Learning about grammar and the different parts of speech can be tricky for first grade kids. Here are a few ideas to help make your noun activities engaging and easy to understand for young students.
1. Use Literature To Guide Your Lessons
I like to begin any lesson with a good book, if possible, and this one is perfect for beginning your noun activities. My favorite noun book for young kids is If You Were A Noun by Michael Dahl. It provides an introduction to nouns and proper nouns and it is written in kid-friendly language.
A Chache of Jewels: And Other Collective Nouns by Ruth Heller is full of beautiful pictures and just right for first grade students.
Another favorite is A Mink, A Fink, and A Skating Rink by Brian Cleary. Kids love the playful rhyming pattern and it's full of different examples of nouns.
2. Noun Anchor Charts and Interactive Writing
When my students are first learning any new skill in our room, we always make anchor charts to help us learn the concept. Anchor charts are the perfect way to introduce a new concept to students and a great reminder of skills that have already been taught.
When you’re creating charts as references for young students in K-2, remember that simple is your friend. Students at this age are just learning to read so if you want kids to be able to use them you'll need to keep words to a minimum.
It’s always a good idea to create your noun anchor charts with your students. When children are engaged in the process of creating the chart it helps them remember the skills and use the chart for reference.
When we're learning about nouns we make a basic chart that explains the definition of a noun. We also make these charts that give examples of nouns of people, places, animals, and things. We hang these charts in our classroom and the students use them as references to help them in their writing all through the year.
3. Noun Games
Let's face it…..grammar can be boring to young students. Any time you can use math or literacy games in your room, it makes your lessons more engaging for young students. I try to add at least one game to my lesson plans each day in either math or literacy.
When we're doing noun activities, we play the Name That Noun game. It's a simple 4 player game. The students roll the die and move around the game board. They either land on the word person, place animal, or thing and cover a noun on their playing mat that corresponds with the word they land on.
This simple game is great for helping kids remember nouns and they love playing it with their friends. We usually play this in small groups as a lesson and then I put it in our word work center for additional practice.
4. Noun Pocket Chart Sorting Activities
A great way to help your students learn the different types of nouns is to do sorting activities. I pass out pictures of nouns to each of the students and we work together to sort them in a pocket chart under the headings of person, place, animal, or thing.
When we begin to learn the difference between a common and proper noun, we sort word cards in the pocket chart.
5. Noun Videos
Using videos is always a great way to help students remember a new skill. There are great videos on YouTube that are just a few minutes long. They have catchy songs that the kids love and help them remember nouns.
6. Noun Worksheets
I like to use these worksheets for extra practice, learning center activities, and assessments. We use worksheets where the students practice sorting words and pictures by person, place animal, and thing.
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