Question 1

What are demonstratives and when do first graders learn them?

Accepted Answer

Demonstratives are the words this, that, these, and those, which point to specific nouns and indicate their distance from the speaker. This and these refer to things that are near (this book in my hand, these crayons on my desk), while that and those refer to things that are farther away (that tree outside, those birds in the sky). This and that are singular, while these and those are plural. CCSS L.1.1g specifically requires first graders to use frequently occurring demonstratives. Most children use demonstratives naturally in speech but benefit from explicit instruction to use them correctly in writing and to understand the near/far and singular/plural distinctions. Worksheets that present pictures showing near and far objects and ask children to choose the correct demonstrative (this or that? these or those?) make the abstract concept visual and concrete. Teaching demonstratives helps first graders write with greater precision and follow directions that use pointing language in classroom and academic contexts.

Question 2

How do you teach demonstratives to first graders?

Accepted Answer

Teaching demonstratives to first graders works best through physical demonstration and practice with real objects in the classroom. Hold up a pencil and say this pencil is yellow. Then point to a poster across the room and say that poster is blue. Pick up several crayons and say these crayons are mine. Point to chairs across the room and say those chairs are empty. The physical proximity makes the near/far distinction immediate and memorable. Create a sorting chart: near (this, these) and far (that, those), with a second sorting layer for singular (this, that) and plural (these, those). Worksheets that show a child standing near one object and far from another, with blanks to fill in the correct demonstrative, reinforce the concept. Practice sentences where children choose the correct word (look at ____ stars in the sky / ____ book in my hand) build application skills. Games where one child describes an object using a demonstrative and others guess which object they mean (I want that ball. Which one?) make practice interactive. Consistent use of demonstratives in daily classroom language reinforces what worksheets teach.

Question 3

What demonstrative worksheets are best for first grade?

Accepted Answer

The best first-grade demonstrative worksheets use visual cues to reinforce the near/far and singular/plural distinctions. Picture-based worksheets showing a child with nearby objects and distant objects, with blanks for students to fill in this, that, these, or those, are the most effective format. Sorting worksheets where students categorize sentences by which demonstrative they need develop analytical thinking about proximity and number. Sentence completion worksheets (look at ____ flowers in the garden, with a picture showing flowers far away from a child) provide contextual practice. Matching activities that connect this to a picture of one nearby object, those to a picture of several distant objects, and so on, build the four-way distinction. Error correction worksheets where students find and fix demonstrative mistakes (look at these mountain over there should be that mountain or those mountains) develop proofreading awareness. Choose worksheets that present all four demonstratives on the same page so students practice distinguishing between them rather than using one in isolation. These formats align with CCSS L.1.1g and provide the repeated practice needed to move demonstrative use from speech into confident, accurate writing.

1st Grade Demonstratives Worksheets

Demonstratives

Using this, that, these or those - Cake

Using this, that, these or those - Seagull

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