Step 1: Explicit Teaching & Modelling
Name the target in child-friendly language and demonstrate one concrete example connected to language, pronouns, character.
Learning goals
1. Outcome Overview & Core Concepts
Pronouns help sentences connect without repeating the same noun. Readers must still be able to tell who or what each pronoun refers to.
Learning target: understand how texts are made cohesive by using personal and possessive pronouns and by omitting words that can be inferred
Big idea: Use personal and possessive pronouns to connect ideas clearly
Learning routine: Name person or thing → Replace carefully → Check reference → Remove repetition
4-Step Instructional Sequence
4. 4-Step Instructional Sequence
Step 2: Guided Analysis
Compare or practise a second example together. Students point to, say or show the clue.
Step 3: Collaborative / Independent Practice
Create or analyse one example together, then use a fresh familiar example independently.
Step 4: Formative Assessment
Use a one-minute check with a new example; require observable evidence rather than a guess.
Subject-Specific Content & Key Examples
2. Subject-Specific Content & Key Examples
Replace repeated nouns with clear pronouns
Mia found Mia's hat.Mia found her hat.She put it on.The ideas now connect.
Her and she refer clearly to Mia; it refers to the hat.
Omit words when the meaning stays clear
I chose red paintSam chose bluechosen noun can be inferredavoid awkward repetition
Only omit a word when the reader can easily supply it.
Sort and notice
Underline nouns, circle pronouns and draw arrows to their references.
Guided practice
- Sort and notice — Underline nouns, circle pronouns and draw arrows to their references.
- Build or improve — Rewrite a repetitive paragraph using clear personal and possessive pronouns.
- Explain your choice — Use the words pronoun, reference, cohesion to explain what you changed and why.
Curriculum Coverage & Elaborations
Curriculum Coverage & Elaborations
The content description is the required target. The elaborations below are taught as examples and contexts, not as disconnected checklist wording.
- E1: identifying language used to build information across a text; for example, through connecting similar and dissimilar things
- E2: mapping examples of word associations in texts; for example, words that refer to the main character in a story: “Isy”, “she”, “I”, “sister”, “student”
- E3: tracking how a person or thing is identified through a section of a text; for example, “eggs”, “they”, “them”
- E4: identifying words left out that can be inferred from the surrounding text; for example, “Xanthe went to school. She had a lovely day.” (at school is inferred)
- E5: using personal and possessive pronouns to link entities previously mentioned in the text
Common Student Misconceptions
3. Common Student Misconceptions
- Unclear pronoun reference: Repeat the noun if the reader may not know who she, he, they or it means.
- Removing too many words: Omit words only when the missing meaning is obvious.
- Answer without evidence: Point to the word, sentence, image, sound pattern or text feature that supports the answer.
Practice Thought & Formative Assessment
Practice Thought & Formative Assessment
Use a fresh, code-aligned example. The student should show the exact word, sound, sentence, image feature, audience clue or text evidence that supports the answer.
Quick checks
- What can she replace?
- What does possessive mean?
- Why can pronouns become confusing?
- When can a word be omitted?
Mastery evidence
- Identify pronouns
- Use personal pronouns
- Use possessive pronouns
- Track references
Revision Notes
Revision Notes
- Remember: Use personal and possessive pronouns to connect ideas clearly
- Use the routine: Name person or thing → Replace carefully → Check reference → Remove repetition
- Before answering: point to the clue in the spoken words, written sentence, image, page layout or text purpose.
- Self-check: change the example slightly and see whether the same reasoning still works.
🎥 Optional Video Lesson
The SkillrHub lesson remains the primary learning resource. This optional video reinforces the explanation; you can complete the lesson and practice without watching.
Before you watch:
- Pause after each worked example.
- Try the examples yourself.
- Return to the SkillrHub lesson before continuing.
Recommended: Personal Pronouns
Khan Academy — Explore words such as I, you, he, she, it, we and they that refer to people or things.
As you watch: Which pronoun could replace a repeated character name without making the meaning unclear?
Load video player Loads YouTube in this lesson. See the video notice below.
Try it: Write two sentences about Mia and two about Mia and Sam. Replace a repeated name with a clear personal pronoun.
Video unavailable, inaccurate or unsuitable for this year? Report a video problem to SkillrHub by email. You can continue with the written lesson and practice resources.
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Curriculum equivalents: Victoria, NSW and international
Curriculum equivalents for How texts are made cohesive by using personal and possessive...
Mapped skill: understand how texts are made cohesive by using personal and possessive pronouns and by omitting words that can be inferred
These references identify matching or closely related learning. Curriculum sequence, terminology and depth vary, so teachers should use the mapped skill and lesson difficulty to confirm suitability.
| Region | Curriculum framework | Closest level or code |
|---|---|---|
| Australia | Australian Curriculum v9.0 | AC9E2LA04 · Year 2 |
| Victoria | Victorian Curriculum F–10 Version 2.0 — English | VC2E2LA04 · Level 2 |
| New South Wales | NSW English K–10 Syllabus (2022) | EN1-RECOM-01 · Stage 1 |
| United States (USA) | Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts | Grade 2 |
| Canada (Ontario) | Ontario Curriculum — English | Grade 2 |
| United Kingdom (England) | National Curriculum in England — English | Year 3, Key Stage 2 |
| India | NCERT / CBSE — English | Class 2 |
Australian Curriculum v9.0 is the canonical source for this SkillrHub lesson. Victoria and NSW entries name the closest published state codes or outcomes; international entries are planning references rather than claims of identical curricula.
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Topic reference: AC9E2LA04 — AC9E2LA04: Understand how texts are made cohesive by using personal and possessive pronouns and by omitting words that can be inferred
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