Pronouns are handy shortcuts in our language, but they can be very hard for some children to learn. A pronoun is a word that can be used in place of a noun. For example - the car broke down because it was very old. Using the pronoun 'it' avoids repeating the noun 'car'.
A personal pronoun is used in place of a noun that is a person or a thing:
A possessive pronoun is used to show ownership of an item or an idea:
These activities can be adapted for whichever pronouns the child needs support with.
Give the child a picture of a boy and a girl - outlines only ready for colouring. They must be dressed in similar clothes.
Describe to the child what each should be wearing and get him to colour them in accordingly, for example, "He's got red trousers" or "She wants/needs a blue jumper" etc.
Choose different pictures to extend the idea, such as two bedrooms or plates of food and so on.
Collect objects or pictures, then take it in turns to sort the pictures into different sets, depending on which pronouns you are working on, such as he/she or his/hers.
Use the pronoun ‘I’ whilst playing simple turn taking games.
For example with a subject like fishing – ‘I caught a shark’ and ‘I want the fish’.
Use circle time to talk about key people or things in the children’s lives. Ask them to bring in photos or objects to support the discussion.
The adult can model pronouns whilst talking about them such as “This is Peter’s photo. He brought a photo of his puppy. Peter’s puppy is a girl. She is called Bouncy. She likes playing ball".
Read stories with boys, girls or both in them, stressing the pronouns and then talk about what happened.
You can access Speech and Language support by calling Just One Number on 0300 300 0123. Our opening hours are 8am-6pm Monday-Friday (excluding bank holidays).
