I consider myself a qualified resource for teaching fourth grade nouns & pronouns because I spent more than half of my teaching career in 4th grade. I taught other grades (5th, 6th, and 7th), but 4th grade was the sweet spot. Fourth graders are still at the age where they are excited about learning, but old enough to spend 40-50 minutes on independent practice.
With a few simple strategies, teaching fourth grade nouns & pronouns can be a fun and rewarding experience for both teachers and students.
Why Should I Worry About Teaching Fourth Grade Nouns & Pronouns?
By the time students reach fourth grade, they have had at least two years of noun & pronoun instruction. They are (hopefully) reading at or above grade level and writing paragraphs, personal narratives, and stories. Teaching nouns & pronouns in fourth grade is important because we want them to become even better readers and writers. Nouns & pronouns are the foundation for critical thinking, editing, and creative context.
So where do we start with a group of students who are already well-versed in the knowledge that a noun names a person, place, thing, or idea and a pronoun is used to replace a noun?
Our Fourth Grade Nouns and Pronouns Unit is a great way to start! It includes three 4th grade nouns and pronouns lessons, journal and sentence writing practice, a mystery puzzle, and a relative pronoun graphing activity.
Common Challenges when Teaching Fourth Grade Nouns & Pronouns
It would be great if all 4th graders entered our classrooms reading and writing at or above grade level. Unfortunately, that is rarely the case. Most of the time, we have to start with a couple of fourth grade nouns review lessons to bring everyone up to speed so we can build from there.
Simple Strategies for Reviewing Common and Proper Nouns
For fourth graders, the challenge isn’t just identifying and using common and proper nouns, it’s consistently catching capitalization errors in their own writing and identifying more complex, abstract, or multi-word proper nouns.
Instead of worksheets to review 4th grade common and proper nouns, try these hands-on nouns activities –
Noun Scavenger Hunt
Provide students with a blank T-chart or clipboard and have them walk around the room writing down common nouns, including chair, pencil, chalkboard, as well as proper nouns, such as Ms. Henry, United States, or Adidas. Make a master chart on the board and encourage students to share the results of their scavenger hunt.
Classroom Sorting Competition
Divide the class into teams of four or five. Create one chart on the board for each team with “Common Nouns” on one side and “Proper Nouns” on the other side. One person from each team goes to the board. The teacher calls out a common noun (dog, restaurant, book) and the first team member to write and properly capitalize the corresponding proper noun (Pluto, Applebees, Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing) is awarded one point. Those students sit and the next person from the team goes to the board. Switch it up by calling out a proper noun and having students respond with the corresponding common noun.
I Have, Who Has? Game
Give each student in the classroom an I Have, Who Has? game card. Each card connects a common noun to a proper noun or a proper noun to a common noun. Choose one student to go first and read what is on the card. For example, “I have dog. Who has a proper noun for a chocolate bar?” The student with Hersheys on his or her card would say, “I have Hersheys. Who has…” Continue in this way until the game loops back to the first student with dog on his or her card.
Practice identifying 4th grade common and proper nouns with this Free I Have, Who Has? Game that you can download, print, and use today.
Singular and Plural Nouns Review
Fourth graders are already familiar with singular and plural nouns. Doing a simple review of nouns that end in the letter s will give them the confidence they need to move forward with more complex noun endings.
- star → stars
- planet → planets
- friend → friends
Singular and Plural Noun Rules
The English language is full of rules, and singular and plural nouns are no exception. Sharing this chart from our Fourth Grade Language & Grammar Unit with your students will help them learn the rules for making regular and irregular nouns plural.
Possessive Nouns Review
Forming possessive nouns is not a new task for 4th graders, but it’s important that your 4th grade grammar lessons review that singular, plural, common, and proper nouns can all show ownership.
Try this hands-on grammar activity for reviewing possessive nouns with your fourth graders –
Possessive Noun Detective Hunt
Divide students into groups of two or three. Have each group divide a piece of paper into two columns. At the top of the first column, write singular. At the top of the second column, write plural. Click on this passage to print or write it on the board and have each group work together determine how many singular and plural possessive nouns are in the passage –
Teaching Personal, Possessive, Indefinite, and Relative Pronouns
Most fourth graders are already aware that pronouns take the place of nouns in a sentence.
Now that they are becoming mature writers, identifying and using personal, possessive, indefinite, and relative pronouns is an important part of their fourth grade language arts instruction.
What are Personal Pronouns?
Personal pronouns take the place of people and things. Examples of personal pronouns include –
- I
- me
- you
- us
- we
- them
- he
- her
- she
- it
- they
For example –
Mary likes the cake can be rewritten using the personal pronoun it → Mary likes it.
What are Possessive Pronouns?
Possessive pronouns show ownership. Examples of possessive pronouns include –
- mine
- ours
- yours
- hers
- his
- it
- theirs
For example –
The award winning cow at the fair belongs to Jonathan → The award winning cow at the fair is his.
The pronouns my, your, his, her, its, our, and their are also possessive pronouns when used to show ownership.
For example –
That is my dog. Whose dog is it? It is my dog.
What are Indefinite Pronouns?
Indefinite pronouns can be used when you’re not sure of the noun you want to replace.
Examples of indefinite pronouns include –
- somebody
- nobody
- everybody
- everything
- someone
- anyone
For example –
Somebody brought an armadillo to the party. We know there is an armadillo at the party, but we don’t know who brought it.
What are Relative Pronouns?
Relative pronouns are special pronouns. Instead of taking the place of a noun, relative pronouns refer back to a noun. Learning how to correctly use the relative pronouns who, whom, whose, that, and which will take your 4th grade grammar lessons and students’ writing to a whole new level.
Our Fourth Grade Nouns and Pronouns Unit includes an entire lesson on relative pronouns with engaging hands-0n practice activities that will help your students become more confident writers.
Ready-to-Use Resources for Teaching Fourth Grade Nouns & Pronouns
If you’re looking for more ready-to-teach solutions, our Fourth Grade Language & Grammar Unit provides 17 complete lessons, hands-on activities, comprehension practice, and assessment tools that can be used immediately in the classroom. Pair it with our Fourth Grade Daily Language Practice & Assessments and you have everything you need to for this year’s 4th grade language arts instruction.
Frequently Asked Questions About Teaching Fourth Grade Nouns & Pronouns
Which types of nouns & pronouns should 4th graders learn?
Fourth graders typically review common and proper nouns before moving on to irregular singular and plural nouns, and possessive nouns. Personal, possessive, indefinite, and relative pronouns are also important pieces of fourth grade language arts instruction.
The Fourth Grade Common Core Standards for Conventions of Standard English include –
- demonstrating command of conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking, including forming and using possessives, and identifying and using pronouns correctly. (L.4.1)
- using relative pronouns (who, whose, whom, which, that) (L.4.1.A)
- spelling grade appropriate words correctly, using a dictionary if needed. (L.4.2D)
How do you make teaching fourth grade nouns & pronouns fun?
Games; mystery and grid puzzles; riddles; graphs; story, letter, and essay writing; and grammar practice activities help students stay engaged while learning.
Why are nouns and pronouns important?
Nouns & pronouns are the foundation for critical thinking, editing, and creative context.