Activities to Teach Students to Use Relative Pronouns: Who, Whom, Whose, Which, and That
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Relative pronouns are words that connect two clauses in a sentence. They include who, whom, whose, which, and that. These pronouns are essential in writing and speaking, as they indicate the relationship between two clauses in a sentence. Unfortunately, many students usually struggle with using relative pronouns in their writing. Therefore, teachers should engage their students in various fun activities that can make the concepts stick. Here are some activities that you can use to teach students to use relative pronouns.
1. Relative Clause Quiz Game
Prepare a quiz game that includes different relative clauses with blanks in different sentences. Divide your students into groups and let them play the game together in teams. The quiz game should include sentences with who, whom, whose, which, and that. As they read the sentences, the students will fill in the blanks with the correct relative clause. The group that completes the quiz and gets the most correct answers wins.
2. Relative Pronoun Identification Exercise
This exercise will help your students to identify relative pronouns in an easy way. Write several sentences on the board with relative pronouns already included, then ask the students to identify the pronouns in each sentence. You can also ask them to classify each clause based on the relative pronouns they contain. For example, in the sentence “The boy who stole my phone was arrested,” the relative pronoun is “who,” and the dependent clause is “who stole my phone.”
3. Sentence Completion Exercise
Give your students a list of incomplete sentences, and ask them to complete each sentence using the correct relative pronoun. You can include simple sentences to start with and later increase the complexity by adding more clauses. For example, “I know the name of the boy _____ is sitting next to you.” The students will complete the sentence using the relative pronoun “who.”
4. Group Activity
Divide your class into groups and ask each group to write a paragraph using relative clauses. The students should take turns writing each part of the paragraph, ensuring that they use the correct relative pronoun that connects the clauses. The paragraphs should be at least five sentences long and contain a variety of relative pronouns. Afterward, ask each group to present their paragraphs, and review them together.
5. Relative Pronoun Charades
This activity is a fun way to teach your students about relative pronouns using nonverbal communication. Begin by writing different relative pronouns on small cards and putting them in a hat. Next, form small groups of five students and ask one student from each group to come forward and pick a card from the hat. The student will then act out or pantomime the relative clause without saying any words, and their group members should guess the relative pronoun used. The team that has the most correct answers at the end is the winner.
Conclusion
Relative pronouns are a crucial part of writing and speaking, and it is essential to teach students how to use them correctly. Engage your students in various fun activities that make learning a more enjoyable experience. These activities, including quiz games, sentence completion exercises, and relative pronoun charades, can help students understand the concept better and ensure that they use relative pronouns accurately in their sentences.