Grade 1 Fall — Sentence Mechanics, Noun-Verb Grammar, and the Three Text Types in Full Sentences
Lesson 5 30 min eng.g1.f.lesson_05.what_is_a_verb

What is a VERB? — action words

Skills targeted
Objectives
  • Students define a verb as an action word.
  • Students identify verbs in sentences by circling.
  • Students act out 10 different verbs on demand.
Vocabulary
verbactiondo

Lesson plan

Warm-up

4 min

TPR: 'Show me JUMP. Show me RUN. Show me CRAWL. Show me LAUGH. Show me WHISPER.'

Teacher moves
  • Sequence: physical → quieter → mental verbs
  • Verbs that aren't fully physical (think, wonder) come later
Media
M-1-F-GR-05-B Video Physical / non-image

45-second video. Teacher faces camera and says 'Show me ___' for 10 verbs: jump, run, sit, stand, spin, clap, stomp, wiggle, freeze, hug-yourself. Children at home or in class follow. Cheerful music. Used as the daily verb-warmup.

Direct instruction

10 min

VERBS are ACTION words. Things you DO. Run, jump, eat, sleep, sing, dance — all verbs. Watch — when I read a sentence, the verb is the word that tells what someone DOES. 'The dog runs.' The verb is RUNS. 'My mom laughs.' The verb is LAUGHS.

Key examples
  • What's the cat doing? Sleeping. So 'sleeps' is the verb.
    model Sleeps.
    prompt What's the verb in 'The cat sleeps'?
  • What do birds do? Fly. 'Fly' is the verb.
    model Fly.
    prompt What's the verb in 'Birds fly south'?
  • 'Is' is a special kind of verb that doesn't show action — it shows what someone or something IS. We'll meet more of these soon.
    model 'My dog IS happy.' What's the verb? IS.
    prompt Be verbs — tricky.
Checks for understanding
  • What's the verb in 'I love pizza'? (love)
  • Name three verbs.
  • Act out: 'sneeze.'
Media
M-1-F-GR-05-A Chart Physical / non-image

Anchor chart 'VERB = Action Word'. Center: a running-figure icon. Surrounding: 12 action verbs with small action illustrations: run (figure running), jump (figure jumping), eat (figure eating), sleep (z's over a head), sing (musical notes), dance (figure dancing), read (figure with book), write (figure with pencil), think (lightbulb over head), laugh (smiling face), cry (tear), hug (two figures embracing). Footer: 'Verbs tell what someone DOES.'

Guided practice

12 min
Tasks
  • Verb-action card draw: pull a card, act out the verb, class guesses.
    scaffold 15 cards.
  • Identify the verb in 5 sentences: 'The bus stops.' 'A baby cries.' 'Trees sway.' 'My sister cooks.' 'Owls hoot.'
    scaffold Hint: action word.
  • Generate verbs for a noun: 'A dog can ___' — list 5 actions.
    scaffold Sentence frame.

Formative assessment

2 min
Exit ticket
  • Circle the verb: 'The fish swims fast.'
  • Write a sentence with the verb HOP.
scoring Both correct = mastery; one = practicing; neither = reteach.

Closure

Moves
  • Chant: 'Verbs are action words. They tell what someone DOES.'

Homework

5 min
Tasks
  • At dinner, count five verbs you hear someone say.

Exercises in this lesson

eng.g1.f.ex_07
Pull a verb card from the deck and act it out. Classmates guess.
 act out · diff 1
eng.g1.f.ex_08
Circle the verb in each: (1) The bird sings loudly. (2) A horse runs fast. (3) My dog barks. (4) The wind blows.
 identify in sentence · diff 3

Differentiation

Scaffolds
  • Physical verbs only
  • Picture support
  • Pre-built action cards
Extensions
  • Identify 'be' verbs (is, am, are, was, were)
  • Find verbs in a class book — make a list
  • Differentiate present and past verbs (preview of Spring)
English Learners
  • Bilingual verb cards
  • TPR-heavy
  • Use home-language verb knowledge
Ieps 504s
  • AAC
  • Picture-based verbs
  • Reduced volume

Teacher notes

Verbs are introduced AFTER nouns deliberately — children need 1 week of consolidation on nouns before adding a second part of speech. Skipping noun-week and going straight to verbs leads to noun-verb confusion.