Print both common and proper nouns on index cards. Turn the cards face down and spread them out on a table. Students should take turns turning over two cards at a time. If the pair makes a match, the student keeps the cards and takes another turn. If the pair is not a match, the next student takes a turn. This game helps students identify common and proper nouns and their relation to each other.
Instruct students to explore your classroom and make a list of all of the nouns that they see. Set a timer for 10 minutes. When the timer rings, have students make a new list, dividing the nouns they have identified into two categories: common and proper nouns. Students can work individually or with a partner and can compete to see who has correctly identified the most nouns.
Spin a paper clip on the spinner template that is labeled with spaces for person, place or thing. Depending on the space that the spinner lands on, students should write a common or proper noun that fits the description. For example, a common person would be teacher, but a proper person combination would require a response such as Abraham Lincoln. Students should record their answers on a labeled worksheet.
Provide newspapers to small groups of students and instruct them to find as many nouns as they can. Students should cut out the nouns and paste them on large pieces of construction paper labeled "common nouns," "proper nouns," "collective nouns" and "compound nouns." This activity challenges students' knowledge of specific types of nouns and allows them to categorize them for future use in their own writing.