Parts of Speech
Learning Module
- Creator(s):
This learning module is a Language Arts unit on the Eight Parts of Speech, intended for middle school students. With modifictions, it could also be used for high school students or for English Language Learner students. As a result of completing this learning module, students will be able to identify parts of speech, label each word in a sentence with its part of speech, and effectively use different parts of speech to enrich their writing and speaking.
The main purpose of this module is not for students to be able to name and label specific parts of speech (i.e. proper nouns), though that may be a positive result of the module. The main purpose is for students to become familiar with what makes up a sentence, how sentences can be developed and improved, and the variety of options that could be used when coming up with words to use in the sentence. Therefore, though many of the tasks include using specific parts of speech, the purpose is for students to practice using all of the different forms of the parts of speech, getting that practice and familiarity with the options available.
This module was created with the Learning by Design pedagogy as a framework (New Learning). To demonstrate this, each activity and lesson within the module outlines for the teacher how students will experience, conceptualize, analyze, and apply their learning.
The original intention of this module is that each update would be the Language Arts lesson for one day. However, the updates may be cumbersome, so a teacher may use discretion to disperse the material over a longer period of time, using the natural subsections of each update.
For each update, students who need extra support should be encouraged to look over the lists given or look in a dictionary. If a student gets stuck when creating the "mad-lib" style sentences, a good approach is to create a sentence, identify the part of speech, then leave a blank in that part of speech.
For students who need extra challenge, they could benefit from the supplementary videos. They could also practice finding more words within the type of speech to expand their vocabulary, learn synonyms, and practice using dictionaries and thesauruses. Additionally, students can take the paragraphs from the assignments and challenge themselves to see how many ways they can change the paragraph by substituting different parts of speech.
The "Student" section of each update consists of one or two parts of speech, terms that relate to that part of speech, examples of the parts of speech, activities, and posts/comment prompts for use with a community discussion board. The "Teacher" section of each update consists of an explanation of the update, the Learning by Design alignments, alternative modifications, and additional supplementary resources.
Much of the text material from this module was adapted from Writer's Choice Writing and Grammar Book. Many of the videos were created by Khan Academy, simply because they are concise, thorough, and align well with the module.
This update aligns with the following Common Core State Standards for Language Arts:
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.7.1 Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.7.2 Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.7.2.a Use a comma to separate coordinate adjectives (e.g., It was a fascinating, enjoyable movie but not He wore an old[,] green shirt).
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.7.3 Use knowledge of language and its conventions when writing, speaking, reading, or listening.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.7.3.a Choose language that expresses ideas precisely and concisely, recognizing and eliminating wordiness and redundancy.*
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.7.4.c Consult general and specialized reference materials (e.g., dictionaries, glossaries, thesauruses), both print and digital, to find the pronunciation of a word or determine or clarify its precise meaning or its part of speech.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.7.6 Acquire and use accurately grade-appropriate general academic and domain-specific words and phrases; gather vocabulary knowledge when considering a word or phrase important to comprehension or expression.
Objective: In this update, you will learn about nouns.
A noun is a word that names a person, a place, a thing, or an idea.
Singular and Plural Nouns
Nouns can be singular or plural, depending on whether they name one person, place, thing, or idea or more than one.
To form the plural of most nouns, add -s. Other plural nouns are formed in different ways. For nouns ending in -s, -ch, -sh, -x, or -zz, add -es to form the plural (e.g. match becomes matches). For nouns ending in -y preceded by an consonant, change the -y to -i and add -es (e.g. baby becomes babies). For most nouns ending in -f or -fe, change the -f to -v and add -es (e.g. life becomes lives). Other nouns have irregular plurals (e.g. goose, geese; woman, women). Some nouns do not change form from singular to plural (e.g. sheep, sheep).
Possessive Nouns
The possessive form of a noun can show possession, ownership, or the general relationship between two nouns. Add an apostrophe and -s to form the possessive of a singular noun, even one that already ends in -s. Use an apostrophe alone to form the possessive of a plural noun that ends in -s.
Concrete and Abstract Nouns
A concrete noun names an object that occupies space or that can be recognized by any of the senses. An abstract noun names an idea, a quality, or a characteristic.
Proper and Common Nouns
A proper noun is the name of a particular person, place, thing, or idea. A common noun is the general--not the particular--name of a person, place, thing, or idea. Proper nouns are capitalized; common nouns are usually not capitalized.
Collective Nouns
A collective noun names a group. A collective noun is sometimes considered singular and sometimes considered plural. You consider a collective noun singular when you talk about a group as a whole (The audience shouts its approval). You consider a collective noun plural when you talk about the individual members of a group (The audience arrive in small groups.)
Types of nouns
Singular noun--A noun that names one person, place, thing, or idea.
Plural noun--A noun that names more than one person, place, thing, or idea.
Possessive noun--A noun that shows ownership or possession.
Concrete noun--A noun that names an object that occupies space or that can be recognized by any of the senses.
Abstract noun--A noun that names an idea, a quality, or a characteristic.
Proper noun--A noun that names a specific person, place, thing, or idea. Proper nouns are capitalized.
Common noun--A noun that names a general person, place, thing, or idea. These are not usually capitalized.
Collective noun--A noun that names a group.
Wrap-Up: Complete the paragraphs below by filling in each of the twenty blanks with the kind of noun specified in italic typeface. Be sure that your commpleted sentences make sense.
This update focuses on nouns. Nouns are an integral part of every sentence, thus this update is crucial for students to grasp and practice.
As an introduction this module, students will complete a knowledge survey. This knowledge survey will touch on every part of speech in a general way. The sentence used is rather cumbersome, so it would benefit students to take the whole sentence, determine which parts of speech each word falls into, then take the survey to ensure that they don't miss any of the words. The survey may be used a pre-test, completing the module by having students complete the knowledge survey again to show their progress.
Learning by Design Pedagogy
Modifications
As stated previously, it is important that students understand that nouns are an integral part of most sentences. To develop this understanding, teachers may have students choose a literary work and highlighting the noun(s) in each sentence. For sentences with commands, it may be beneficial to share the phrasal verb commands (a video is shared in the "Teacher" section of the update on verbs). However, another way to explain this to students is that every sentence has a noun, but with some commands, the noun is the understood "you." For instance, "Go" is speaking to the second-person, so the understood noun is, "[You] go."
Supplementary Materials
The following videos delve further into the irregular plural nouns.
Objective: In this update, you will learn about pronouns.
A pronoun is a word that takes the place of a noun, a group of words acting as a noun, or another pronoun. The word or group of words to which a pronoun refers is called its antecedent. A pronoun must agree in number and gender with its antecedent.
Personal and Possessive Pronouns
A personal pronoun refers to a specific person or thing by indicating the person speaking (the first person; e.g. I), the person being addressed (the second person; e.g. you), or the person or thing being discussed (the third person; e.g. it, him). Personal pronouns also express number; they are either singular or plural.
Third person pronouns also express gender. He and him are masculine; she and her are feminine; it is neuter (neither masculine nor feminine).
The personal pronouns include several forms that indicate possession or ownership. A possessive pronoun takes the place of the possessive form of a noun. Some possessive forms are used before nouns (e.g. Take your bathing suit.), while other possessive forms can be used by themselves (e.g. That bathing suit is yours.). Notice that the possessive pronouns do not contain an apostrophe.
Reflexive and Intensive Pronouns
Reflexive and intensive pronouns are formed by adding -self or -selves to certain personal and possessive pronouns. A reflexive pronoun refers, or reflects back, to a noun or pronoun earlier in the sentence (e.g. Cathy always timed herself when jogging). An intensive pronoun (also known as an emphatic pronoun) adds emphasis to another noun or pronoun in the same sentence (e.g. Maria herself opened the door.). An intensive pronoun does not add information to a sentence. If the intensive pronoun is left out, the sentence still has the same meaning. An intensive pronoun usually comes immediately after its antecedent.
Demonstrative Pronouns
A demonstrative pronoun points out specific persons, places, things, or ideas. A demonstrative pronoun can come before or after its antecedent. Sometimes the antecedent is understood.
Interrogative and Relative Pronouns
An interrogative pronoun is used to form questions (who? whom? whose? what? which?). The interrogative pronouns include the forms whoever, whomever, whichever, and whatever.
A relative pronoun is used to being a special subject-verb word group called a subordinate clause.
Interrogative: Who will lead the way?
Relative: The people who invented Monopoly were surprised by its success.
Indefinite Pronouns
An indefinite pronoun refers to persons, places, or things in a more general way than a noun does.
Types of Pronouns
Personal pronoun—A pronoun that refers to a specific person or thing by indicating the person speaking, the person being addressed, or the person or thing being discussed.
Possessive pronoun—A pronoun that takes place of the possessive form of a noun
Reflexive pronoun—a pronoun ending in -self or -selves that refers to a noun or pronoun earlier in the sentence.
Intensive pronoun—A pronoun ending in -self or -selves that adds emphasis to another noun or pronoun in the same sentence. If this pronoun is left out, the sentence still has the same meaning.
Demonstrative pronoun—A pronoun that points out specific persons, places, things, or ideas.
Interrogative pronoun—A pronoun that is used to form questions.
Relative pronoun—A pronoun that is used to begin subordinate clause.
Indefinite pronoun—A pronoun that refers to persons, places, or things in a more general way than a noun does.
Wrap-Up:
This update will introduce pronouns and the various ways they can be used within sentences.
Learning by Design Pedagogy
Supplementary Materials
The following videos give different aspects of pronouns and can clarify certain pronoun rules and expand students' understanding of the different types of pronouns and how they are to be used.
Objective: In this update, you will learn about verbs.
A verb is a word that expresses action or a state of being and is necessary to make a statement. The primary characteristic of a verb is its ability to express time—present, past, and future. Verbs express time by means of tense forms.
Action Verbs
An action verb tells what someone or something does. Some action verbs express physical action (e.g. The catcher often signals to the pitcher.); others express mental action (e.g. A good catcher understands the batter’s technique.).
A transitive verb is an action verb that is followed by a word or words that answer the question what? or whom?
An intransitive verb is an action verb that is not followed by a word that answers the question what? or whom?
Linking Verbs
A linking verb links, or joins, the subject of a sentence (often a noun or pronoun) with a word or expression that identifies or describes the subject. Be in all its forms—am, is, are, was, were—is the most commonly used linking verb. Several other verbs besides the form of be can act as linking verbs.
Verb Phrases
The verb in a sentence may consist of more than one word. The words that accompany the main verb are called auxiliary, or helping, verbs.
A verb phrase consists of a main verb and all its auxiliary, or helping, verbs.
The most common auxiliary verbs are the forms of be and have. They may help the main verb express the various tenses. The other auxiliary verbs are not used primarily to express time. They are often used to emphasize meaning.
Types of Verbs
Action verb—a verb that tells what someone or something does.
Transitive verb—an action verb that is followed by a word or words that answer the question what? or whom?
Intransitive verb—an action verb that is not followed by a word or words that answer the question what? Or whom?
Linking verb— A linking verb links the subject of a sentence with a word or expression that identifies or describes the subject.
Verb phrase—a group of words acting as a noun that consist of a main verb and all its auxiliary verbs.
Auxiliary verb—Also known as a helping verb. A verb that accompanies the main verb in a sentence.
Wrap-Up:
Complete each of the following sentences as indicated in italic type-face. Be sure that your completed sentences make sense.
This update focuses on verbs. Verbs are used in every true sentence in the English language. Many students may only consider verbs to be words that show action; however, this update will give them experience with the variety of verbs, and how we commonly use them.
Learning by Design Pedagogy
Modifications
Though the modification mentioned in the Nouns update could be adapted and used for the other parts of speech, using it with verbs would be as effective as using it with nouns. Have students choose a literary work and identify every verb (in every sentence).
Supplementary Materials
The video below was mentioned in the Nouns update, stating that some sentences do not have nouns. This video would further clarify these phrasal verb commands.
Also, Khan Academy has multiple supplementary videos to use with verbs. Rather than attaching each video (which would be lengthy), teachers may visit the playlist.
Objective: In this update, you will learn about adjectives.
An adjective is a word that modifies a noun or pronoun by limiting its meaning. An adjective tells what kind, which one, how many, or how much.
Nouns can also be used as adjectives. They tell what kind or which one about the noun modified.
Possessive pronouns, such as our and his, can be considered adjectives because they modify nouns in addition to their usual function as pronouns.
Similarly, possessive nouns can be considered adjectives (e.g. the knight's castle)
Adjectives may be used in various positions in relation to the words they modify.
How obedient the poodle is!
That obedient poodle belongs to her.
The poodle is obedient.
The judges considered the poodle obedient.
Many adjectives have different forms to indicate degree of comparison.
Articles
Articles are the adjectives a, an, and the. A and an are called indefinite articles. They can refer to any one of a kind of person, place, or thing. A is used before consonant sounds (a dog) and an is used before vowel sounds (an issue). The is called a definite article. It refers to a specific person, place, or thing.
Proper Adjectives
A proper adjective is formed from a proper noun and begins with a capital letter.
The following suffixes are often used to create proper adjectives: -an, -ian, -n, -ese, and -ish. Sometimes there are other changes as well. In some cases, the noun and adjective forms are the same.
Types of Adjectives
Possessive pronoun--A pronoun used also as an adjective since it modifies a noun.
Articles—The adjectives a, an, and the.
Indefinite articles—A and an, referring to any one of a kind of person, place, or thing.
Definite articles—The, referring to a specific person, place, or thing.
Proper adjectives—an adjective formed from a proper noun and beginning with a capital letter.
Wrap-Up:
Complete the paragraphs below by replacing each blank with an adjective, including definite and indefinite articles. Be sure that your completed sentences make sense.
Adverbs
An adverb is a word that modifies a verb, an adjective, or another adverb by making its meaning more specific. Adverbs modify by answering the questions when? where? how? and to what degree?
When an adverb modifies a verb, it may be placed in various positions in relation to the verb. When an adverb modifies an adjective or another adverb, it usually comes directly before the modified word.
Negative Words as Adverbs
The word not and the contraction n’t are considered adverbs (e.g. The plane has not landed). Other negative words can function as adverbs of time and place (e.g. The plane was nowhere in sight; I have never flown).
Adverbs that Compare
Like adjectives, some adverbs have different forms to indicate degree of comparison. The comparative form of an adverb compares two actions. The superlative form of an adverb compares more than two actions. For adverbs of only one syllable, add -er to make the comparative form and -est to make the superlative form.
When an adverb ends in -ly or has more than one syllable, use the word more to form the comparative and most to form the superlative. Some adverbs do not form the comparative and superlative in the regular manner.
Wrap-Up:
In the paragraph below, highlight the twenty adjectives in green and the twenty adverbs in orange. (Do not include a, an, and the.)
When finished with adjectives and adverbs, highlight all of the nouns and pronouns (that don't act as adjectives) pink and all of the verbs blue.
This update focuses on adjectives and adverbs. Since there are two topics in the same update, the update would be simple to separate into shorter lessons.
Learning by Design Pedagogy
Supplementary Materials
Objective: In this update, you will learn about prepositions and interjections.
A preposition is a word that shows the relationship of a noun or pronoun to some other word in a sentence. Prepositions begin phrases that end with a noun or pronoun that is called the object of the preposition.
Below are some common prepositions. You will also see compound prepositions, which are made up of more than one word.
Types of Prepositions
Object of the preposition--The noun or pronoun at the end of a prepositional phrase.
Compound preposition--A preposition that is made up of more than one word.
Wrap-Up:
In each sentence below, circle the prepositional phrase(s). Remember that some prepositions are made up of more than one word. (The numeral in parentheses at the end of each item indicates the number of prepositional phrases in that sentence.) Highlight the preposition in yellow.
When finished, check your work with a partner.
An interjection is a word or phrase that expresses emotion or exclamation. An interjection has no grammatic connection to other words. Make sure interjections are followed by punctuation.
This update focuses on prepositions and interjections. These two parts of speech are rather different, but, just as with the Adjectives and Adverbs update, it helped balance the module to combine the two into one longer update.
Learning by Design Pedagogy
Supplementary Materials
Objective: In this update, you will learn about conjunctions.
A conjunction is a word that joins single words or groups of words.
Coordinating Conjunctions
A coordinating conjunction joins words or groups of words that have equal grammatical weight in a sentence. When used as a coordinating conjunction, for means “for the reason that” or “because.”
Correlative Conjunctions
Correlative conjunctions work in pairs to join words and groups of words of equal weight in a sentence.
Subordinating Conjunctions
A subordinating conjunction joins two clauses, or ideas, in such a way as to make one grammatically dependent upon the other. The idea, or clause, that a subordinating conjunction introduces is said to be “subordinate,” or dependent, because it cannot stand by itself as a complete sentence.
Conjunctive Adverbs
A conjunctive adverb is used to clarify the relationship between clauses of equal weight in a sentence. Conjunctive adverbs are usually stronger, more precise, and more formal than coordinating conjunctions.
Types of Conjunctions
Coordinating conjunction—a conjunction that joins words or groups of words that have equal grammatical weight in a sentence.
Correlative conjunction—a conjunction that work in pairs to join words and groups of words of equal weight in a sentence.
Subordinating conjunction—a conjunction that joins two clauses in such a way as to make on grammatically dependent upon the other.
Conjunctive adverb—a conjunction that is used to clarify the relationship between clauses of equal weight in a sentence.
Wrap-Up:
Replace each blank in the following sentences with a conjunction that makes sense. The kind of conjunction to use is stated in parentheses at the end of each sentence.
In this update, students will focus on conjunctions.
Learning by Design Pedagogy
Supplementary Materials
Sortify
With a peer, compete to score as many points as possible in Sortify. Additionally, you can work together to find ways to make more points. Note that you lose points for any incorrect categorization. Also note, you only get one point for categorizing with the parts of speech, but three points for completing sentences and five points for changing the form of words.
Scattergories
In groups of four, play Parts of Speech Scattergories:
Decide on a category list number by randomly picking one (don't peek at the list title).
Roll the letter die to reveal the key letter that all answers must begin with in round one.
Start the timer:
Complete the parts of speech, using only words that belong in the list category and begin with the letter rolled.
Stop writing immediately when the timer expires.
Read your answers aloud. All players do this for each numbered item on the list.
Challenge the answers of other players if you think they might not apply to the category or if they do not fit under the rules of play (see Tips, below).
Circle all answers on your list that are not used by anyone else and are not successfully challenged as unacceptable.
Score the round by writing the number of circled answers at the top of your list.
Repeat (using the same category list or a new category list) for two more rounds of play. Use the remaining columns on your answer pad for these two rounds. Three rounds complete a game.
Total the scores for the three rounds of play. The highest score wins the game - but don't stop now.
Start a new game by selecting a new category list. Be sure everyone is using the same list number.
Label the Parts of Speech
Using the key, highlight the parts of speech in each paragraph. Every word should be labeled.
This update is the culmination of all of the parts of speech lessons. Now that students have delved deeply into the parts of speech, they can spend some time practicing with the different types of speech and their vocabularies.
Learning by Design Pedagogy
Students will experience … changing words so that they are different parts of speech (e.g. heavy(adjective) could be changed to heavily to be used as an adverb).
Students will conceptualize … all of the parts of speech, choosing specific words that go into each category.
Students will analyze … how words can be used in a variety of ways to create different meanings, give different stress to ideas, and develop sentences to be easier to read.
Students will apply … their knowledge of the parts of speech and vocabularies to select words that not only fit in the appropriate category, but are creative and unique.
Modifications
Students should be encouraged to play these games individually and with their peers.
These are great activities to have available during transition times, since they have minimal clean up and can be used multiple ways.
In this project, you will create a menu with a partner.
Remember to make your menu aesthetically pleasing, as well as appealing with your words.
Keep in mind, a menu has pictures and/or designs, but don't let the images overwhelm the descriptions of the tasty foods!
Peer Review
Using the sheet below, review your peer based on this project. For each "star," you may leave the star empty (if your peer struggled with this area), fill the star in halfway (if your peer could have done better, but worked to do well in this area), or fill the star in completely (if your peer did very well in this area). Then, at the bottom of the sheet, state three stars (what areas made your peer successful during this project) and three wishes (what areas your peer may want to improve for future projects). You must complete three of each!
This update is the culminating activity: The project. Students will use their vocabulary and the variety of parts of speech to create menus with as much detail and specificity as possible. This project is a peer project. It could also be a group project.
Learning by Design Pedagogy
Students will experience … creating a menu, describing food in an appetizing way.
Students will conceptualize … the different parts of speech, and how each can be used to develop sentences.
Students will analyze … which words and ideas are most effective in giving description.
Students will apply … their knowledge of the parts of speech and vocabularies to choose the right words to use in the right situations.
Modifications
For students who struggle with this activity, it may benefit them to view online menus, and either use them as inspiration or substitute words to improve a menu.
For students who need extra challenging, the assignment could easily be modified for the students to specifically label their parts of speech (i.e. the student might underline the noun, then state that it is a proper noun; or, a student might underline an adverb, then draw an arrow to the word it is modifying).
This project integrates art quite naturally and could be used in conjunction with an art class.