parts of speech worksheets pdf middle school

Reading Worksheets, Spelling, Grammar, Comprehension, Lesson Plans

Parts of Speech Worksheets

Parts of speech refer to the functions of words in a sentence. There are eight general classifications for words: nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions, and interjections. Students gain a better understanding of grammar and sentence structure by understanding these basic components. Below are the categories for the parts of speech. To view the grammar worksheets in each category, simply click on the title. You may use them for free at home or in class. After viewing our parts of speech activities please check out all of our grammar worksheets .

Adjectives Worksheets

Adverb Worksheets

Here you’ll find helpful adverb worksheets to use at home or in the classroom!

Conjunction Worksheets

Free, printable conjunction worksheets to help develop strong skills in grammar and language. Learn about the conjunction and the different types of a conjunction.

Interjection Worksheets

Noun Worksheets

Preposition Worksheets

Pronoun Worksheets

Verb Worksheets

EnglishForEveryone.org

Parts of speech worksheets terms of use, prepositions worksheets, below you will find our full list of printable prepositions worksheets to be used by teachers at home or in school. just click on a link to open a printable pdf version of the desired worksheet. we hope you find them useful..

• Identifying Prepositions Worksheet

Explanation, examples, and practice identifying prepositions in sentences.

• Identifying Prepositions Worksheet Answers

Answers to the Identifying Prepositions worksheet.

• Prepositions of Time Worksheet

This worksheet includes a table outlining the various prepositions of time and their usages. Practice involves using prepositions of time to explain the schedules of color characters in the worksheet.

• Prepositions of Time Worksheet Answers

Answers to the Prepositions of Time Worksheet.

• Prepositions of Place Worksheet 1

The worksheet provides practice using images to explain the positions of people and objects in relation to one another.

• Prepositions of Place Worksheet Answers 1

Answers to the Prepositions of Place Worksheet 1

• Prepositions of Place Worksheet 2

The worksheet includes tables outlining the various prepositions of place (location). Practice involves using prepositions of place to explain the positions of color objects in relation to one another.

• Prepositions of Place Worksheet Answers 2

Answers to the Prepositions of Place Worksheet 2

Nouns worksheets.

• Identifying Nouns Worksheet

Explanation, examples, and practice identifying nouns in sentences.

• Identifying Nouns Worksheet Answers

Answers to the Nouns Worksheet.

• Identifying Nouns Worksheet - Common vs. Proper

Explanation, examples, and practice identifying common vs. proper nouns in sentences.

• Identifying Nouns Worksheet - Common vs. Proper Answers

Answers to the Identifying Nouns worksheet.

Adjectives worksheets, this section contains printable worksheets on adjectives..

• Identifying Adjectives Worksheet

Explanation, examples, and practice identifying adjectives in sentences.

• Identifying Adjectives Worksheet Answers

Answers to the Identifying Adjectives worksheet

• Order of Adjectives Worksheet

Explanation, examples, and practice putting adjectives in the correct order.

• Comparative Adjectives Worksheet

Explanation, examples, and practice using comparative adjectives in sentences.

• Comparative Adjectives Worksheet Answers

Answers to the Comparative Adjectives worksheet

• Superlative Adjectives Worksheet

Explanation, examples, and practice using superlative adjectives in sentences.

• Superlative Adjectives Worksheet Answers

Answers to the Superlative Adjectives Worksheet.

Verbs worksheets, this section contains printable worksheets on verbs..

• Identifying Verbs Worksheet

Explanation, examples, and practice identifying verbs in sentences.

• Identifying Verbs Worksheet Answers

Adverbs Worksheets

This section contains printable worksheets on adverbs..

• Identifying Adverbs Worksheet

Explanation, examples, and practice identifying adverbs in sentences.

Answers to the identifying adverbs worksheet..

• Frequency Adverbs Worksheet

Explanation, examples, and practice identifying and using frequency adverbs in sentences. Practice involves rewriting sentences according to percentages labeled on a frequency adverbs chart. This is an excellent worksheet!

• Frequency Adverbs Worksheet Answers

Answers to the Frequency Adverbs worksheet.

Conjunctions worksheets, this section contains printable worksheets on conjunctions..

• Introduction to Conjunctions Worksheet

A brief introduction to conjunctions.

• Introduction to Conjunctions Worksheet Answers

Answers to the Introduction to Conjunctions worksheet.

• Coordinating Conjunctions Worksheet

Explanation, examples, and practice using coordinating conjunctions.

• Subordinating Conjunctions Worksheet

Explanation, examples, and practice using subordinating conjunctions.

• Correlative Conjunctions Worksheet

Explanation, examples, and practice using correlative conjunctions.

Pronouns worksheets, this section contains printable worksheets on pronouns..

• Introduction to Pronouns Worksheet

A brief introduction to pronouns.

• Introduction to Pronouns Worksheet Answers

Answers to the Introduction to Pronouns worksheet.

• Demonstrative Pronouns Worksheet

Explanation, examples, and practice using demonstrative pronouns.

• Subjective Pronouns Worksheet

Explanation, examples, and practice using subjective pronouns in sentences.

Interjections worksheets, this section contains printable worksheets on interjections..

• Identifying Interjections Worksheet

Explanation, examples, and practice identifying interjections in sentences.

• Identifying Interjections Worksheet Answers

Answers to the Identifying Interjections worksheet.

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August 1, 2019 CG Lessons CCSS 6-8 , CG Lessons 9-12 , CG Lessons CCSS 9-12 , CG Lessons 6-8 , ELA 6-8 , ELA Resources - Activities , ELA 9-12 , ELA PD - Grammar Writing , ELA Focus - Grammar , Core Grammar

Creative ways to teach parts of speech in middle school and high school, by: tiffany rehbein.

In this article, you'll find tips for reviewing or teaching parts of speech in middle school and high school. Plus, download five creative printables for your classroom.

Keep scrolling to download free activities, worksheets, and games!

Memories of my middle and early high-school English class might be similar to your own: desks in rows, quiet work time, and sentence diagramming. Remember sentence diagramming? That tedious puzzle of using one line under the subject, two lines under the verb, a backslash to separate the subject from the predicate that led to the more complicated algorithm of circles, squares, and arrows. All of which was meant to do what? Improve writing? Increase identification of sentences? Keep students quiet?

Fortunately, research has led teachers toward practices that improve writing, namely, spending time to write. The National Council of Teachers of English released a position statement in 1998 stating the following: "Decades of research and practice have shown that teaching of grammar in isolation does not improve composition skills, nor does it help students to acquire Standard English usage." How might teachers of middle and high school students provide students with relevant instruction around basic parts of speech?

Students need to be able to construct quality sentences that communicate information accurately and clearly. Understanding basic parts of speech is the first step to this effective communication.

The 8 Parts of Speech Students Should Know

A noun is a word used to refer to people, animals, objects, substances, states, events, ideas and feelings. A noun functions as a subject or object of a verb and can be modified by an adjective.

Types and Examples of Nouns

Nouns can be people as in the dancers , or a name: John.

Nouns can be things as in a lion , a table , or places as in Paris .

Example Sentences

A pronoun is used in the place of a noun or phrase.

Examples of Pronouns

I, you, he, she, it

#3 Adjective

Adjectives are used to describe or specify a noun or pronoun

Examples of Adjectives

good, beautiful, nice, my

A verb is used to show an action or a state of being

Examples of Verbs

am, is was, are, go, write, exist, be

An adverb is used to modify a verb, adjective, and other adverbs.

Examples of Adverbs

completely, never, there

#6 Prepositions

A preposition is a word that relates a noun or pronoun to some other word in the sentence and often forms a phrase that shows where, when, how, or why

Examples of Prepositions

in, above, to, for, at

#7 Conjunctions

Conjunctions connect words, phrases, or clauses

Examples of Conjunctions

for, and, nor, but, or, yet,

#8 Interjections

Interjections are used to show surprise or emotion.

Examples of Interjections

Oh!, Wow!, Ah-ha!

Teaching Parts of Speech in the Middle School Grades

One way to avoid the traditional grammar instruction done in isolation, teachers can get students up and moving. For grades 6-8, most state standards convey that students should know everything from proper case pronouns (subjective, objective, possessive), to intensive pronouns ( myself, ourselves ), to correcting vague pronouns. By including pronouns in student practice, teachers will ensure these elements are taught.

In addition, students need to use commas to set off nonrestrictive elements – we will do this when we use interjections! Students must also explain the function of clauses, know how to use a comma to separate coordinate adjectives, and how to form and use verbs in a variety of ways.

Creative Ways To Teach Parts Of Speech In Middle School

RESOURCE: Pin the Part of Speech on the Pig Game

When you download the Pin the Part of Speech on the Pig Game , your students will get much more practice than is deemed important in state standards! This game is not only a creative way to teach parts of speech, but it gets students up and moving while they learn.

The Pin the Part of Speech on the Pig Game combines learning/practicing the parts of speech and a modified version of the game Pin the Tail on the Donkey . Although this game was originally created for elementary grade levels, its a great activity for parts of speech practice in the middle grades.

Objective of Game: Pin the part of speech on the pig! With a grammatical twist on the classic game, students will choose the part of speech that is the focus of the day. Monday = nouns, Tuesday = verbs, Wednesday = adjectives, Thursday = adverbs, Friday = prepositions.

Materials : Pig Game, Parts of Speech cards, blindfold, tape.

How to play in the classroom : Middle school students love a competition! Form groups of 3-5, depending on your class size, and, start tallest to shortest. The first student will choose a Part of Speech card from the card pile. The person behind them will put the blindfold on them then slowly spin them three times and set them off to pin the part of speech on the pig. Use a small piece of tape to adhere the card to the pig. The blindfolded student will return to their team, exchange the blindfold and repeat the process. The game can end at any time: when the first pin on the tail happens, when everyone has gone once, or when all the cards are gone.

Download one or multiple copies of the game, depending on your class size and start playing today.

RESOURCE: Shamrock Parts of Speech Game

Sometimes teachers tend to overthink things when trying to come up with creative ways to teach parts of speech...especially in the middle and upper grade levels! The Shamrock Memory Card Game is a simple activity that will engage students in learning or reviewing parts of speech. 

Despite being created a couple years ago for the month of March, I use this game year round! Download the Shamrock Memory Card Game now.

Objective: Match parts of speech with an example of that part of speech. Like all memory games, the goal is to have paired the most cards when the round ends.

How to use in the classroom: Decide whether you want students to play individually or in two small groups. Display the 48 cards face down. Choose who will go first. The first person or group will turn one card face-up. They will either see the part of speech or a word. Then turn over a second card. The card must match the first card with the correct part of speech or a word. For example, if a student turns over a card with "noun" on it and then turns over a second card with the word "leprechaun", the cards match! If the cards match, the student(s) gets to go again. The student or group with the most pair of cards at the end wins the round.

RESOURCE: Identifying Parts of Speech in a Complex Text Lesson

This next activity is not the most creative way to teach parts of speech, but it is effective! The Identifying Parts of Speech in a Complex Text Lesson has students read a complex text and then identify various parts of speech. 

Students need to be able to construct quality sentences that communicate information accurately and clearly. Understanding basic parts of speech is the first step to build effective communication. Reading complex texts to practice identifying parts of speech is a great way for students to see how quality sentences are constructed.

Objective: Students will read a text to identify appropriate nouns, pronouns, and interjections by answering the question: What do you notice about the nouns, pronouns, and interjection in this text?

How to use in the classroom: Handout the text excerpt to each students. Tell them their purpose for reading the text is to identify and circle the nouns that act as subjects in each sentence. Also, ask students to underline all pronouns and put a box around all interjections.

Teaching Parts of Speech in the High School Grades

By the time students enter high school, the focus shifts from isolated parts to speech to more complete understanding about the way sentences work. For grades 9-10, state standards require students use various types of phrases, including noun, verb, adjectival, adverbial, participial, prepositional, and absolute. Students should also use clauses such as independent or dependent; and noun, relative, and adverbial to convey specific meanings and add variety and interest to their writing.

Teachers can use a combination of hands-on activities and individual work to assess students’ knowledge of language. Students will build on the basic parts of speech they learned in the middle grades by understanding irregular verb forms, verb tenses, plural forms of words, reflexive pronouns, and dependent clauses.

Creative Ways to Teach Parts of Speech In High School

RESOURCE: Baseball Interactive Writing & Parts of Speech Grammar Game

The use of sports in the classroom is a creative way to teach parts of speech and engage young people! With the Baseball Grammar Game students will get students moving, writing, and identifying parts of speech.

Objective: Teams of students will participate in a classroom baseball game that requires they complete a writing prompt and correctly identify parts of speech.

Materials: Plastic bat (optional), Baseball Grammar Game Downloads

How to use in the classroom: Prior to playing the game, students will write short essays based on a writing prompt provided by you, the teacher. Some examples of a writing prompt are: Describe your favorite outdoor activity or What is the best part of going to a baseball game?  The essay should be short, perhaps 5-10 sentences. Have students write each sentence of their essay on the Baseball Writing Activity Sheet provided in the Baseball Grammar Game download. These papers will be wadded up and become your "baseballs."

The teacher will divide the class into two teams and assign each person a position. Each team needs the following position players: pitcher, catcher, first baseman, second baseman, shortstop, third baseman, left fielder, center fielder, and right fielder. All position players will play the field and have a turn at bat. If you have extra students, use a rotation system after each batter or each strike-out. Students can also be “bat boys or girls”, scorekeepers, or baseball handlers.

The defensive team will take the field and the offensive team will line-up to bat.

The baseball handler tosses the first baseball to the pitcher who pitches it to the batter.

The teacher will ask the student a question about the sentence. To get a “hit” and advance to first base, the batter answers the question correctly. (It is not important that the batter catches the ball, only that their answer is stated correctly). If the batter gets the question incorrect, it is an out.

The rotation continues until there are three outs for the team. After three outs, the teams switch sides. Have the scorekeeper keep track of runs and outs.

RESOURCE: Hopscotch Parts of Speech Activity

Hopscotch is a game whose origins date back to Roman times. If you give the traditional game of hopscotch a grammar twist you end up with a creative way to teach parts of speech. For the parts of speech key with definitions and examples, download the Hopscotch Parts of Speech Activity !

Objective : Give an example of the part of speech.

Materials : Sidewalk chalk or hopscotch board, marker, parts of speech key.

How to use in the classroom : If the weather is nice, head outside with some sidewalk chalk and create the hopscotch board. If the weather is not nice, teachers could use tape to create the boards on the classroom floor. Use a small stone to use as a marker.

To begin, write the parts of speech into each square. Students will toss the marker onto a square, then the student should give the example word, phrase, or sentence If correct, the student should hop onto the board. If incorrect, the student goes to the back of the line. The stone is left on the square where the student last got the correct answer. Depending on the size of your class, there might need to be several hopscotch boards so 4-5 students can play at once.

If correct, the student who tossed the marker will complete the hops on the board. The person who answered correctly will toss next. This process will be repeated until the game ends.

If the person answers incorrectly, the person who answered will go to the back of the line and the next person will answer. This process will continue until the answer is correct.

If the weather is not nice, the hopscotch board can be designed on the classroom floor with duct tape.

These creative ways to teach parts of speech are sure to engage middle school and high school students! These printable resources allow students to move while learning and reinforce their understanding of different parts of speech.

In addition, I outlined eight parts of speech that every middle and high school student should know and understand. Students need to be able to construct quality sentences that communicate information accurately and clearly. Understanding basic parts of speech is the first step to build effective communication.

Free Printable Parts of Speech worksheets

Discover a vast collection of free printable Reading & Writing Parts of Speech worksheets, designed to help students enhance their language skills and master the essential components of grammar. Perfect for teachers and learners alike!

Recommended Topics for you

• Conjunctions
• Prepositions

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Explore printable Parts of Speech worksheets

Parts of Speech worksheets are an essential tool for teachers who aim to improve their students' reading and writing skills, as well as their overall grammar proficiency. These worksheets provide a comprehensive and engaging way for students to practice identifying and using various parts of speech, such as nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs. By incorporating these worksheets into their lesson plans, teachers can effectively teach grammar and mechanics concepts, ensuring that their students have a strong foundation in the English language. Furthermore, these worksheets can be tailored to suit the needs of students across different grade levels, making them a versatile and valuable resource for educators. As students progress through the worksheets, they will become more confident in their reading and writing abilities, ultimately leading to improved academic performance.

Quizizz is an innovative platform that offers a wide range of educational resources for teachers, including Parts of Speech worksheets, among other offerings. This platform allows educators to create interactive quizzes and games that can be used to supplement their existing lesson plans, making learning grammar and mechanics more enjoyable for students. In addition to Parts of Speech worksheets, Quizizz also offers resources for other aspects of reading and writing, ensuring that teachers have access to a comprehensive suite of tools to help their students excel in their language arts education. The platform is designed to be user-friendly and adaptable to various grade levels, making it an ideal choice for teachers who are looking to enhance their students' learning experience. By incorporating Quizizz into their curriculum, educators can provide their students with a fun and engaging way to practice and master essential grammar and mechanics concepts.

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Other Parts of Speech Worksheets

Articles, conjunctions, preopositions ....

These grammar worksheets review the different parts of speech; they compliment our earlier noun, pronoun, verb, adjective and adverb worksheets.

Kindergarten parts of speech worksheets

• Propositions related to location (on, under, over ...)

Grade 1 parts of speech worksheets

• Identify nouns vs verbs
• Write a noun for each adjective
• Identify nouns, verbs and adjectives
• The articles "a", "an", "the"
• Select the right word:  this / that / these / those
• Select the right word:  enough / either
• Prepositions (beside, under ...)

Grade 2 parts of speech worksheets

• Articles: "a", "an", "the"
• Complete a story with nouns, adjectives, verbs and adverbs

Grade 3 parts of speech worksheets

• Nouns, verbs and adjectives mixed practice
• Completing stories with the correct parts of speech
• Introducing conjunctions (and, but, so, or ...)
• Coordinating conjunctions
• Subordinating conjunctions

Grade 4 parts of speech worksheets

• Prepositions
• Prepositional phrases
• Prepositional phrases and their objects
• Prepositional phrases as adjectives or adverbs

Grade 5 parts of speech worksheets

• Prepositions & prepositional phrases
• Interjections
• Coordinating and subordinating conjunctions
• Correlative conjunctions

Sample parts of speech Worksheet

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Noun worksheets, lessons, and tests.

Understanding the parts of speech is fundamental to learning more advanced concepts like sentence structure , grammar, and punctuation. That's why so many language arts units start with the parts of speech. And, if you are starting a unit on the parts of speech, one of the better places to begin is by studying nouns .

Nouns are words that refer to people, places, and things. Most grade school students can tell you this. But the study of nouns gets a little more complex. There are many types of nouns such as common and proper, singular and plural, and abstract and concrete. It is helpful to know these distinctions when studying language. Over the years I've created a catalog of noun worksheets and activities that work well in the classroom. These include multiple-choice tests, practice activities suitable for homework or classroom activities, as well as online noun activities that give students instant feedback and save teachers' time. I've posted all of these activities to this page and made them freely accessible to teachers, parents, and students. May we all one day have a better understanding of what we are saying.

Noun Worksheets

Noun powerpoint lessons.

Here are some multiple-choice tests to help evaluate how well your students understand nouns .

Nouns and Capitalization Common Core State Standards

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Do you have anything exclusively on pronouns? Do not worry I have seen and used the Ninja sheet:)

Pronoun Worksheets and Activities All Parts of Speech Activities

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This exercise is not so good as I thought. It is full of mistakes and quality of the exercises are also not very good. Please recognise these mistakes and improve the exercises.

Hello. I’m sorry that your experience using these materials was negative. If you report the errors as you notice them, I will correct them. Best wishes.

Please report the mistakes as you encounter them and I will fix them. I’m just a single person and could use your expertise to improve this site and these resources.

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They are great if you want to make a change to a file, but other than that, I highly recommend using the .PDF files.

PDF files are formatted for print and will display in a uniform manner despite the device / program on which you open them.

So, I’m sorry that the .RTF files are not displaying properly for you on your current device. I encourage you to try the .PDF files.

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Parts of Speech: The Ultimate Guide for Students and Teachers

This article is part of the ultimate guide to language for teachers and students. Click the buttons below to view these.

What are Parts of Speech ?

Just as a skilled bricklayer must get to grips with the trowel, brick hammer, tape measure, and spirit level, the student-writer must develop a thorough understanding of the tools of their trade too.

In English, words can be categorized according to their common syntactic function in a sentence, i.e. the job they perform.

We call these different categories Parts of Speech . Understanding the various parts of speech and how they work has several compelling benefits for our students.

Without first acquiring a firm grasp of the various parts of speech, students will struggle to fully comprehend how language works. This is essential not only for the development of their reading comprehension but their writing skills too.

Parts of speech are the core building blocks of grammar . To understand how a language works at a sentence and a whole-text level, we must first master parts of speech.

In English, we can identify eight of these individual parts of speech, and these will provide the focus for our Complete Guide to Parts of Speech .

THE EIGHT PARTS OF SPEECH (Click to jump to each section)

A complete unit on teaching figurative language.

FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE  is like  “SPECIAL EFFECTS FOR AUTHORS.”  It is a powerful tool to create  VIVID IMAGERY  through words. This  HUGE UNIT  guides you through completely understanding  FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE .

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Often the first word a child speaks will be a noun, for example, Mum , Dad , cow , dog , etc.

Nouns are naming words, and, as most school kids can recite, they are the names of people, places, and things . But, what isn’t as widely understood by many of our students is that nouns can be further classified into more specific categories. 

These categories are:

Common Nouns

Proper nouns, concrete nouns, abstract nouns, collective nouns, countable nouns, uncountable nouns.

All nouns can be classified as either common or proper .

Common nouns are the general names of people, places, and things. They are groups or classes on their own, rather than specific types of people, places, or things such as we find in proper nouns.

Common nouns can be further classified as abstract or concrete – more on this shortly!

Some examples of common nouns include:

People: teacher, author, engineer, artist, singer.

Places: country, city, town, house, garden.

Things: language, trophy, magazine, movie, book.

Proper nouns are the specific names for people, places, and things. Unlike common nouns, which are always lowercase, proper nouns are capitalized. This makes them easy to identify in a text.

Where possible, using proper nouns in place of common nouns helps bring precision to a student’s writing.

Some examples of proper nouns include:

People: Mrs Casey, J.K. Rowling, Nikola Tesla, Pablo Picasso, Billie Eilish.

Places: Australia, San Francisco, Llandovery, The White House, Gardens of Versailles.

Things: Bulgarian, The World Cup, Rolling Stone, The Lion King, The Hunger Games.

Nouns Teaching Activity: Common vs Proper Nouns

• Provide students with books suitable for their current reading level.
• Instruct students to go through a page or two and identify all the nouns.
• Ask students to sort these nouns into two lists according to whether they are common nouns or proper nouns.

As mentioned, all common and proper nouns can be further classified as either concrete or abstract .

A concrete noun is any noun that can be experienced through one of the five senses. In other words, if you can see, smell, hear, taste, or touch it, then it’s a concrete noun.

Some examples of concrete nouns include:

Abstract nouns refer to those things that can’t be experienced or identified through the five senses.

They are not physical things we can perceive but intangible concepts and ideas, qualities and states.

Some examples of abstract nouns include:

Nouns Teaching Activity: Concrete Vs. Abstract Nouns

• Provide students with a book suitable for their current reading level.
• Instruct students to go through a page or two and identify all the nouns (the lists from Practice Activity #1 may be suitable).
• This time, ask students to sort these nouns into two lists according to whether they are concrete or abstract nouns.

A collective noun is the name of a group of people or things. That is, a collective noun always refers to more than one of something.

Some examples of collective nouns include:

People: a board of directors, a team of football players, a cast of actors, a band of musicians, a class of students.

Places: a range of mountains, a suite of rooms, a union of states, a chain of islands.

Things: a bale of hay, a constellation of stars, a bag of sweets, a school of fish, a flock of seagulls.

Countable nouns are nouns that refer to things that can be counted. They come in two flavors: singular and plural .

In their singular form, countable nouns are often preceded by the article, e.g. a , an , or the .

In their plural form, countable nouns are often preceded by a number. They can also be used in conjunction with quantifiers such as a few and many .

Some examples of countable nouns include:

COUNTABLE NOUNS EXAMPLES

Also known as mass nouns, uncountable nouns are, as their name suggests, impossible to count. Abstract ideas such as bravery and compassion are uncountable, as are things like liquid and bread .

These types of nouns are always treated in the singular and usually do not have a plural form. 

They can stand alone or be used in conjunction with words and phrases such as any , some , a little , a lot of , and much .

Some examples of uncountable nouns include:

UNCOUNTABLE NOUNS EXAMPLES

Nouns teaching activity: how many can you list .

• Organize students into small groups to work collaboratively.
• Challenge students to list as many countable and uncountable nouns as they can in ten minutes.
• To make things more challenging, stipulate that there must be an uncountable noun and a countable noun to gain a point.
• The winning group is the one that scores the most points.

Without a verb, there is no sentence! Verbs are the words we use to represent both internal and external actions or states of being. Without a verb, nothing happens.

There are many different types of verbs. Here, we will look at five important verb forms organised according to the jobs they perform:

Dynamic Verbs

Stative verbs, transitive verbs, intransitive verbs, auxiliary verbs.

Each verb can be classified as being either an action or a stative verb.

Dynamic or action verbs describe the physical activity performed by the subject of a sentence. This type of verb is usually the first we learn as children. 

For example, run , hit , throw , hide , eat , sleep , watch , write , etc. are all dynamic verbs, as is any action performed by the body.

Let’s see a few examples in sentences:

• I jogged around the track three times.
• She will dance as if her life depends on it.
• She took a candy from the bag, unwrapped it, and popped it into her mouth.

If a verb doesn’t describe a physical activity, then it is a stative verb.

Stative verbs refer to states of being, conditions, or mental processes. Generally, we can classify stative verbs into four types:

• Emotions/Thoughts

Some examples of stative verbs include: 

Senses: hurt, see, smell, taste, hear, etc.

Emotions: love, doubt, desire, remember, believe, etc.

Being: be, have, require, involve, contain, etc.

Possession: want, include, own, have, belong, etc.

Here are some stative verbs at work in sentences:

• That is one thing we can agree on.
• I remember my first day at school like it was yesterday.
• The university requires students to score at least 80%.
• She has only three remaining.

Sometimes verbs can fit into more than one category, e.g., be , have , look , see , e.g.,

• She looks beautiful. (Stative)
• I look through the telescope. (Dynamic)

Each action or stative verb can also be further classified as transitive or intransitive .

A transitive verb takes a direct object after it. The object is the noun, noun phrase, or pronoun that has something done to it by the subject of the sentence.

We see this in the most straightforward English sentences, i.e., the Subject-Verb-Object or SVO sentence. 

Here are two examples to illustrate. Note: the subject of each sentence is underlined, and the transitive verbs are in bold.

• The teacher answered the student’s questions.
• She studies languages at university.
• My friend loves cabbage.

Most sentences in English employ transitive verbs.

An intransitive verb does not take a direct object after it. It is important to note that only nouns, noun phrases, and pronouns can be classed as direct objects. 

Here are some examples of intransitive verbs – notice how none of these sentences has direct objects after their verbs.

• Jane’s health improved .
• The car ran smoothly.
• The school opens at 9 o’clock.

Auxiliary verbs, also known as ‘helping’ verbs, work with other verbs to affect the meaning of a sentence. They do this by combining with a main verb to alter the sentence’s tense, mood, or voice.

Auxiliary verbs will frequently use not in the negative.

There are relatively few auxiliary verbs in English. Here is a list of the main ones:

• be (am, are, is, was, were, being)
• do (did, does, doing)
• have (had, has, having)

Here are some examples of auxiliary verbs (in bold) in action alongside a main verb (underlined).

She is working as hard as she can.

• You must not eat dinner until after five o’clock.
• The parents may come to the graduation ceremony.

The Subject-Auxiliary Inversion Test

To test whether or not a verb is an auxiliary verb, you can use the Subject-Auxiliary Inversion Test .

• Take the sentence, e.g:
• Now, invert the subject and the suspected auxiliary verb to see if it creates a question.

Is she working as hard as she can?

• Can it take ‘not’ in the negative form?

She is not working as hard as she can.

• If the answer to both of these questions is yes, you have an auxiliary verb. If not, you have a full verb.

Verbs Teaching Activity: Identify the Verbs

• Instruct students to go through an appropriate text length (e.g., paragraph, page, etc.) and compile a list of verbs.
• In groups, students should then discuss and categorize each verb according to whether they think they are dynamic or stative, transitive or intransitive, and/or auxiliary verbs.

The job of an adjective is to modify a noun or a pronoun. It does this by describing, quantifying, or identifying the noun or pronoun. Adjectives help to make writing more interesting and specific. Usually, the adjective is placed before the word it modifies.

As with other parts of speech, not all adjectives are the same. There are many different types of adjectives and, in this article, we will look at:

Descriptive Adjectives

• Degrees of Adjectives

Quantitative Adjectives

Demonstrative adjectives, possessive adjectives, interrogative adjectives, proper adjectives.

Descriptive adjectives are what most students think of first when asked what an adjective is. Descriptive adjectives tell us something about the quality of the noun or pronoun in question. For this reason, they are sometimes referred to as qualitative adjectives .

Some examples of this type of adjective include:

• hard-working

In sentences, they look like this:

• The pumpkin was enormous .
• It was an impressive feat of athleticism I ever saw.
• Undoubtedly, this was an exquisite vase.
• She faced some tough competition.

Degrees of Adjectives 

Descriptive adjectives have three degrees to express varying degrees of intensity and to compare one thing to another. These degrees are referred to as positive , comparative , and superlative .

The positive degree is the regular form of the descriptive adjective when no comparison is being made, e.g., strong .

The comparative degree is used to compare two people, places, or things, e.g., stronger .

There are several ways to form the comparative, methods include:

• Adding more or less before the adjective
• Adding -er to the end of one syllable adjectives
• For two-syllable adjectives ending in y , change the y to an i and add -er to the end.

The superlative degree is typically used when comparing three or more things to denote the upper or lowermost limit of a quality, e.g., strongest .

There are several ways to form the superlative, including:

• Adding most or least before the adjective
• Adding -est to the end of one syllable adjectives
• For two-syllable adjectives ending in y , change the y to an i and add -est to the end.

There are also some irregular adjectives of degree that follow no discernible pattern that must be learned off by students, e.g., good – better – best .

Let’s take a look at these degrees of adjectives in their different forms.

Let’s take a quick look at some sample sentences:

• It was a beautiful example of kindness. 

Comparative

• The red is nice, but the green is prettier .

Superlative

• This mango is the most delicious fruit I have ever tastiest. 

Quantitive adjectives provide information about how many or how much of the noun or pronoun.

Some quantitive adjectives include:

• She only ate half of her sandwich.
• This is my first time here.
• I would like three slices, please.
• There isn’t a single good reason to go.
• There aren’t many places like it.
• It’s too much of a good thing.
• I gave her a whole box of them.

A demonstrative adjective identifies or emphasizes a noun’s place in time or space. The most common demonstrative adjectives are this , that , these , and those .

Here are some examples of demonstrative adjectives in use:

• This boat is mine.
• That car belongs to her.
• These shoes clash with my dress.
• Those people are from Canada.

Possessive adjectives show ownership, and they are sometimes confused with possessive pronouns.

The most common possessive adjectives are my , your , his , her , our , and their .

Students need to be careful not to confuse these with possessive pronouns such as mine , yours , his (same in both contexts), hers , ours , and theirs .

Here are some examples of possessive adjectives in sentences:

• My favorite food is sushi.
• I would like to read your book when you have finished it.
• I believe her car is the red one.
• This is their way of doing things.
• Our work here is done.

Interrogative adjectives ask questions, and, in common with many types of adjectives, they are always followed by a noun. Basically, these are the question words we use to start questions. Be careful however, interrogative adjectives modify nouns. If the word after the question word is a verb, then you have an interrogative adverb on hand.

Some examples of interrogative adjectives include what , which , and whose .

Let’s take a look at these in action:

• What drink would you like?
• Which car should we take?
• Whose shoes are these?

Please note: Whose can also fit into the possessive adjective category too.

We can think of proper adjectives as the adjective form of proper nouns – remember those? They were the specific names of people, places, and things and need to be capitalized.

Let’s take the proper noun for the place America . If we wanted to make an adjective out of this proper noun to describe something, say, a car we would get ‘ American car’.

Let’s take a look at another few examples:

• Joe enjoyed his cup of Ethiopian coffee.
• My favorite plays are Shakespearean tragedies.
• No doubt about it, Fender guitars are some of the best in the world.
• The Mona Lisa is a fine example of Renaissance art.

Though it may come as a surprise to some, articles are also adjectives as, like all adjectives, they modify nouns. Articles help us determine a noun’s specification. 

For example, ‘a’ and ‘an’ are used in front of an unspecific noun, while ‘the’ is used when referring to a specific noun.

Let’s see some articles as adjectives in action!

• You will find an apple inside the cupboard.
• This is a car.
• The recipe is a family secret.

Adjectives Teaching Activity: Types of Adjective Tally

• Choose a suitable book and assign an appropriate number of pages or length of a chapter for students to work with.
• Students work their way through each page, tallying up the number of each type of adjective they can identify using a table like the one below:
• Note how degrees of adjective has been split into comparative and superlative. The positive forms will take care of in the descriptive category.
• You may wish to adapt this table to exclude the easier categories to identify, such as articles and demonstrative, for example.

Traditionally, adverbs are defined as those words that modify verbs, but they do so much more than that. They can be used not only to describe how verbs are performed but also to modify adjectives, other adverbs, clauses, prepositions, or entire sentences.

With such a broad range of tasks at the feet of the humble adverb, it would be impossible to cover every possibility in this article alone. However, there are five main types of adverbs our students should familiarize themselves with. These are:

Adverbs of Manner

Adverbs of time, adverbs of frequency, adverbs of place, adverbs of degree.

Adverbs of manner describe how or the way in which something happens or is done. This type of adverb is often the first type taught to students. Many of these end with -ly . Some common examples include happily , quickly , sadly , slowly , and fast .

Here are a few taster sentences employing adverbs of manner:

• She cooks Chinese food well .
• The children played happily together.
• The students worked diligently on their projects.
• Her mother taught her to cross the road carefully .
• The date went badly .

Adverbs of time indicate when something happens. Common adverbs of time include before , now , then , after , already , immediately , and soon .

Here are some sentences employing adverbs of time:

• I go to school early on Wednesdays.
• She would like to finish her studies eventually .
• Recently , Sarah moved to Bulgaria.
• I have already finished my homework.
• They have been missing training lately .

While adverbs of time deal with when something happens, adverbs of frequency are concerned with how often something happens. Common adverbs of frequency include always , frequently , sometimes , seldom , and never .

Here’s what they look like in sentences:

• Harry usually goes to bed around ten.
• Rachel rarely eats breakfast in the morning.
• Often , I’ll go home straight after school.
• I occasionally have ketchup on my pizza.
• She seldom goes out with her friends.

Adverbs of place, as the name suggests, describe where something happens or where it is. They can refer to position, distance, or direction. Some common adverbs of place include above , below , beside , inside , and anywhere .

Check out some examples in the sentences below:

• Underneath the bridge, there lived a troll.
• There were pizzerias everywhere in the city.
• We walked around the park in the pouring rain.
• If the door is open, then go inside .
• When I am older, I would like to live nearby .

Adverbs of degree express the degree to which or how much of something is done. They can also be used to describe levels of intensity. Some common adverbs of degree include barely , little , lots , completely , and entirely .

Here are some adverbs of degree at work in sentences:

• I hardly noticed her when she walked into the room.
• The little girl had almost finished her homework.
• The job was completely finished.
• I was so delighted to hear the good news.
• Jack was totally delighted to see Diane after all these years.

Adverb Teaching Activity: The Adverb Generator

• Give students a worksheet containing a table divided into five columns. Each column bears a heading of one of the different types of adverbs ( manner , time , frequency , place , degree ).
• Challenge each group to generate as many different examples of each adverb type and record these in the table.
• The winning group is the one with the most adverbs. As a bonus, or tiebreaker, task the students to make sentences with some of the adverbs.

Pronouns are used in place of a specific noun used earlier in a sentence. They are helpful when the writer wants to avoid repetitive use of a particular noun such as a name. For example, in the following sentences, the pronoun she is used to stand for the girl’s name Mary after it is used in the first sentence. 

Mary loved traveling. She had been to France, Thailand, and Taiwan already, but her favorite place in the world was Australia. She had never seen an animal quite as curious-looking as the duck-billed platypus.

We also see her used in place of Mary’s in the above passage. There are many different pronouns and, in this article, we’ll take a look at:

Subject Pronouns

Object pronouns, possessive pronouns, reflexive pronouns, intensive pronouns, demonstrative pronouns, interrogative pronouns.

Subject pronouns are the type of pronoun most of us think of when we hear the term pronoun . They operate as the subject of a verb in a sentence. They are also known as personal pronouns.

The subject pronouns are:

Here are a few examples of subject pronouns doing what they do best:

• Sarah and I went to the movies last Thursday night.
• That is my pet dog. It is an Irish Wolfhound.
• My friends are coming over tonight, they will be here at seven.
• We won’t all fit into the same car.
• You have done a fantastic job with your grammar homework!

Object pronouns operate as the object of a verb, or a preposition, in a sentence. They act in the same way as object nouns but are used when it is clear what the object is.

The object pronouns are:

Here are a few examples of object pronouns in sentences:

• I told you , this is a great opportunity for you .
• Give her some more time, please.
• I told her I did not want to do it .
• That is for us .
• Catherine is the girl whom I mentioned in my letter.

Possessive pronouns indicate ownership of a noun. For example, in the sentence:

These books are mine .

The word mine stands for my books . It’s important to note that while possessive pronouns look similar to possessive adjectives, their function in a sentence is different.

The possessive pronouns are:

Let’s take a look at how these are used in sentences:

• Yours is the yellow jacket.
• I hope this ticket is mine .
• The train that leaves at midnight is theirs .
• Ours is the first house on the right.
• She is the person whose opinion I value most.
• I believe that is his .

Reflexive pronouns are used in instances where the object and the subject are the same. For example, in the sentence, she did it herself , the words she and herself refer to the same person.

The reflexive pronoun forms are:

Here are a few more examples of reflexive pronouns at work:

• I told myself that numerous times.
• He got himself a new computer with his wages.
• We will go there ourselves .
• You must do it yourself .
• The only thing to fear is fear itself .

This type of pronoun can be used to indicate emphasis. For example, when we write, I spoke to the manager herself , the point is made that we talked to the person in charge and not someone lower down the hierarchy. 

Similar to the reflexive pronouns above, we can easily differentiate between reflexive and intensive pronouns by asking if the pronoun is essential to the sentence’s meaning. If it isn’t, then it is used solely for emphasis, and therefore, it’s an intensive rather than a reflexive pronoun.

Often confused with demonstrative adjectives, demonstrative pronouns can stand alone in a sentence.

When this , that , these , and those are used as demonstrative adjectives they come before the noun they modify. When these same words are used as demonstrative pronouns, they replace a noun rather than modify it.

Here are some examples of demonstrative pronouns in sentences:

• This is delicious.
• That is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen.
• These are not mine.
• Those belong to the driver.

Interrogative pronouns are used to form questions. They are the typical question words that come at the start of questions, with a question mark coming at the end. The interrogative pronouns are:

Putting them into sentences looks like this:

• What is the name of your best friend?
• Which of these is your favourite?
• Who goes to the market with you?
• Whom do you think will win?
• Whose is that?

Pronoun Teaching Activity: Pronoun Review Table

• Provide students with a review table like the one below to revise the various pronoun forms.
• They can use this table to help them produce independent sentences.
• Once students have had a chance to familiarize themselves thoroughly with each of the different types of pronouns, provide the students with the headings and ask them to complete a table from memory.  

Prepositions

Prepositions provide extra information showing the relationship between a noun or pronoun and another part of a sentence. These are usually short words that come directly before nouns or pronouns, e.g., in , at , on , etc.

There are, of course, many different types of prepositions, each relating to particular types of information. In this article, we will look at:

Prepositions of Time

Prepositions of place, prepositions of movement, prepositions of manner, prepositions of measure.

• Preposition of Agency
• Preposition of Possession
• Preposition of Source

Phrasal Prepositions

It’s worth noting that several prepositional words make an appearance in several different categories of prepositions.

Prepositions of time indicate when something happens. Common prepositions of time include after , at , before , during , in , on .

Let’s see some of these at work:

• I have been here since Thursday.
• My daughter was born on the first of September.
• He went overseas during the war.
• Before you go, can you pay the bill, please?
• We will go out after work.

Sometimes students have difficulty knowing when to use in , on , or at . These little words are often confused. The table below provides helpful guidance to help students use the right preposition in the right context.

The prepositions of place, in , at , on , will be instantly recognisable as they also double as prepositions of time. Again, students can sometimes struggle a little to select the correct one for the situation they are describing. Some guidelines can be helpful.

• If something is contained or confined inside, we use in .
• If something is placed upon a surface, we use on .
• If something is located at a specific point, we use at .

A few example sentences will assist in illustrating these:

• He is in the house.
• I saw it in a magazine.
• In France, we saw many great works of art.
• Put it on the table.
• We sailed on the river.
• Hang that picture on the wall, please.
• We arrived at the airport just after 1 pm.
• I saw her at university.
• The boy stood at the window.

Usually used with verbs of motion, prepositions of movement indicate movement from one place to another. The most commonly used preposition of movement is to .

Some other prepositions of movement include:

Here’s how they look in some sample sentences:

• The ball rolled across the table towards me.
• We looked up into the sky.
• The children ran past the shop on their way home.
• Jackie ran down the road to greet her friend.
• She walked confidently through the curtains and out onto the stage.

Preposition of manner shows us how something is done or how it happens. The most common of these are by , in , like , on , with .

Let’s take a look at how they work in sentences:

• We went to school by bus.
• During the holidays, they traveled across the Rockies on foot.
• Janet went to the airport in a taxi.
• She played soccer like a professional.
• I greeted her with a smile.

Prepositions of measure are used to indicate quantities and specific units of measurement. The two most common of these are by and of .

Check out these sample sentences:

• I’m afraid we only sell that fabric by the meter.
• I will pay you by the hour.
• She only ate half of the ice cream. I ate the other half.
• A kilogram of apples is the same weight as a kilogram of feathers.

Prepositions of Agency

These prepositions indicate the causal relationship between a noun or pronoun and an action. They show the cause of something happening. The most commonly used prepositions of agency are by and with .

Here are some examples of their use in sentences:

• The Harry Potter series was written by J.K. Rowling.
• This bowl was made by a skilled craftsman.
• His heart was filled with love.
• The glass was filled with water.

Prepositions of Possession

Prepositions of possessions indicate who or what something belongs to. The most common of these are of , to , and with .

Let’s take a look:

• He is the husband of my cousin.
• He is a friend of the mayor.
• This once belonged to my grandmother.
• All these lands belong to the Ministry.
• The man with the hat is waiting outside.
• The boy with the big feet tripped and fell.

Prepositions of Source

Prepositions of source indicate where something comes from or its origins. The two most common prepositions of source are from and by . There is some crossover here with prepositions of agency.

Here are some examples:

• He comes from New Zealand.
• These oranges are from our own orchard.
• I was warmed by the heat of the fire.
• She was hugged by her husband.
• The yoghurt is of Bulgarian origin.

Phrasal prepositions are also known as compound prepositions. These are phrases of two or more words that function in the same way as prepositions. That is, they join nouns or pronouns to the rest of the sentence.

Some common phrasal prepositions are:

• According to
• For a change
• In addition to
• In spite of
• Rather than
• With the exception of

Students should be careful of overusing phrasal prepositions as some of them can seem clichéd. Frequently, it’s best to say things in as few words as is necessary.

Preposition Teaching Activity: Pr eposition Sort

• Print out a selection of the different types of prepositions on pieces of paper.
• Organize students into smaller working groups and provide each group with a set of prepositions.
• Using the headings above as categories, challenge students to sort the prepositions into the correct groups. Note that some prepositions will comfortably fit into more than one group.
• The winning group is the one to sort all prepositions correctly first.
• As an extension exercise, students can select a preposition from each category and write a sample sentence for it.

ConjunctionS

Conjunctions are used to connect words, phrases, and clauses. There are three main types of conjunction that are used to join different parts of sentences. These are:

• Coordinating
• Subordinating
• Correlative

Coordinating Conjunctions

These conjunctions are used to join sentence components that are equal such as two words, two phrases, or two clauses. In English, there are seven of these that can be memorized using the mnemonic FANBOYS:

Here are a few example sentences employing coordinating conjunctions:

• As a writer, he needed only a pen and paper.
• I would describe him as strong but lazy.
• Either we go now or not at all.

Subordinating Conjunctions

Subordinating conjunctions are used to introduce dependent clauses in sentences. Basically, dependent clauses are parts of sentences that cannot stand as complete sentences on their own. 

Some of the most common subordinate conjunctions are: 

Let’s take a look at some example sentences:

• I will complete it by Tuesday if I have time.
• Although she likes it, she won’t buy it.
• Jack will give it to you after he finds it.

Correlative Conjunctions

Correlative conjunctions are like shoes; they come in pairs. They work together to make sentences work. Some come correlative conjunctions are:

• either / or
• neither / nor
• Not only / but also

Let’s see how some of these work together:

• If I were you, I would get either the green one or the yellow one.
• John wants neither pity nor help.
• I don’t know whether you prefer horror or romantic movies.

Conjunction Teaching Activity: Conjunction Challenge

• Organize students into Talking Pairs .
• Partner A gives Partner B an example of a conjunction.
• Partner B must state which type of conjunction it is, e.g. coordinating, subordinating, or correlative.
• Partner B must then compose a sentence that uses the conjunction correctly and tell it to Partner A.
• Partners then swap roles.

InterjectionS

Interjections focus on feelings and are generally grammatically unrelated to the rest of the sentence or sentences around them. They convey thoughts and feelings and are common in our speech. They are often followed by exclamation marks in writing. Interjections include expressions such as:

• Eww! That is so gross!
• Oh , I don’t know. I’ve never used one before.
• That’s very… err …generous of you, I suppose.
• Wow! That is fantastic news!
• Uh-Oh! I don’t have any more left.

Interjection Teaching Activity: Create a scenario

• Once students clearly understand what interjections are, brainstorm as a class as many as possible.
• Write a master list of interjections on the whiteboard.
• Partner A suggests an interjection word or phrase to Partner B.
• Partner B must create a fictional scenario where this interjection would be used appropriately.

With a good grasp of the fundamentals of parts of speech, your students will now be equipped to do a deeper dive into the wild waters of English grammar. 

To learn more about the twists and turns of English grammar, check out our comprehensive article on English grammar here.

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5 Creative Parts of Speech Activities for Middle School

If you’re a middle school ELA teacher, you may be wondering why you still need to teach your students parts of speech. After all, wasn’t this something that was covered in elementary school? 

While it is true that parts of speech is often taught in elementary school, it is important for middle school students to continue to review and practice this skill. Having a strong understanding of the 8 different parts of speech is a crucial aspect of improving writing and communication skills.

Here are 5 activities for teaching the parts of speech to your middle school students.

1. Parts of Speech Escape Room

Using an escape room can be a fun and engaging way for middle school students to learn about using parts of speech. In a parts of speech escape room activity , students work together in teams and use their knowledge of the 8 parts of speech to complete puzzles and activities to escape.

For my parts of speech escape room , I like to set up 5 different classroom stations containing different tasks for students to complete. Each completed task reveals mystery words, codes, or sentences. Here’s how I set up my stations:

• In the first station, students read famous quotes that have one of the parts of speech highlighted. Students must properly label which part of speech is used in each quote.
• In the second station, students answer 10 multiple-choice questions that help them properly label parts of speech.
• For the third station, students read a sentence on a task card. Then, they need to determine how many examples there are of one of the parts of speech. They write the numbers into their answer booklet.
• In the fourth station, students sort sentences highlighting parts of speech under the proper part of speech. Then, they have to unscramble the letters on the cards.
• The final station has students decode an encryption based on hidden symbols they have to find throughout the game.

This interactive and collaborative activity can help students to better understand and remember the different parts of speech, as they are actively using them to solve problems and complete tasks. Using an escape room to teach parts of speech can be a memorable and effective way to help middle school students master this important skill.

2. Color By Part of Speech Mystery Image Activity

Another fun way to get students to practice parts of speech is with a hidden mystery pictures activity. For this activity, students are provided with a grid, and each box has a word that students must color based on what part of speech it is. Students will need to have a strong understanding of parts of speech to know which color to use where and to properly reveal the hidden picture.

I find this works especially well for review, as it helps students to solidify what they might already know but may have forgotten. I like to use two versions of this activity, in particular—one for Christmas and another for Easter .

3. Famous Parts of Speech Task Cards

Let’s be honest, learning parts of speech can be a little bit, well let’s say…dry. One way to make it more engaging for students is to get creative with what source text you when getting students to identify the 8 different parts of speech. For example, I like to use a collection of famous quotes for mine. 

I also get them up and moving around the classroom just to make it even much more engaging and memorable. Have your students circulate the room to find famous quotes task cards at different stations set up in the room. Each quote can have different parts of speech underlined/bolded. Here are a few famous quotes that I use:

• “A word is dead when it is said, some say. I say it just begins to live that day.” – Emily Dickinson (Adjective)
• “Imagination is more important than knowledge.” Albert Einstein  (Preposition)
• “I became insane, with long intervals of horrible sanity .” – Edgar Allan Poe (Noun)

As they go around the room and read the quotes, students will record which parts of speech they think are being used in their answer booklets . Then, at the end, everyone can come together to go over each of the task cards and review the answers. 

4. Parts of Speech Grammar Challenges

Escape-style grammar challenges are another effective way to make learning parts of speech more engaging. There are many different ways that you can do this, depending on how much time you want to spend reviewing parts of speech with your students. 

One activity, the parts of speech grammar escape challenge , has students read a narrative backstory that engages them in the escape-style scenario. Then, they must use their knowledge of parts of speech to complete the related challenge (which involves completing a parts of speech puzzle). This is easy to implement and is meant to be done over the course of a single class. 

You can also use a grammar escape room bell-ringers that students complete over the course of a week. For example, you might try the escape the alien planet grammar challenge about an astronaut attempting to escape an alien planet that is facing a severe meteor shower. 

This activity can be done daily in small groups for the first 5-10 minutes of class. Each day, they will get progressively closer and closer to escaping by the end of the week, which is the goal, by using their knowledge of the different parts of speech.

This activity works great when broken down like this, as each of the daily puzzles brings students into a new part of the study where they uncover more clues and attempt to succeed in each task to have a successful escape.

5. Parts of Speech Paper Fortune Teller

Finally, you can also get students to review and practice their knowledge of parts of speech with paper fortune tellers. Have students fold up pre-made fortune tellers with the definitions and examples of the different parts of speech. 

Taking turns with a partner, students will roll a die and move the flaps back and forth according to the number they receive. The other student defines the part of speech shown when the fortune teller stops. They can check their answer and get examples of each of the 8 parts of speech by lifting up the flap. 

There you have it! I hope you find these suggestions helpful for going over the parts of speech with your middle school ELA students. Looking for tips and resources for teaching ELA skills and resources? Click here. You can check out the ready-to-use ELA resources mentioned in the post below.

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I’m Bonnie, a curriculum writer, literacy educator, and all around book lover on a mission to make English teachers’ lives a whole lot easier! 

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