Most students (and many teachers) are not "mad" about parts of speech, unless you count the fact that the kids are mad that they have to diagram sentences again, and the teachers are mad that many of their students still haven't gotten the hang of it.
While some of the more analytical students have an easy time of picking apart our language to see what makes it tick, most students would rather have their wisdom teeth pulled than study grammar again. Keeping this loathing in mind, I have tried to liven up the study of grammar with a few unusual activities that I'd like to share with other teachers, public or private (or homeschoolers), who also may be looking to liven up their presentation of parts of speech and a few other grammar topics. . .
PARTS OF SPEECH
Want some quick activities? Try the following:
The Internet version of Mad Libs, "Blibs" is a fun way to review the four main parts of speech, as well as a few of the minor ones. You can "play" on-line, or copy and print some for the class. Making your own is easy after looking over some of their zany samples. Check it out first-hand at: Blibs. Or try slightly more difficult versions at: Da3.net or Storyfun.
Another zany idea is to read aloud to the class Lewis Carroll's poem, Jabberwocky. (first stanza below:)
'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe:
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe .
Give each student a copy and ask the class to highlight or to circle Carroll's made-up words. Now, ask them what part of speech words like "brillig," "slighthy," and "toves" are. Most students will say that "toves" is a noun. Now, ask them why. . . eventually some will realize that it IS a noun because it ends in "s" and because it has an article "the." The discovery learning that takes place with this exercise is awesome.
Students who are native speakers of English often don't think about the rules that govern the language, because they learned these rules by imitation when they were small children. I like to end the lesson by having the students create a "new breed" of animal and to illustrate their creature much in the way Carroll did with the "jabberwocky." Then, have the students write a poem or a paragraph to describe the creature's sounds, movement, and habits, including make-believe words that they've manufactured to express the new animal.
While some of the more analytical students have an easy time of picking apart our language to see what makes it tick, most students would rather have their wisdom teeth pulled than study grammar again. Keeping this loathing in mind, I have tried to liven up the study of grammar with a few unusual activities that I'd like to share with other teachers, public or private (or homeschoolers), who also may be looking to liven up their presentation of parts of speech and a few other grammar topics. . .
The Internet version of Mad Libs, "Blibs" is a fun way to review the four main parts of speech, as well as a few of the minor ones. You can "play" on-line, or copy and print some for the class. Making your own is easy after looking over some of their zany samples. Check it out first-hand at: Blibs. Or try slightly more difficult versions at: Da3.net or Storyfun.
Another zany idea is to read aloud to the class Lewis Carroll's poem, Jabberwocky. (first stanza below:)
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe:
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe
Give each student a copy and ask the class to highlight or to circle Carroll's made-up words. Now, ask them what part of speech words like "brillig," "slighthy," and "toves" are. Most students will say that "toves" is a noun. Now, ask them why. . . eventually some will realize that it IS a noun because it ends in "s" and because it has an article "the." The discovery learning that takes place with this exercise is awesome.
Students who are native speakers of English often don't think about the rules that govern the language, because they learned these rules by imitation when they were small children. I like to end the lesson by having the students create a "new breed" of animal and to illustrate their creature much in the way Carroll did with the "jabberwocky." Then, have the students write a poem or a paragraph to describe the creature's sounds, movement, and habits, including make-believe words that they've manufactured to express the new animal.
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