Look for This in Your Classrooms
Visit at least six classrooms for approximately five minutes each. Choose different grade levels and times of day, or select a certain time of day to observe a particular content area. You will have to listen closely to complete this task.
On a note card, list across the top all of the common subject pronouns: I, you, he, she, we, they, it. On a second note card, list across the top the following demonstrative pronouns: this, that, these, those. Your task is to put a tally mark by each pronoun you hear during your classroom visits.
For an added layer of sophistication to your data collecting, indicate who is using the pronoun: teacher or student.
Remember, pronouns are usually used by speakers and writers to avoid the use of a noun.
When you are done collecting classroom data, complete the following analyses:
Add up your tally marks for each pronoun. Now put them in order of use. Which pronouns occur most frequently?
What did you learn about teachers’ use of pronouns during instruction?
Consider this: for most of us, we use the language structures that require the least amount of effort. We are reluctant to learn and use new words when the old ones (or pronouns) seem to work just fine. Could you make a case for this phenomenon based on the data you collected?
Click below for information to help you analyze and interpret what you discovered from your classroom visits and to see how you can help your teachers to implement three critical behaviors to get students better prepared for upcoming assessments.