Activities to Help You Teach Nouns, Adjectives, Verbs, and Adverbs
1. Introduce Each Part of Speech Separately
Teaching each part of speech in isolation will keep your upper elementary students from becoming overwhelmed. Make sure they have a solid understanding of one part of speech before moving on to the next. Start by teaching nouns - using these free noun worksheets!
Of course, students will develop a more solid understanding of if they understand how the different parts of speech relate to each other. Students need to understand, for example, that adjectives modify nouns. But instead of trying to teach nouns and adjectives at the same time, make sure your upper elementary students have a solid understanding of nouns before introducing them to adjectives.
2. Write Sentences Without Different Parts of Speech
Help your students better understand the purposes of different parts of speech by writing sentences that exclude a specific part of speech.
For example, you could write the following sentence 4 different ways, excluding a noun, adjective, verb, or adverb in the different sentences.
Complete Sentence: The lazy cat snored loudly.
- Without a noun: The lazy snored loudly.
- Without an adjective: The cat snored loudly.
- Without a verb: The lazy cat loudly.
- Without an adverb: The lazy cat snored.
This activity helps 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students better understand what role each part of speech plays in sentences. Sentences need nouns and verbs to make sense, but adjectives and adverbs make sentences more interesting.
This Parts of Speech Resource includes this activity - and it also has a fun sort with missing nouns, adjectives, verbs, and adverbs that helps students think carefully about the purpose of each part of speech!
3. Create a Parts of Speech Anchor Chart
As you teach each part of speech in isolation, add to a parts of speech anchor chart that you create with your 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students. A quick Pinterest search can provide anchor chart inspiration.
By creating an anchor chart together, referring to it throughout your grammar lessons, and then leaving it up as a reminder to students, you will help your students retain what they have learned.
4. Provide Parts of Speech Word Lists
Ideas for Practicing and Reviewing Parts of Speech
5. Word Sorts
Provide upper elementary students with a list of words and have them sort them into groups based on their parts of speech. This is an engaging activity that also makes a great word wall for upper elementary classrooms that you can add to regularly!
This Parts of Speech Resource includes a variety of sorts - as well as some fun maze sort activities - to make this no prep for you.
6. Go on a Scavenger Hunt
Send your 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students on a hunt for words that are a certain part of speech. They could search your classroom library, posters, anchor charts, or textbooks.
This can be a bit overwhelming to students who are just being introduced to the different parts of speech - trying to figure out the part of speech for every word they came across can be overwhelming. Provide a little direction for students so that they have a starting point.
For example, if you are sending students on a hunt for adjectives, ask them to find a word that:
- describes an animal
- describes their favorite movie
- describes their bedroom
This Parts of Speech Resource includes scavenger hunt worksheets like this that are no prep for you!
Want This Noun Freebie?
