Systematic and Explicit Instruction on Using Possessive Pronouns in Complete Sentences

What are Possessive Pronouns?

Possessive pronouns are pronouns that show possession. Just like possessive nouns, they show when a noun owns another noun. For example, Jim’s pencil can be written as his pencil using possessive pronouns. Possessive pronouns are different from the subject and object pronouns we have already learned.

Here are the possessive pronouns:

my/mine

your/yours

his

her/hers

their/theirs

our/ours

its

Notice that there are two forms of many of the possessive pronouns. We use the first pronoun before a noun, and we use the second pronoun after a verb. For example, my book or the book is mine.

Also, notice that there are no apostrophes in possessive pronouns. Sometimes kids get confused about its as a possessive pronoun. Its means belonging to it. For example, the cat licked its paws. It’s is the contraction for it and is. For example, it’s hot today.

Here is a video about possessive pronouns.

Example Sentences

After introducing possessive pronouns to your students, you will want to show them examples. When looking at example sentences, point out the capitalized first letter, spacing between words, and ending punctuation. Speaking of ending punctuation. I recommend sticking with periods until you can give a lesson on the other types of ending punctuation.

This should be a quick part of the lesson. You can ask students what they notice but quickly point out the important parts of the sentence. In these sentences, you want students to notice how possessive pronouns are used before a noun or after a verb. Also, point out that its does not have an apostrophe.

Possessive Pronouns Pictures

You can show these five pictures to your students to help them brainstorm possessive pronoun sentences. Give students about thirty seconds to think about each picture. Then, have them share with a partner. Finally, collect three to five ideas per picture to record in a class anchor chart.

Printable Resources

These ideas will get you started teaching your possessive pronoun lessons, but we have printable resources that will make a huge difference. Luckily, my team at For the Love has you covered! You can get all of these resources to make planning and teaching a breeze!

Word List: A list of words for the lesson for when your mind goes blank while brainstorming.

Word Chart: A tool for students to organize words they will use to write sentences. Students record words from brainstorming on their word charts, so when they write sentences, they can focus their attention on the mechanics and syntax of the sentence instead of coming up with new ideas. Word charts are the perfect place to integrate social studies and science lessons into writing.

Example Sentences: A list of example sentences that fit the purpose of the lesson. You can use these to build anchor charts, differentiate instruction or practice for students, or clarify your own understanding of the topic.

Sentence Practice: Students will use the words from their word charts to write complete sentences. The sentence practice pages have more suggestion words as well as reminders about the mechanics of a complete sentence. Students who do not need the support of the handwriting lines can write on a piece of notebook paper, or you can give them the alternate writing paper. It does not have the specific lesson information on it.

You can get the lesson on possessive pronouns at Teachers Pay Teachers.

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