Grade 4 · Week 12pronouns
Pronouns at the Lost-and-Found Table
Students read a story about two helpers sorting lost-and-found items, then answer 5 questions on personal, possessive, and relative pronouns, supported by teacher and homeschool guidance.
On screen - your kid, alone
- 1Day 1 - Meet the story
- 2Day 2 - Word work
- 3Day 3 - What it means
- 4Day 4 - Fix & re-read
- 5Day 5 - Show what you know
Offline - with you
Print the pages for offline work together; the answer key is for you.
Start by reading the passage aloud together, then ask your child to point out every pronoun they can find and sort them into three piles: personal (he, him, she, her, they, we, I, me), possessive (his, her, hers, mine, yours, theirs), and relative (who, whose, which, that). A strong answer shows your child can name the type and explain who or what the pronoun stands for — for example, "his refers to Jordan, so it's possessive." For the trickier spots, like Maya's joke about "you and I" versus "you and me," talk through the trick of dropping the other person: you wouldn't say "good team, I," so "me" sounds right after a preposition. If your child gets stuck, slow down and circle the pronoun, then draw an arrow back to the noun it replaces; seeing the connection on paper usually clears up confusion fast. Wrap up by having your child write two original sentences about a lost item, one using a relative pronoun (who, whose, or that) and one using a possessive pronoun — this shows they can use the rules, not just spot them.
Pronouns at the Lost-and-Found Table
Every Tuesday at lunch, Maya and Eli volunteered at the lost-and-found table near the gym. The pile that grew there each week looked enormous, but they had a system. Maya sorted jackets and sweatshirts, while Eli organized water bottles, lunch boxes, and books. "We should label everything by class," Maya suggested, holding up a blue hoodie. "This one has initials inside. They look like J.R." Eli grinned and pointed across the cafeteria. "That must belong to Jordan Rivera. He left his hoodie at recess yesterday. I'll wave him over." A moment later, Jordan jogged up, relieved. "Thanks! My mom would have been upset if I lost it again. It's mine, for sure." Maya handed him the hoodie and checked another item off her list. Next came a sparkly water bottle covered in stickers. "Whose bottle is this?" Eli wondered. "It's too fancy to be mine." A girl named Priya hurried over, her eyes lighting up. "That's the bottle that I lost on Friday! My sister gave it to me, and I thought it was gone forever." Eli smiled and gave it back to her. Then he spotted a chapter book with a bent cover. "Hmm, the book that's on top has a name written inside," he said. "It says Sam. Do you know which Sam it belongs to?" Maya thought for a second. "There's a boy in Mr. Patel's class whose last name is Cooper. The book is probably his." By the end of lunch, only one item remained: a pair of red mittens. "These belong to someone, but who?" Maya asked. Eli checked the clipboard. "A second grader reported missing mittens. Her teacher said she would send her down after recess." Just then, a small girl peeked around the corner. "Are those mine?" she whispered. Maya knelt down and showed her the mittens. "If your name is Lily, then yes, they're yours." Lily nodded happily and slipped them on. As they packed up the table, Eli looked at Maya. "We make a pretty good team, you and I." Maya laughed. "My teacher would say it should be 'you and me' there, but I agree with you!" Together, they pushed the cart back to the office, proud that almost every lost item had found its owner, and that their classmates were smiling again.
What this lesson checks
- Grammar usage: In the passage, Eli says, "That must belong to Jordan Rivera. ___ left his hoodie at recess yesterday." Which pronoun correctly fills the blank?
- Grammar usage: The sentence below has a pronoun mistake. Rewrite the whole sentence with the correct pronoun: "Priya was happy because her sister gave the bottle to she."
- Grammar usage: Which sentence uses the correct relative pronoun to talk about a person?
- Grammar usage: Read this sentence from the passage: "We make a pretty good team, you and ___." Eli says this line. Which pronoun fills the blank exactly as it appears in the passage?
- Grammar usage: The sentence below breaks a pronoun rule. Rewrite it so the pronouns are correct, keeping the same meaning: "Maya handed the hoodie to Jordan, and him said it was hers."