This week one of our main targets for large group is the repetitive production of subjective pronouns he, she, and they.
In general, children produce their subjective pronouns accurately before the age of 4. When I say subjective pronouns, this includes: I, you, we, he, she and they. A list of developmental norms can be found here (lists subjective pronouns as developing prior to 34 months) or a list of language developmental in general between 3 and 4 years can be found here.
When a child has been using a substitution of another pronoun for a long time, it can be hard to break the habit.
Common substitutions:
- Her for she ("Her got it!")
- Him for he ("Him got it!")
- He for she ("He got it!" - when it is a female)
- Me for I ("Me got it!")
- Us for we ("Us did it!")
Most often, I see kiddos use an objective pronoun for subjective (substitution of him/her/me/them/us for he/she/I/they/we).
Substitution patterns take a lot of practice to correct.
I find it most beneficial to model "I" or "she" or "he" as much as humanly possibly (my goal is over 100 times in 5 minutes) - matching your actions to what the child is currently doing - and find a good way to chant "I" ("Tell me who wants cookies?? I do! I do! I do! I do!").
At home to practice this skill you can follow a child's lead during a brief ten minute play time, match the child's play, and see how often you can model "I, she, he"!
- Examples:
- Playing blocks
- I got blue! I got green! Oh nice I got a red! I have it. I have the red. I do. I have it! I see yours! I see green. I see red. I see it! I'm building. Am I?? I am! I'm building. etc..
- Here is Mama Bear. She has a block! She has green. She has blue. She has two! She is building. She is helping me build. She is working. Yes she is. Is she?
- Eating snack
- I want popcorn. I want more. I need some. I really do. I really do need some. I love it! Can I have more? Can I? I can!! Yes!! I can. I'm eating. I ate it! etc..
- Ooo Daddy has popcorn too! Yes he does. Look he has it! He has more. He has the most. He is eating. He is. He really is. He loves it! Do you think he does? He does. He looks like he does. etc..
Also, on another positive note, working on any subjective pronoun can have a positive influence on the other ones. Let me know if you would like to talk more about your individual child and pronouns! See below for books to read that target he/she.
amanda.burr@canyonsdistrict.org
I just have listed things as I had time, I have more book ideas. Also, when I read through them to bombard a target, I make up my own sentence to add in even more repetition.
