Teaching Regular and Proper Nouns

Students need to learn grammar skills in order to learn communication skills. They also require grammar skills in order to do well with later analytical and independent thinking skills.

Teach your students to recognize nouns using the lesson provided. Present the first five examples using the script. the script uses a Model, Lead, Test format from Direct Instruction methods. Then let your students try the rest of the worksheet exercises independently.

For a printable pdf version of the lesson, covering regular and proper nouns, click here.

 

Teaching Regular and Proper Nouns

 

Behavior Objective

The student can See/Mark 80-100 nouns in sentences with 2 or fewer errors/minute.

The worksheet has a number indicating how many nouns are in that sentence.

 

Materials

• Pencil
• Timing Device
• Student to practice this script with
• One Standard Celebration (SCC) Chart (print from course files)

 

Discussion

A noun tells of a person, place, thing or state of mind (e.g. confusion).

Students need to learn grammar skills in order to learn communication skills well. They also require grammar skills in order to analyze deductions so as to know how to write a correct conclusion.

One rule about deductions is that the noun which is found in the rule and the middle part cannot be used in the conclusion. If students cannot quickly and accurately identify nouns, they are much more likely to make errors in writing conclusions to deductions.

Teach your students to recognize nouns using the lesson provided before you begin to teach them reading comprehension skill, especially deductions. Present the first five examples as a lesson. Then let your students try the rest of the set independently. This lesson only deals with identifying nouns in one of the four possible kinds of deductions. While identifying nouns will be useful for all types of deductions, further lessons for other types of deductions are still required and will follow later.

 

Teaching Regular Nouns

Script

Say to the student, “Now we are going to learn about parts of speech called nouns. I am going to teach you some rules so that you can tell which words in a sentence are nouns. Knowing about nouns is important when you are writing stories or notes.”

Say, “Here is the rule about nouns. My turn. Listen. A noun tells about a person, place or thing. Listen again. A noun tells about a person, place or thing. Say the rule with me about what a noun tells. Ready.”

The student and the teacher say, “A noun tells about a person place or thing.”
Say to the student, “Excellent. Say that rule with me again. The student and the teacher say, “A noun tells about a

person, place or thing.”

Say to the student, “Now it is your turn to say the rule about what a noun tells. Ready.”

The student answers, “A noun tells about a person, place or thing.

Say to the student, “That’s correct.“

Practice until the student can say the rule correctly, quickly and easily.

Say to the student, “Good learning that rule. You’ve got it. Now let’s use the rule to find the nouns in a sentence. Look at Part A of the worksheet below and read me the first sentence.”

The student reads, “Bits of fur floated in the air.”
Say to the student, “Good reading. Look at the end of the sentence. There is a number which tells you how many

nouns are in this sentence. What does that number say?”

The students says “Three”
Say to the student, “So how many nouns should we find in the first sentence?” The students says “Three”

Say to the student, “That’s correct. Let’s see if you can find the three nouns in the first sentence. Use your rule about nouns to find the first person, place or thing in that sentence. What is the first word that names a person, place or thing in that sentence?”

The student says, “Bits.”

Say to the student, “That’s right, the first noun names a thing “bits”, Good going.”

Correction Procedure

If the student makes an error, point to the word “bits” and say, “My turn. Does the word ‘bits’ tell me about a person, place or thing? Yes, it tells me about a thing. A ‘bit’ is a thing. ‘Bits’ are things. Read the sentence again.”

The student reads the sentence again.
Say to the student, “Good reading. Now look at the sentence. What is first word in this sentence that names a

person, place or thing?”

The student says, “Bits.”

Say to the student, “That’s right. Now find the next noun in that sentence.”

The student says, “fur”

Say to the student, “Good using your rule. ‘Fur’ is a thing, so ‘fur’ is a noun. Now find the third noun in the sentence.”

The student says “air”.

Say to the student, “Right again. ‘Air’ is also a thing, so ‘air’ is a noun. Tell me all three nouns in that sentence.”

The student says, “Bits, fur and air”

Repeat with several additional examples from Part A of the worksheet until the student is naming nouns quickly, easily and without error.

Then let the student complete Part A of the worksheet as you watch. Correct any errors immediately using the correction procedure given above.

 

Teaching Proper Nouns

Script

Say to the student, “Now we are going to learn a second rule. This is a rule about a special kind of noun. This is a rule about proper nouns. Listen. A proper noun tells about special individuals, events or places. Proper nouns always begin with a capital letter. Listen again. A proper noun tells about special individuals, events or place and always begins with a capital letter.

Say to the student, “Say that rule with me. Ready.”
The teacher and the student say the rule together, “A proper noun tells about special individuals, events or places and always begins with a capital letter.”

Practice until the student can say the rule correctly, quickly and easily.
Say to the student, “Good learning that rule. Now say the rule all by yourself. Ready.

The student says, “A proper noun tells about special individuals, events or places and always begins with a capital letter.”

Say to the student, “You’ve got it. Now let’s use the rule to find the nouns in sentences. Look at Part B of your worksheet. The title says ‘proper nouns’. Read me the first sentence of Part B.”

The student reads, “General George Washington became the first president of the United States after the Revolutionary War.”

Say to the student, “Good reading. The number at the end of the sentence tells you how many nouns are in that sentence. How many nouns are in this sentence?”

The student says, “Four”

Say to the student, “That’s correct. The sentence has four nouns. Some of these nouns might be proper nouns. So what is the first noun in that sentence? Use your rules about nouns and proper nouns to figure it out.”

The student says, “General George Washington.”
Say to the student, “That’s right, now tell me is that a proper noun or a regular noun?”
The student says, “A proper noun.”
Say to the student, “How do you know that General George Washington is a proper noun?” The student says, “It names a special person.”
Say to the student, “Very good. Now let’s find the next noun in the sentence. What is it?” The student says, “ president.”
Say to the student, “Is president a regular noun or a proper noun in this sentence?”
The student says “A regular noun.”

 

Say to the student, “ Why is it a regular noun?”

The student says, “In this sentence, president does not name a special person.”

Say to the student, “That’s correct. What is the next noun?”

The student says, “ United States”

Say to the student, “Is United States a regular or proper noun?”

The student says, “United States is a proper noun because it names a special place.”

Say to the student, “Good using your rule. What is the last noun in that sentence?”

The student says, “Revolutionary War.”

Say to the student, “Is Revolutionary War a regular noun or a proper noun?”

The student says, “A proper noun because Revolutionary War names a special event.”

Say to the student, “Nice work. You are right again. Let’s do the next sentence.”

Repeat the procedure with the next 10 sentences. Then give the student a chance to do the rest of the sentences independently as you watch. Correct all errors immediately.

 

Measuring Progress – The One-Minute Timing

Say to the student, “Now we will do a one-minute timing of your knowledge of nouns. Look at Exercise C on your worksheet. You will read each sentence and underline each regular noun and circle each proper noun. What are you going to do with each regular noun?”

The student says, “Underline it.”
Say to the student, “That’s correct. And what are you going to do with each proper noun?” The student says, “Circle it.”

Say to the student, “That’s correct. I will give you one minute to underline or circle as many nouns as you can. You may start as soon as I say ‘Please begin’. You will stop after one minute when I say ‘Thank you’. Ready. Please begin.”

Time the student for one minute, then say, “Thank you.”

Correct the student’s work. Correct any errors and review them with the student. Record the number of correctly marked nouns and the number of errors on the chart. Have the student complete the worksheet for additional practice. The student should be able to mark between 80 and 100 nouns in one minute with no more than 2 errors.

 

 

Teaching Regular Nouns – See / Mark Nouns

Worksheet – Part A

Find the nouns in each sentence.

1. Bits of fur floated in the air. (3)
2. Seven spiders sat on a large leaf. (2)
3. Three dogs, two cats and a monkey went for a walk in the park. (5)
4. Are you going there right now? (0)
5. How many cookies did you eat? (1)
6. Get off the boat! (1)
7. When the rain started, all of the players left the field. (3)
8. The birds sat on the wire and made a lot of noise. (4)
9. Who has the green jacket and the green hat? (2)
10. The tall woman wants two pairs of shoes. (3)

 

 

Teaching Proper Nouns – See / Mark Nouns

Worksheet – Part B

Find the proper nouns in each sentence.

1. General George Washington became the first president of the United States after the Revolutionary War. (4)
2. When the game was over the Bandits had scored two goals. (3)
3. The second runner tripped on Main Street. (2)
4. “Captain Brant wants to see you right now”, she said.
5. Mayor Thompson cancelled the parade.
6. The mayor cancelled the Fourth of July parade.
7. That mountain range has very high peaks.
8. The Rocky Mountains have very high peaks.
9. Which book would he like to read?
10. The Wizard of Ox is a great book for him to read.
11.Seven lizards ran into the pond.
12. Miguel, the producer of the movie, won a big award.
13. The director did not win any awards.
14. When was the last time you went to the dentist?
15. Who took it and where did they go?
16. During the Second World War, General Patton was well known.
17. At the Tour de France, all of the riders have to be very fast.
18. Man of War won the Kentucky Derby in record time.
19. The company will ship your order today.
20. The rain fell on London for ten more days.
21. How fast will that Honda go?
22. How fast does your car go?
23. Barnum & Bailey created a large circus with many animals.
24. The Washington Post has a large staff of writers.
25. Many of the authors did not come back after lunch.
26. John Steinbeck, the author of Grapes of Wrath, wrote many other books.
27. Queen Elizabeth has a very busy travel schedule.
28. The Titanic hit an iceberg and sank.
29 The World Series usually starts in October.
30. When the branch broke, the boy fell out of the tree.

 

 

Teaching Proper Nouns – See / Mark Nouns

Teaching Regular and Proper Nouns

Worksheet  Part C – Measuring Progress – The One-Minute Timing

 

Read each sentence and underline each regular noun and circle each proper noun.

1. General George Washington became the first president of the United States after the Revolutionary War. (4)
2. When the game was over the Bandits had scored two goals. (3)
3. The second runner tripped on Main Street. (2)
4. Queen Elizabeth has a very busy travel schedule. (2)
5. The Titanic hit an iceberg and sank. (2)
6. The World Series usually starts in October. (2)
7. When the branch broke, the boy fell out of the tree. (3)
8. Bits of fur floated in the air. (3)
9. Seven spiders sat on a large leaf. (2)
10. Three dogs, two cats and a monkey went for a walk in the park. (5) Are you going there right now? (0)
11. How many cookies did you eat? (1)
12. Get off the boat! (1)
13. When the rain started, all of the players left the field. (3)
14. The birds sat on the wire and made a lot of noise. (4)
15. Who has the green jacket and the green hat? (2)
16. The tall woman wants two pairs of shoes. (3)
17. “Captain Brant wants to see you right now”, she said. (1)
18. Mayor Thompson cancelled the parade. (2)
19. The mayor cancelled the Fourth of July parade. (2)
20. That mountain range has very high peaks. (2)
21. The Rocky Mountains have very high peaks. (2)
22. Which book would she like to read? (1)
23. The Wizard of Ox is a great book for her to read. (2)
24. Seven lizards ran into the pond. (2)
25. Miguel, the producer of the movie, won a big award. (4)
26. The director did not win any awards. (2)
27. When was the last time you went to the dentist? (2)
28. Who took it and where did they go? (0)
29. During the Second World War, General Patton was well known. (2)
30. At the Tour de France, the riders have to be very fast. (2)
31. Man of War won the Kentucky Derby in record time. (3)
32. The company will ship your order today. (2)
33. The rain fell on London for ten more days. (3)
34. How fast will that Honda go? (1)
35. How fast does your car go? (1)
36. Barnum & Bailey created a large circus with many animals. (3)
37. The Washington Post has a large staff of writers. (3)
38. Many of the authors did not come back after lunch. (2)
39. Who was that? (0)

 

For a printable pdf version of the lesson, covering regular and proper nouns, click here.