Subject/Verb Agreement and Pronoun/Antecedent Agreement
Grade Level(s):
6-8
By:
Carla, Eighth Grade Teacher
This lesson is designed to offer a hands on approach to learning pronoun/antecedent agreement--analyzing sentences and identifying pronouns and their antecedents in order to verify their agreement.
Materials: - Large Lego blocks (preferably about 8 inches)represent plural antecedents and pronouns
- Medium size Lego blocks (4 about four inches)represent singular pronouns and antecedents
- Worksheet with sentences (your choice)
- Sentence strips
- Magnetic tape
- Velcro tape
- index cards
Plan: - Students will sit in a group of two or three.
- The group will analyze sentences that are placed on the board using sentence strips.
- The students will determine the antecedent and the pronoun.
- The large Legos represent the plural pronouns and antecedents, and the smaller Legos represent the singular pronouns and antecedents.
- After students determine which word is the pronoun and which word is the antecedent, the student will hold up the Lego which represents the antecedent and the Lego which represents the pronoun.
- If both Legos fit together, then the child is correct. If the Legos don't fit, then the child has a visual representation of the problem and can correct it because he/she is forced to reexamine his/her answer.
Comments:
This activity works well with kinesthetic and visual learners. They are able to manipulate representations of the concept. Often, students get the answers to such questions as, "Is this word singular or plural?" Unfortunately, speech patterns, slang, dialect often become detractors when asked if pronouns and antecedents agree. This visual helps students make the connection between the two. This will also work with subject/verb agreement if a certain color is designated subjects and other color designated plural. The the size would indicated whether the subject or the predicate is singular or plural.
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