Help students recognize verbs with a verb scavenger hunt. Create a worksheet with several short sentences that feature action verbs. Ask the students to find the verbs in each sentence and circle them with a pencil. When the students have mastered this task, write verbs and nouns on pieces of paper and place them around the room. Place two baskets on a table; label one "Nouns" and one "Verb." Ask the students to collect the cards and place them in the correct basket.
Teach your students that verbs are action words with an activity to get them moving. Create word cards by writing words on unlined index cards. Include nouns and verbs. Hold up a card and ask a student if the word is a noun or a verb. If it is a verb, the students should act out that verb. For example, if the verb is "jump," the student should jump in place. Go around the room, asking each student to decide if the word is a noun or a verb.
Ask the students to write five short sentences about what they are doing during school that day. Ask them to begin each sentence with "Today I." Examples might include, "Today I learn" or "Today I play." Encourage the students to underline the verbs in each sentence. The next day, ask the students to pull out their papers and rewrite the sentences in past tense. Each sentence should begin with "Yesterday I." Help each student turn his present-tense verbs into past tense by adding the appropriate ending. For example, "Today I learn" would become "Yesterday I learned." Give the students time to share their sentences with the class.
Teach your students about verbs with a fill-in-the-blanks worksheet. Write a short story about your class, but leave blanks at each verb. Ask the students to choose verbs to fill in the blanks. Provide a word bank at the bottom of the page, or let your students come up with their own words to fill it. The goal is not to recreate the story but to use context clues and students' knowledge of verbs to tell a new story.