Give each student the same list of categories. Categories can be things like, "Things at the Beach," "Fruits" and "Street Names." Set a timer for three minutes and give the students a letter. They will have three minutes to come up with a noun that applies to each category using the given letter. For example, if the letter was P, they might come up with people, peach and Pennsylvania Avenue. When the timer goes off, have the students read their answers one at a time. If a student's answer is not a noun, he doesn't get a point. If any students' answers match another student's, neither one gets a point. Otherwise, students get one point for each answer.
Write a list of words. Mix nouns into the list with verbs, adjectives and articles. Give each student a copy of the list, but place it face down on the desk. Give each student a highlighter. When you say "go," the students will turn over their papers and highlight the nouns as fast as they can. The first student to find all of the nouns wins that round.
Have the entire class stand up. Toss a soft ball to one of the students. That student will have a few seconds to come up with a noun before tossing the ball to another student. If a student gives a word that is not a noun or does not come up with one in time, he sits down. You can set a predetermined time limit for the game or go until one student is left. To make the game more difficult, give the students a certain letter to use or have them come up with nouns in the order of the alphabet. For example, the first student might say "apple" and then the second student could say "beach."
Divide your class into pairs. Give each student a blank crossword puzzle. Each student creates his own crossword puzzle, making sure that each answer is a noun. When the students are finished creating their crossword puzzles, they will switch with their partners. They will then try to solve their classmates' puzzles.