Using Articles: A, An, The
Fourth Grade
Reading, ESL
by Sarah Zegarra
November 18, 2018
Articles are a simple yet critical part of speech. This lesson helps your fourth graders distinguish the three
articles and understand how to use them correctly in sentences.
Learning Objectives
Students will be able to identify articles and use them correctly in a sentence.
Materials and preparation
Class set of Amanda and the Panda
Class set of Grammar Review: Articles
Whiteboard and marker for each student
Document reader
Articles 2 exercise (optional)
Key terms
article
a
an
the
Attachments
Sort the Story: Amanda & the Panda (PDF)
Grammar Review: Articles (PDF)
Introduction (5 minutes)
Ask students to define a noun (a person, place, object, or idea), and then ask them to define adjectives
(words that describe nouns). Give a few examples such as "big (adjective) dog (noun)" and "red
(adjective) house (noun)."
Ask students to consider the words a, an, and the. Ask them what part of speech these words belong to,
and listen to their responses.
Tell students that these three little words are a type of adjective, called articles or determiners, because
they help us describe nouns. They tell us whether we are speaking of a specific noun or a noun in
general.
Explicit Instruction/Teacher modeling (5 minutes)
Show students the following sentences on the board:
Give me the blanket.
Give me a blanket.
Ask students to turn to a partner and discuss the difference between the two sentences. Invite students
to share their thinking.
Tell students that "the" is a definite article because it refers to a specific noun while "a" and "an" are
indefinite articles because they refer to a more general sense of the noun. In the example, the first
sentence asks for a specific blanket while the second sentence is requesting any blanket.
Inform students that the indefinite article '"an" is used before words that start with a vowel sound (a, e, i,
o, u). Point out that words spelled with a consonant but are pronounced with a vowel sound must use
"an" (i.e., an hour late, or an honorable person).
Tell students that nouns beginning in a vowel but pronounced with a consonant sound use the indefinite
Get more lesson plans at https://www.education.com/lesson-plans/
article "a" (i.e., a university or a unicorn which both start with a Y sound).
Guided Practice (10 minutes)
Distribute the "Amanda and the Panda" story to each student and project it on a document reader.
Read the first couple of sections of text and demonstrate how you identify the articles by circling them.
For each article you circle, explain to students why the author chose a definite or indefinite article (i.e., in
the first sentence, "As soon as they walked in the gate, Amanda and Avery made a beeline for the
enclosure where Penelope lived," the author wrote "the gate" because he is refering to a specific gate,
and he wrote "a beeline" because the characters made a random beeline instead of a specific beeline
route).
Call on students to come up to the document camera to read the next sentences and circle the articles,
while also providing an explanation as to why the particular article makes sense in the sentence.
Independent working time (10 minutes)
Hand out the Grammar Review: Articles worksheet to each student.
Instruct them to complete the worksheet and compare their answers to an elbow partner when they are
finished.
Circulate the room and offer help as needed.
Differentiation
Support:
Allow students to work with a partner for the Independent Work Time.
For native Spanish speakers, make the connection between English articles and those in Spanish (el, la,
los, las, un, una, unos, unas).
Enrichment:
Have advanced students complete the exercise on articles on a tablet or computer (see optional
materials).
Assessment (5 minutes)
Make sure each student has a whiteboard and marker.
Read the following sentences one at a time and have students write the article they think should be
placed in the blank spot on their whiteboard. Ask them to hold up their whiteboard with the answer so
you can measure their understanding of correct article usage.
"Minna would like to borrow ____ black dress I wore the other day."
"It's starting to rain; did you bring ____ umbrella?"
"She is ____ tallest girl in the class."
"Pass me ____ potatoes please."
"It was ____ honest mistake."
"There is ____ spider on the wall."
Review and closing (5 minutes)
Ask students to choose one of the text sections from the Amanda and the Panda worksheet, and read the
sentences aloud to the class with the articles omitted. Students will see how awkward the sentences
sound without them.
Instruct students to find a piece of their own writing and cross out the articles. Have them each read a
paragraph sans articles to a partner. Invite a few students to read aloud a paragraph with and without
articles to compare.
Get more lesson plans at https://www.education.com/lesson-plans/
Reading
Amanda and the Panda
Number the sentences below to put
them in order and form a story.
____As soon as they walked in the gate, Amanda and Avery made
a beeline for the enclosure where Penelope lived. They ran toward
the bamboo plants growing high above the fence around Penelope’s
home.
____One sunny Saturday morning, Amanda’s family decided to take a trip to the zoo. Amanda was
excited! “I can’t wait to see Penelope,” she exclaimed. Penelope was a panda bear who had recently
come to live at the zoo. Amanda loved animals, and she liked pandas most of all.
____When they reached the panda enclosure, however, they found it empty. The sign reading
“Penelope the Panda” was missing, too. Amanda’s parents soon caught up, and Amanda explained
breathlessly what she and Avery had discovered. “What could’ve happened to Penelope?” Amanda
asked.
____Amanda noticed a crowd beginning to gather nearby. “Look over there,” said Amanda’s mother. “I
think I see your friend,” said Amanda’s father. Amanda turned to look.
What she saw made her gasp with delight. There was Penelope, looking healthy as ever, lumbering
through a big door into her enclosure. She sat down, broke off a piece of bamboo, and began to eat.
____“Maybe she’s sick,” Avery responded, “or maybe worse!” Amanda frowned and turned away from
the enclosure. She couldn’t bear the thought of never seeing Penelope again.
“How could the zoo have let that happen?” Amanda lamented. “They’re supposed to keep the animals
safe and healthy! Isn’t that why they’re here?” Avery put a comforting hand on his big sister’s
shoulder.
____Amanda looked back at Penelope’s enclosure and saw a second panda bear enter through
Penelope’s door. “That’s Peter. He just moved here from another zoo,” the man in the uniform
explained. “If we’re lucky, this time next year, you might see a panda cub in this same place.”
____“A baby panda! That would be just about the best thing I’ve ever seen,” said Amanda. “Me, too!”
Avery agreed. They watched as Peter went to sit beside Penelope, breaking off his own piece of
bamboo to eat. “I think they’re going to get along just fine,” said Amanda.
____“Penelope’s alright!” Amanda exclaimed. “She’s better than alright,” said a smiling man in a
uniform, who stood nearby holding a large sign. He hung the sign on the pole where the old sign once
hung, and Amanda saw that it now read “Penelope and Peter.”
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Remember: An article is a word used before a noun to clarify the noun. English articles are
usually ‘”a,” which is used before a word that starts with a consonant sound; “an,” which is used
before a word that starts with a vowel sound, and “the.”
Underline the articles in the following sentences.
Her cat caught the large mouse.
The window was open only an inch.
A tired student is not a good student.
When does the train for New York leave the station?
Let the teacher know the minute you have an answer.
Does a big dog have as long a tail as a little dog?
Write an article in the blanks to complete the sentence.
___________________ best times to see ___________________ stars is at night.
___________________ good friend tells you ___________________ truth.
My favorite snack is ___________________ apple.
It was ___________________ unusual time to sleep on ___________________ couch.
A or An?
Put the correct article, a or an, in the blank.
___________________ dog
___________________ otter
___________________ pumpkin
___________________ unicorn
___________________ experience
___________________ yellow umbrella
___________________ hour
___________________ house
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