will help.