Teaching English and the Grammatical Use of the Pronoun: Queer(y)ing the Teaching of Writing

Abstract

In Australia, and indeed in many countries around the globe, teaching pronouns for reading comprehension and cohesion in writing in English language classrooms is not only a curriculum directive but a social justice imperative. In this paper, we combine the teaching of pronouns in English with social justice concepts of political representation and cultural recognition for gender equity. We engage a gender‐expansive understanding of the term gender, beyond a male and female binary, and recognize that children identify with and express genders that are non‐binary. For gender equity to progress and for children to have parity of participation for learning English, gender‐expansive understandings about language such as pronouns is important for engaging in socially just teaching and learning in English language classrooms. This paper presents three resources related to teaching about pronouns in primary school contexts using a gender‐expansive understanding. Children must see themselves represented in the language that they are immersed in, learning in, and learning about. Here we offer gender‐expansive teaching practices for teaching pronouns in the English language classroom.