Adverbs can be so much fun to teach once students understand how they bring action to life! The trick is showing them how adverbs answer the questions how, when, where, and to what extent. With the right mix of songs, games, books, and visuals, students will start spotting adverbs everywhere. Below, you’ll find classroom-tested adverb activities, videos, printables, and free resources you can use right away.
Teaching Video with Organizer
This video is a great overview of several rules about adverbs. It includes definitions and examples for the following:
- types (How, When, Where, To What Extent)
- turning adjectives into adverbs
- irregular
- comparative and superlative forms
The lesson pairs with a provided graphic organizer. Students listen to the first part of the video to hear the definition of interjections. When instructed to do so, students pause the video and complete their organizers. Finally, students watch the remainder of the video to check their answers.
Download free posters, the video organizer, and classroom handouts here.
More Adverb Activities
Activity #1 – Posters
This set of mini-posters may be displayed in the classroom during the lesson. The word lists are great references for students.
The Teaching Ideas website also offers adverb posters and banners for the classroom. Check them out here.
Activity #2 – Online Adverb Activities
These links take you to online games and lessons about adverbs.
Here are a few links to help you find lessons and practice pages:
Activity #3 – Picture Books
Bring adverbs to life with picture books students will love:
- Up, Up and Away A Book about Adverbs by Ruth Heller
- If you Were an Adverb by Michael Dahl
- Suddenly Alligator: Adventures in Adverbs by Rick Walton
- The Maestro Plays by Bill Martin Jr
- Grammar Tales: Adverbs: Tillie’s Tuba by Maria Fleming
- Lazily, Crazily Just a Bit Nasally: More about Adverbs by Brian P. Cleary
- Dearly, Nearly, Insincerely: What is an Adverb by Brian P. Cleary
(Tip: Many of these stories can also be found as read-alouds on YouTube.)
Activity #4 – Walk the Walk Charades
Play “Walk the Walk Charades – An Adverb Game” charades where students act out verbs modified by adverbs (e.g., “run quickly,” “speak softly”). The class guesses both the verb and the adverb.
Teaching Tip:
Use this as a warm-up before writing. It helps students visualize how adverbs affect action.
Activity #5 – Adverb Anchor Chart
Anchor charts are a great reference guide for students. At a glance, students can check the rules. Just by having a variety of anchor charts that change often, students absorb a world of knowledge.
Activity #6- Schoolhouse Rock – “Lolly, Lolly, Lolly”
Bring music into grammar instruction with the classic Schoolhouse Rock song “Lolly, Lolly, Lolly, Get Your Adverbs Here.” Students love singing along, and it’s packed with examples.
Teaching Tip:
Have students write their own “Lolly-style” verse using adverbs from their writing journals.
Activity #7- Fix the Sentence
Provide sentences with missing or misused adverbs and have students revise them using their organizer as a guide.
If you missed the link to the handouts, here it is again.
See the product that inspired this post.
Ready to dive deeper?
To look at how Teaching Grammar with Animated Shorts can transform your grammar lessons, visit my Teachers Pay Teachers store. You’ll find detailed lesson plans, interactive activities, and everything you need to bring grammar to life in your classroom!
Click on the buttons to visit other posts in this series.
4 comments
Skip to comment form
Tɦanks for writing aЬоut > Parts of Speech ~ Adverbs Book Units
Teacher < Loved it!
Glad to be one of many visitors on this awing web site :D.
This is a great, and very helpful post! Thank you!
Great post! Thank you for your help!