The goal of grammar instruction is to help students to become more proficient readers and writers. Understanding parts of speech helps students build their vocabulary as well as their composition skills.
In the primary grades, grammar lesson plans begin with nouns, verbs and words that describe. As students move through upper elementary grades, their knowledge of other parts of speech expands to include pronouns, adjectives, adverbs, and conjunctions. Grammar lesson plans should include instruction that explains how words function in a sentence.
How to teach: Parts of speech instruction can begin at the word level, but should also include sentence level instruction so students can see how words within a sentence relate to one another. This helps students learn to write more complex sentences and make better word choices.
Play to learn: In the Parts of Speech learning activity, students read the sentence and select the correct part of speech for the underlined word. Students can’t progress until the correct part of speech has been identified.
This is a great activity to use with English Language Learners as practice distinguishing between nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs and other parts of speech. Parts of Speech is available as an online activity or as a printable worksheet, which could be used as a parts of speech quiz. Teachers can use this learning activity when introducing parts of speech as a whole group activity, as independent practice in centers, or for homework.