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Kindergarten Lessons on Noun-Verb Agreement

Children who are entering kindergarten have various degrees of understanding when it comes to noun-verb agreement. Some of the students may have difficulty with just a few nouns and verbs, while others may come from a background where English is their second language and find noun-verb agreement to be more challenging. Understanding noun-verb agreement is an essential skill in proper speaking and writing. Even if the children are not yet reading, it is possible to teach proper noun-verb agreement through lessons that use aural language and pictures.
  1. Do What I Say

    • This game is similar to the traditional game Simon Says.

      This fill in the blanks game is good for both grammar and physical education. In this game, the teacher has a list of simple sentences that involve actions, such as "They run around the room." Each sentence has a singular and a plural version. The teacher says the sentence, minus the verb. The students need to tell the teacher what the verb should be, then they complete the action. Sometimes the sentence will focus on a single person, such as "Tom runs around the room." In this case, any child can answer, but only Tom will run around the room.

    Grammar Match Up

    • Instead of numbers, use letters for grammar bingo

      Do a lesson on the letter "s" and how it relates to noun-verb agreement. When you use the words he and she, the appropriate form of most verbs has an "s" at the end. For example, he likes the dog. When you use the words they, we, and I, the verb has no s at the end. For example, we like the dog.

      Create match up sheets for the children. On the left hand side of the page, have a picture of a person or people. Place the word for that person under the picture, but make the picture tell most of the story since many kindergarten children cannot read. Have one picture of a man to represent the word "he." One picture of a woman can represent the word "she." One picture of several people can represent "we" and one can represent "they." One picture of a person pointing to herself can represent "I."

      On the right hand side of the page, have an equivalent number of objects that a person might like. These could include ice cream, a dog, or a flower.

      Place a line of "S" down the middle of the page under the word "like." The children must decide what the different people like and attach the picture of the person to the picture of the object on the other side. If the person or group of people requires an "S" to be added to the verb "like," they draw a line through the "S" on their way to the object. If the person or group of people does not require an "S," they do not draw a line through the "S."

    Noun and Verb Memory Game

    • To begin a lesson on noun-verb agreement, kindergarten children need to have a basic understanding of what nouns and verbs are. Create memory game cards. Get two pictures of different objects and two pictures of different actions. Make these as obviously different as possible. For example, you could have a picture of an apple and a picture of someone eating an apple. The children play Memory, turning over two pictures at a time until they find a matching pair. The children take turns turning over pictures. When they find a matching pair, they can get bonus points for telling the others whether the picture represents a noun or a verb. They can get an additional bonus point for using the word correctly in a sentence with proper noun-verb agreement. For example, they could say, "This is a verb. The verb is eat. The man is eating the apple."

    Picture Story

    • Older kindergarten students who are beginning to read can create picture stories using words and pictures. Cut out simple verbs like "is" and "are." Create pictures that go along with these verbs. For example, you could have a picture of a man and a picture of a smiling face. The children need to paste the correct verb into the middle of the sentence between the man and the smile to make the sentence "The man is happy."

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