Grade

5 | English Language Arts (ELA) | Alberta Curriculum

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Unit

Pronoun Power Play (Lesson 1 of 2)

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Duration

30 minutes

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Learning Context and Description

Students will be introduced to pronouns – the small but mighty words that replace nouns and make our language smoother and more interesting. They will explore personal, possessive, and demonstrative pronouns through engaging, interactive activities designed to develop their understanding of pronouns’ role in sentences, enabling them to identify pronouns and understand their use to avoid repetition.

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Alberta Curriculum Connections

English Language Arts 5 – Grammar and Usage

• General Outcome:
  1.2 Students will use functional grammar and sentences for different purposes and audiences.

• Specific Outcomes:

  • 1.2.1 Demonstrate understanding of pronouns and their functions.
  • 1.2.1.a Identify and use personal, possessive, and demonstrative pronouns correctly in oral and written language.

• Competencies:

  • Language conventions: recognising and applying parts of speech.
  • Listening and Speaking: discuss and share ideas clearly.
  • Reading and Viewing: interpret and respond to texts with appropriate vocabulary.

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Lesson Objectives (I Can Statements)

• I can identify personal, possessive, and demonstrative pronouns in sentences.
• I can explain how pronouns replace nouns to make sentences clearer and less repetitive.
• I can use pronouns confidently when speaking and writing.

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Success Criteria

• I can find pronouns in a sentence without help.
• I can say if a pronoun is personal, possessive, or demonstrative.
• I can rewrite a sentence, replacing a noun with an appropriate pronoun.
• I participate actively in class activities and discussions about pronouns.

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Materials Needed

• Whiteboard and markers
• Printed sentence strips containing nouns and pronouns
• Colour-coded cards for personal, possessive, and demonstrative pronouns
• “Pronoun Detective” worksheets (with fill-in-the-blank and matching sections)
• Chart paper with examples and visuals
• Sticky notes (1 per student)
• Timer or stopwatch

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Lesson Outline

1. Introduction (5 minutes)

• Activate prior knowledge:
  Begin by writing two simple sentences on the board:

  1. Sarah likes Sarah’s dog because Sarah loves the dog.
  2. Sarah likes her dog because she loves it.

• Ask:

  • What do you notice about the two sentences? (Repetition vs. smoother language)
  • What words are used to replace “Sarah” and “dog” in the second sentence? (Pronouns: her, she, it)

• Explain:

  • Pronouns are words that replace nouns to avoid repetition and make sentences easier to understand.
  • Today, we will discover three types of pronouns: personal, possessive, demonstrative.

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2. Direct Instruction and Modelling (7 minutes)

• Display a chart with definitions and examples:

Type of Pronoun	Definition	Examples
Personal	Replaces specific people or things (subjects or objects)	I, you, he, she, it, we, they
Possessive	Shows ownership or possession	my, your, his, her, its, our, their
Demonstrative	Points to something specific	this, that, these, those

• Model: Read sentences aloud and highlight pronouns with different colours (e.g., blue for personal, green for possessive, yellow for demonstrative).
• Use think-aloud to explain choices and reinforce the pronoun role in the sentences.

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3. Guided Practice: Pronoun Hunt (10 minutes)

• Group activity: Divide class into small groups of 4-5.
• Distribute sentence strips to each group.
• Task:
  • Identify the pronouns in each sentence.
  • Categorise them on colour-coded cards into personal, possessive, or demonstrative piles.
  • Replace the underlined noun in each sentence with a suitable pronoun and write the new sentence on sticky notes.
• Regroup and invite volunteers to share examples, explaining their pronoun choice.
• Teacher provides corrective feedback and reinforcement.

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4. Independent Practice: Pronoun Detective Worksheet (5 minutes)

• Each student receives a worksheet with the following tasks:
  • Match pronouns with their type (personal, possessive, demonstrative).
  • Fill in the blanks using the correct pronoun to replace nouns in sentences.
• Circulate to provide support as needed.

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5. Closure & Reflection (3 minutes)

• Invite students to share one new thing they learned about pronouns today.
• Remind students of the "I can" statements and success criteria.
• Assign a quick exit ticket: Write one sentence using a personal pronoun and one using a demonstrative pronoun.

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Differentiation Strategies

• For diverse learners:

  • Provide sentence strips with simpler vocabulary or visuals for ELLs and students with special needs.
  • Use colour-coded pronoun cards as visual anchors.
  • Pair struggling learners with peers for supported collaboration during group activities.
  • Provide sentence frames (e.g. “___ is my favourite.”) to scaffold writing.

• For advanced learners:

  • Challenge with sentences including multiple pronouns to identify.
  • Introduce reflexive pronouns as a preview.
  • Ask them to create their own sentences replacing nouns with pronouns and share.

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Assessment and Evidence

• Formative:

  • Observation during group discussions and Pronoun Hunt activity.
  • Review of exit tickets to assess correct usage of personal and demonstrative pronouns.
  • Completion and accuracy of Pronoun Detective worksheet.

• Teacher notes:

  • Take anecdotal notes on student participation and grasp of concepts.
  • Identify students needing reteaching or extension for next lesson.

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Extension & Enrichment

• Create a short “Pronoun Power Play” comic strip where students replace nouns with various pronouns in funny or imaginative dialogues.
• Start a “Pronoun Journal”: Challenge students to jot down pronouns they notice in books, TV shows, or conversations during the week.

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Teacher Tip

Invite students to “catch” you if you forget to use a pronoun during class discussions—prompting them to correct or suggest the pronoun to use. This active engagement fosters awareness and enjoyment of pronouns in everyday speech.

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This lesson plan honours the Alberta Curriculum’s focus on grammar knowledge and functional language use, building a foundation for the next lesson where students will deepen their pronoun skills and usage.