Nouns Teaching Resources
Save time on creating noun lesson plans with printable worksheets and digital activities, handy noun lists, parts of speech games and more from the teachers of Teach Starter.
Aligned with both TEKS ELAR and Common Core ELA Curriculum standards, the teacher resources in this collection are all teacher-created. You'll find printables to help students learn to differentiate nouns from verbs, digital activities to help teach kids about common, proper and possessive nouns and more!
Whether you're working on singular and plural forms of nouns with your 3rd grade class, exploring the functions of nouns in phrases and clauses with your 5th graders or starting at the very beginning with a noun introduction to your 1st graders, we've got you covered!
Are you new to teaching this part of the ELA curriculum or just looking for new ways to engage students as they learn how to use nouns? Take a peek at this primer from our teacher team, including a breakdown of the different types of nouns, a kid-friendly definition of nouns, explanations of how to teach kids about possessive nouns and plenty more!
What Is a Noun? A Kid-Friendly Definition
Sure, you know the definition of this part of speech yourself, but we've filled the Teach Starter site with handy definitions and tools you can use to explain the various parts of speech to your students.
So, let’s start with a kid-friendly definition of noun!
A noun is a word that is used to identify a person, place, thing or idea.
Nouns are just one of the eight parts of speech that we use to create sentences when we are writing, but it's an important one. Most sentences that we write or say out loud will contain a noun.
Singular and Plural Nouns — What's the Difference?
Singular nouns refer to just one person, place, thing or idea. Plural nouns, on the other hand, identify multiple people, places, things or ideas!
How to Make a Singular Noun Plural
The challenge for most students is learning how to properly adjust a singular noun to its plural form.
Here are a few rules to help your students make the changes:
1. -s Rule
Many nouns can be made plural by simply adding the letter s to the end.
For example if you change "book" to "books," you've used the -s rule for plural nouns.
2. -es Rule
Nouns ending in s, x, z, ch, or sh require adding -es to the end in order to make them plural nouns. For example, box becomes boxes when it is in the plural form.
3. -ies Rule
If a noun ends in a consonant + y, teach your students to change the y to i and add -es. For example, baby becomes babies when it is made plural.
4. -ves Rule
Do you have a noun ending in f or fe? To create the plural form, change the f or fe to v and add -es. For example leaf is changed to leaves.
5. Vowel + -y Rule
If you have a singular noun ending in a vowel + y, it can be written in plural form by adding -s. For example, key becomes keys.
6. Irregular Plural Nouns
Some nouns have irregular plural forms and don't follow specific patterns. For example, mouse becomes mice when it's made plural, and child becomes children. These irregular plurals often trip students up, so teaching word pairs is important to help build their understanding.
8 Singular Nouns That Don't Change When They're Plural — A List for Kids
Some nouns are tricksters that remain the same in both singular and plural forms. Here's a handy list for kids to help them keep track!
- deer
- scissors
- pants
- pajamas
- fish
- moose
- sheep
- rice
2 Different Types of Nouns (With Examples) and What They Do
Considering how important this part of speech is in sentence writing, it's hardly surprising that there are different types of nouns that we can use to communicate. The two main types of nouns are common nouns and proper nouns. Let's break down common nouns vs. proper nouns and look at a few examples!
Common Nouns
Common nouns are the nouns we use to identify general people, places, things and ideas. For example, if we say the city, we are referring to a general place. In this case, "city" is a common noun.
Common nouns only begin with a capital letter if they appear at the beginning of a sentence.
Examples of common nouns for kids include dog, pizza, girl, and post office.
Proper Nouns
Proper nouns are different from common nouns because they are used to identify specific people, places, things and ideas. For example, New York City is a proper noun because it refers to a specific city.
Proper nouns always begin with a capital letter, even if they appear in the middle of a sentence or at the end.
Examples of proper nouns for kids include Mrs. Jiminez, Roosevelt Elementary School and LEGO.
Common Nouns Lists – 4 Different Kinds to Teach About
There may be two different main types of nouns, but the variation doesn't stop with common and proper. Common nouns can be broken down into a variety of different categories.
Here's a list of common nouns most kids learn about in elementary or middle school!
Concrete Nouns
A concrete noun is a word we use to identify things that we can perceive using our five senses. Concrete nouns can be touched, tasted, smelled, felt and heard.
Examples of common nouns for kids include wind, pineapple, flowers, cotton and music.
Abstract Nouns
Unlike concrete nouns, abstract nouns refer to things we cannot actually sense with any of our 5 senses. These nouns are identifying things that are not physical.
Things like our ideas and our feelings are considered abstract nouns.
Examples of abstract nouns for kids include bravery, friendship and happiness.
Collective Nouns
A collective noun is a type of common noun that is used to identify a group or collection of people, places, things or ideas.
Examples of collective nouns for kids include team, family and class.
Countable Nouns vs. Uncountable Nouns — What's the Difference?
Another way to break down the main types of nouns is to look at whether they're countable or uncountable. So what's the difference?
Countable Nouns
Countable nouns are just what the name implies. These are nouns that identify things we can count! We can apply a specific number to a countable noun.
For example, if you look around a classroom, you can count the number of desks or tables. That makes both desks and tables countable nouns.
Uncountable Nouns
If countable nouns can be counted, it makes sense that uncountable nouns identify things that can't be counted.
For example, we can't count water or sadness. These are both uncountable nouns.
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Noun, Verb, and Adjective Sort - Worksheet
Help students learn the difference between nouns, verbs, and adjectives with this cut-and-paste sorting worksheet.
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Nouns, Proper Nouns, Verbs, Adjectives, Adverbs and Conjunctions Posters
Enhance student understanding of the 8 parts of speech with these colorful, informative, and easily-referenced grammar wall posters for the classroom covering nouns, verbs and more!
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Color by Parts of Speech Chameleon Worksheet (Nouns, Verbs, Adjectives, Adverbs, Conjunctions and Pronouns)
Practice identifying different parts of speech with this fun color-by-code worksheet.
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Parts of Speech Flip Book
A flip book to use when learning about parts of speech.
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Inflectional Endings - Spelling with Suffixes Worksheets
Spell words with the inflectional endings -ed, -ing, -s, -es and -ies with a pack of printable practice worksheets covering inflected endings.
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Grammar Grid - Parts of Speech Mystery Picture (Crab)
Follow the color-coded parts of speech guide to fill in the word grid and reveal a mystery image.
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Grammar Grid Mystery Picture Worksheet- Nouns, Verbs, Adjectives (Bunny)
Follow the color-coded parts of speech guide to fill in the word grid and reveal a mystery image.
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Color by Parts of Speech - Nouns, Verbs, and Adjectives - Octopus
A fun activity to use when learning about nouns, verbs, and adjectives.
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Grammar Grid Mystery Picture Worksheet-Nouns, Verbs, Adjectives
Follow the color-coded parts of speech guide to fill in the word grid and reveal a mystery image.
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Grammar Worksheet Pack – Lower Elementary
Review different parts of speech with this worksheet pack.
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3rd Grade English Worksheets - Christmas Printables
Add some Christmas spirit to your December grammar lessons with a printable pack of Christmas-themed 3rd-grade English worksheets.
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Find The Imposter! Interactive Suffix Game
Practice using the suffixes -s and -es to pluralize words with an exciting FInd the Imposter Interactive activity.
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Using Possessive Nouns - Task Cards
Practice writing phrases using the correct singular or plural possessive noun with a set of task cards.
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Writing Singular Possessive Nouns Worksheet
Practice writing singular possessive nouns with a possessive worksheet.
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Escape from Pete's Pumpkin Patch - Halloween Escape Room
Escape the evil witch who turns children into pumpkins at Pete’s Pumpkin Patch using inferencing, problem solving, and grammar skills
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Fall Color By Part of Speech Worksheet - Nouns, Verbs, Adjectives, Adverbs
Use this color by part of speech worksheet as a fun fall activity with your students.
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Comical Chronicle 3rd Grade Part of Speech Worksheets
Get your 3rd graders excited about parts of speech with this worksheet filled with 10 ad-lib style stories.
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This or That! PowerPoint Game - Singular and Plural Nouns
An active PowerPoint game to practice working with singular and plural nouns.
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Read and Color Worksheet - Possessive Nouns
A worksheet to practice identifying possessive nouns.
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Plural Noun Anchor Charts - Posters
Help children grasp the tricky concept of pluralizing nouns by displaying these 8 plural noun anchor chart posters.
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Parts of Speech Sort Game - Common Nouns, Abstract Nouns, Proper Nouns, Verbs and Adjectives
Use this Parts of Speech Sort Game to assist your students in identifying the different types of nouns, verbs and adjectives.
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Christmas Singular and Plural Noun Worksheets
Review plural noun rules and add some holiday fun to your Language Arts lessons with a set of printable plural and singular noun worksheets.
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Color by Parts of Speech (Nouns, Verbs, Prepositions, and Adjectives) – Owl
Identify nouns, verbs, prepositions, and adjectives with this color-by-code style worksheet.
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April Fool’s Day Silly Story Worksheets
Celebrate April Fools' Day in the classroom with these fun silly story worksheets.
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"Simon Says" Commands - Card Deck
A set of 24 instruction cards to use when playing "Simon Says."
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Valentine's Day Printables - Worksheets for 2nd Graders
Review and practice a wide range of grammar skills with a pack of printable Valentine’s Day-themed grammar and writing worksheets for 2nd graders.
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Singular and Plural Possessives Task Cards
Practice writing phrases using the correct singular or plural possessive noun with a set of task cards.
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Singular Possessive Nouns Worksheet
Practice using singular possessive nouns with this worksheet.
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Christmas Printables - Parts of Speech Worksheets
Bring a bit of Christmas fun into your language arts lessons with printable Christmas parts of speech worksheets.
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Thanksgiving Worksheet - Parts of Speech Sort
Review three parts of speech by sorting nouns, verbs, and adjectives with a parts of speech sorting activity.
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Fall Worksheet - Parts of Speech Cut and Paste
Have a bit of fall fun identifying parts of speech by sorting fall-themed nouns, verbs, and adjectives with a cut and paste worksheet.
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Possessives Teaching Presentation
Teach your students to use the correct forms of possessive nouns with an interactive teaching presentation.