Nouns, adjectives, and verbs OH MY!! How on Earth do you teach parts of speech to students who do not yet fluently speak English? While this may seem like a daunting task, not only is it possible, but I'm going to show you how to make it fun! And effective, too, of course. Once your English Language Learners / Multilingual Learners understand the basic of parts of speech, they will actually start to make more meaning out of the new language forms you introduce them to going forward.
Step 1: Start with Nouns--things you can touch
When teaching students who are learning English as a second (or third) language about parts of speech, I always start with nouns. Why? Because nouns are tangible. Unlike adjectives which are often more of a hypothetical or a concept, nouns can be picked up and touched. You can hold a pencil. You can talk to Sara. You can go to the post office.
I get a big piece of poster paper and a bunch of fun note stickies of different shapes, sizes, and colors. (The fancy note stickies aren't necessary, but I find that students enjoy being artsy and creative and selecting the sticky that they like the best). I divide the big paper into three columns. Next, I write three examples nouns (a person, a place, and a thing) on three different note stickies and post them. Then, I give my students five minutes to write as many examples as possible. To make it fun, I make it a race against me! Students of ALL ages love to try to beat the teacher, and the sense of competition takes a dry grammar topic and makes it an engaging lesson that learnres will remember!
I also always provide the translation for how to say noun in my students' native languages. For example, in Spanish, "noun" is "sustantivo." That way they can connect the concept back to other areas of their life outside of the ESL classroom.
Step 2: Verbs--an action you do with your body
Next, I hit verbs. The reason I do verbs right after nouns is that I explain to students that the two things a sentence MUST have are a subject and a predicate (aka a noun/actor and a verb/action). We make super simple sentences to begin. I call on one student and say "Give me a noun." Let's say that the student responds with the word "dog." Then I call on another student and ask for a verb. Imagine that the student says "eat." "OK," I say, "Now who can make me a sentence with our noun and our verb?" Students love the collaborative nature of this simple, no-prep activity.
Another game I play to reinforce verbs is Simon Says. I'll incorporate more creative demands than the game tradionally requires. For example, I might say "Simon Says jump up and down five times!" or "Simon Says sleep!" and the students must pretend to do whatever the instructions say.
If my ELLs get confused about verbs, I always ask them the guiding question "Is it an action you can do with your body?" This lets them do the cognitive lifting to figure out the correct part of speech, but the question gives them just enough guidance to help them find the answer.
Step 3: Adjectives--words that describe
Adjectives are the last of the three basic parts of speech that I teach to my language learners. This is because, unless you have examples directly in front of you, adjectives are more of an abstract concept.
I tend to use highly visual examples like the picture to the right. Once we identify the adjectives together, I then task students to make their own t-shirt with their own unique adjectives. I have also done this with shoes, a house, and a hydroflask. You can use anything that connects to students and piques their interest. By having them take an active part inf actually designing something, they are applying the usage of adjectives in a context that has meaning for them.
Now that you have introduced the three most basic types of speech,
the fun can really begin!
Now you're probably thinking, "What types of activities can I use to reinforce the learning while not endlessly drilling my students with boring grammar worksheets?" Read on!
Color By Code
One of my favorite grammar activities for ESL students grades 3 through about 8 is Color By Code. If you aren't already familiar with them, Color By Codes are basically multiple choice questions about a given topic and the answers to said questions correspond to a color and a design on the reverse side of the paper. I make my own, but I'll be honest, it's very time consuming. If you're interested in purchasing some seasonal Parts of Speech Color By Codes, click HERE to head to my TPT store. Many of mine are bilingual, so if you have a true Newcomer ESL student for whom this may be too tall of an order, you can still use them, just in Spanish. If you're committed to making your own, more power to you! I recommend using Canva, as the formatting is so easy to play around with and you can cusotmize to your heart's delight!
Group Puzzles
Hands-on group or partner puzzles are an excellent way to teach parts of speech and expand vocabulary for your ESL students simultaneously! Here's how this works:
-- Print out the adjective puzzle cards. I recommend laminating them, but you don’t have to.
-- Cut out the cards.
-- Divide the cards evenly among your students. If students are receiving more than one card, make sure to not give the match to the adjective.
-- Select an area in the classroom where students will place their adjective opposite matches once they find them.
-- Send students around the room to mingle and find their adjective opposite match card. For example, the person with the card that says “hot” must find the classmate that has the card “cold.”
-- Once students have found all the matches, they should use the included notes sheet to record the adjective pairs.
I've used this activity with a variety of grades (4th through 8th), but it's really great for any grade level. The pictures provide language support in case there are words that beginner MLs haven't learned.
This task is fantastic to encourage collaborative learning! It gets ESL students talking and interacting with each other and it's a fun way to take notes instead of just copying off of a Powerpoint. Click HERE if you'd like to purchase this adjective activity for your ESL classroom.
Flyswatter Game
The Flyswatter Game is probably my all time favorite game to teach, practice, and act out verbs. It's super easy to set up and students absolutely go nuts for it! As an added bonus, this game is so simple to understand and fun to play that it lowers the stress and nervousness that many ESL students feel in the classroom. If you want to get your MLs learning, laughing, and engaging, then try this out tomorrow!
All you need is three things: poster paper, markers, and a flyswatter. After pre-teaching some basic verbs and their meanings, write any of the verbs you taight on a big poster paper. Write them in random order and in different colors and directions. Next, draw (or print out) little flies to put all over the paper. The more you put, the more challenging the game becomes.
Finally, have students line up in two lines and take turns swatting the verb that you say. Students can compete to be the first one to swat the verb that you say aloud. For added fun, I make the winner of each round act out the verb so that I am requiring them to recall the meaning (it's also an easy method of formative assessment).
My students BEG for this game and it can be adapted for almost any language topic. I find that verbs, numbers, letters, and money amounts work best.
Manipulatives / Sorting Games
I regularly use sorting games to teach various types of pronouns. The activity below is an example that I made for my MLs when we were studying subject pronouns. The hands on nature of the task boosts retention and engagement, while the collaborative effort lowers stress over having the right answer.
This fun pronoun sorting activity allows students to move around the room and learn collaboratively in a safe way that doesn't make anyone feel uncomfortable if they make a mistake.
Here is how you implement this pronoun activity in your ESL classroom:
Print the background scene papers and the pronoun cards.
Cut out the pronoun cards.
On the BLANK pronoun cards, write the names of 7 students. You will give these students the cards. ONLY these students should be putting anything in the “I” pronoun page. For the rest of the cards, distribute them out evenly among your class.
Spread the background scene papers around the room and point out to students where each one is.
Send students around the room, with their pronoun cards in had, searching for the correct pronoun on the background scene papers.
Circulate and check in on student progress as they work. You can point out errors and redistribute the incorrect ones to students as needed. Click HERE if you'd like to purchase some seasonal pronoun sorting games for your ELLs. I have ones for winter, spring, summer, and fall.
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