Teaching Nouns: 9 Activities That Stick

Activity #2 – Guess the Location

Have students think of a place they like to visit. On a piece of paper, students list things they would see, hear, taste, touch, or smell at this place. The list needs to contain all nouns. For example, if the location was the beach, the student might list sand, sunshine, shells, wind, umbrella, towel, castle, shovel, bucket, and salt.

Once the lists are made, have students divide into small groups to share them. After a student reads his/her nouns, the group members try to guess the location.

Activity #3 – Elimination Noun Game

Setting up the Game:

You will need three sets of popsicle sticks.

#1 ~Write each student’s name on one stick.

#2 ~ Write the letters of the alphabet.

#3 ~ Write specific types of nouns such as singular, plural, collective, proper, abstract, concrete, etc.

The Object of the Game

To be the last student standing

Playing up the Game:

Have all students stand up. Draw one stick from each set. You may draw ~ Megan ~ A ~ Proper Noun. Megan has to quickly give you a proper noun that begins with the letter A. For example, Alaska, Atlanta, Alice, etc. If she cannot, she must sit down. Place these sticks aside and draw three more [one from each set] for the next turn. Once you run out of sticks in one set, you can dump the “used” sticks back into the draw piles.

Students must sit down if they give an incorrect answer or repeat any nouns already used during the game. Students must answer promptly. You may wish to start slowly, then increase the speed after students understand the game’s rules. If students hesitate, they must sit down and be eliminated from the game.