Grammar through Writing

Nouns

What do these words have in common?Boy Girl Man Woman

Teacher Student Principal Cook

Brother Sister Cousin Uncle

Acrobat Nurse Lawyer clown

What do these words have in common?Swamp beach street city

St. Louis El Paso Denver Boise

United States Ireland Missouri Tibet

New Zealand Idaho Montana Oregon

What do these words have in common?House Fence Grass Door

Mirror Lamp Toothbrush Watch

Soap Dish Book Desk

Shoe Pencil Bucket telephone

What do these words have in common?Happiness Sadness Fear Anger

Truth Justice Honesty Beauty

Pride Loyalty Love Hate

Jealousy Envy Courage peace

What do all the words have in common?• They are all NOUNS!

• What is a noun? A NOUN is a word that names a PERSON,

PLACE or THING. Nouns can name things we can touch, taste,

see, hear, feel and smell. These are called CONCRETE NOUNS.

Nouns also name things we cannot touch, taste, see, hear, or smell. These are ABSTRACT NOUNS.

Writing Activity 1:

• Complete the following pattern with abstract and concrete nouns. In the first blank put an abstract noun; in the second blank put a concrete noun that tells something about the abstract noun. EX:

• I can’t see love, but I can see a wedding ring.

• I can’t see chaos, but I can see a tornado.

• I can’t see happiness, but I can see a smile.

• I can’t hear anger, but I can hear yelling.

• I can’t hear peace, but I can hear silence.

Your turn:

• I can’t see joy, but I can see ________.

• I can’t hear sadness, but I can hear _______.

• I can’t hear victory, but I can hear _______.

• I can’t see innocence, but I can see ________.

• I can’t see peace, but I can see _______ .

• I can’t see beauty, but I can see ________.

Now, compare the emotion to an animal:• If anger were an animal, it would be a tiger.

• If anger were an animal, it would be a ______.

• If fear were an animal, it would be a _______ .

• If playfulness were an animal, it would be a ______.

• If loyalty were an animal, it would be a ______.

• If beauty were an animal, it would be a ______.

• If boredom were an animal, is would be a ________.

• If speed were an animal, it would be a _______.

• If determination were an animal, it would be a _______.

• If bravery were an animal, it would be a _________.

• If loneliness were an animal, it would be a _________.

Complete the following pattern with an abstract noun and an –ing phrase.• FEAR is going into the basement alone at night.

• FEAR is seeing a pit bull charging at you.

• FEAR is singing a song to a room full of strangers.

• FEAR is admitting that you broke the window.

Now you try with other emotions.

What do these words have in common?Animal Country Game Food

Movie Book Group Building

Plant City person

What do these words have in common?Bullfrog Oak tree Star Wars George

Washington

Seattle Chicago Monopoly Empire State Building

Tacos The Beatles Australia Where the Wild Things Are

CONCRETE NOUNS come in 2 flavors: GENERAL AND SPECIFIC• Think of three SPECIFIC NOUNS for each

GENERAL NOUN:

• EXAMPLE:

General Specific

Music rock ‘n’ roll, jazz, country

Bird owl, hummingbird, cardinal

dog collie, Chihuahua, Boxer

Expression frown, grin, smirk

Your turn:

• City

• Country

• Book

• Person

• Weather

• Clothing

• Game

• Plant

• Author

COMMON and PROPER NOUNS• Proper nouns are capitalized, common are not.

We capitalize nouns when: They refer to specific people: Tom, Mary , the

Smiths, Dr. Einstein, Mr. Jones, Mrs. Cadwell, Uncle James, Aunt Ellen, William Shakespeare.

They refer to the days of the week, months, and holidays: Sunday, October, Christmas.

They refer to specific places that have names: Miami, Tennessee, the Missouri River, the Pacific Ocean, Main Street, the Teton Mountains, the Washington Monument, Franklin State Park, Sweden, Italy

Proper nouns cont. They refer to people from other countries:

Germans, Japanese, Italians, Tibetans, Americans.

They refer to periods in history: the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, the Victorian Era.

They refer to titles of books, plays, articles, or movies (articles and prepositions are usually not capitalized): Where the Wild Things Are, The Wind in the Willows, Hamlet, “Reading Books Is Good for Your Brains,” Star Wars.

Proper nouns cont. They refer to specific teams or organizations: the

St. Louis Cardinals, the Green Party, the National Council of Teachers of English.

They refer to schools or businesses: The University of Texas at El Paso, Apple Computer, Smith Elementary School.

They refer to regions of the United States: Southwest, Midwest, Northeast.

CHALLENGE:fragment Villain Dungeon Creek

Blimp Current Festival Swamp

Laser Castle Elf Forrest

King Moat Lantern Slipper