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Noun worksheets, lessons, and tests.

Understanding the parts of speech is fundamental to learning more advanced concepts like sentence structure , grammar, and punctuation. That's why so many language arts units start with the parts of speech. And, if you are starting a unit on the parts of speech, one of the better places to begin is by studying nouns .

Nouns are words that refer to people, places, and things. Most grade school students can tell you this. But the study of nouns gets a little more complex. There are many types of nouns such as common and proper, singular and plural, and abstract and concrete. It is helpful to know these distinctions when studying language. Over the years I've created a catalog of noun worksheets and activities that work well in the classroom. These include multiple-choice tests, practice activities suitable for homework or classroom activities, as well as online noun activities that give students instant feedback and save teachers' time. I've posted all of these activities to this page and made them freely accessible to teachers, parents, and students. May we all one day have a better understanding of what we are saying.

Noun Worksheets

Noun powerpoint lessons.

This is a preview image of Singular, Plural, and Collective Nouns Worksheet | "At the Zoo...". Click on it to enlarge it or view the source file.

This is a preview image of Singular, Plural, and Possessive Nouns Lesson. Click on it to enlarge it or view the source file.

Here are some multiple-choice tests to help evaluate how well your students understand nouns .

This is a preview image of Singular, Plural, and Possessive Nouns Test 1. Click on it to enlarge it or view the source file.

Nouns and Capitalization Common Core State Standards

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Pronoun Worksheets and Activities All Parts of Speech Activities

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Noun Worksheets

A person, place of thing.

These grammar worksheets help kids learn to recognize and use nouns . A noun is a word for a person, place or thing. Our nouns worksheets also cover plural nouns, common and proper nouns, possessive nouns, collective nouns and abstract nouns.

Grade 1 nouns worksheets

Identifying simple nouns as a person, place or thing
Identifying nouns in sentences
Completing sentences with nouns
Identifying plural nouns
Making nouns plural by adding "s" or "es"
Identifying common and proper nouns
Making nouns possessive by adding apostrophe plus s

Grade 2 nouns worksheets

Classifying nouns: person place or thing
Writing nouns in your own sentences
Capitalize common and proper nouns appropriately
Identify singular and plural nouns
Plural nouns: nouns ending in "y"
Plural nouns: nouns ending in a vowel plus y
Irregular plural nouns
Collective nouns

Grade 3 nouns worksheets

Classifying nouns as a person, place or thing
Nouns as direct objects
Countable and uncountable nouns
Regular plural nouns
Irregular nouns
Concrete and abstract nouns

Sample Nouns Worksheet

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5 Fun Activities for Teaching Nouns in the Primary Grades

March 22, 2020

Need some fun activities to teach nouns to your 1st or 2nd grade students?

These activities and ideas are great for teaching common nouns and/or proper nouns!

They’ll help students make connections to real reading and writing AND have fun learning about nouns.

Need some fun activities to teach nouns to your 1st or 2nd grade students? These activities and ideas are great for teaching common nouns and/or proper nouns! They'll help students make connections to real reading and writing AND have fun learning about nouns.

Activity #1: Have students identify examples of nouns in real sentences.

Effective grammar instruction involves having students making connections to real reading and writing!

Once my students know what a noun is, I always have them practice finding examples of nouns in sentences.

Activity #2: Have students sort common nouns into the categories of people, places, and things.

To reinforce the idea that nouns name people (and animals), places, and things, I like to have my students do a picture sort, like this one from First Grade Grammar Alive curriculum.

Activity #3: Have students do a “noun hunt” in the books they’re reading.

I like to have my students search for nouns “in the wild!” Again, this is a great way to help them connect grammar concepts to real texts.

Students can search for proper nouns, common nouns, or both. This half-sheet scavenger hunt list comes from my Second Grade Grammar Alive curriculum.

Activity #4: Have students sort common and proper nouns (and categories of proper nouns).

Once my students understand what common and proper nouns are, I have them complete a simple sort, like this one from First Grade Grammar Alive :

I also like to do proper noun sorts, where students sort names of people, names of days of the week, names of places, etc. (like in this “cookie jar sort” from Second Grade Grammar Alive ):

First Grade Grammar Alive has its own variation, with a “crayon box” theme:

Activity #5: Have students brainstorm matching pairs of common nouns and proper nouns.

As a class, we’ll brainstorm matching pairs:

Or, in this board game from First Grade Grammar Alive , students give a proper noun example to match a common noun.

For example, if they land on “cereal,” they might say “Cheerios” or “Fruit Loops.”

Need more materials for teaching grammar?

I hope these noun activities are helpful!

For complete grammar lesson plans and many more grammar activities (including the ones featured in this blog post), check out my Kindergarten, first grade, and second grade Grammar Alive programs:

Or, if you’re looking for grammar activities that students can do independently, check out my BoomCards TM Grammar Games ! They work well with my “Grammar Alive!” program or ANY grammar program you might be using.

These games are super engaging, include audio directions, and can be used on any device with internet. If you’re pressed for time when it comes to teaching grammar, this is a great way to provide self-correcting practice without taking up more class time.

To learn more about each bundle (for Kindergarten, 1st grade, or 2nd grade), click one of the images below:

Happy teaching!

LATPP_Blog_3.26.23_10-Minute-Nouns_Pin-1

Very organized lesson

Wonderful I like this

Thank you, Regina! I hope that you are able to use these activities with your students!

Hi Alison, I loved the activities as it shows the progression in a systematic way. Simply wonderful

Thank you, Suman! I hope that you find these activities useful for your students!

Very useful information thank you so much

You’re so welcome, Conny! I’m glad that you found these noun activities useful! 🙂

Excellent activities thank uou so much

You’re welcome!

I’m Alison, a literacy specialist. I love getting kids excited about reading and writing – and sharing teaching ideas with other teachers!

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Free Printable Nouns worksheets

Nouns worksheets for Reading & Writing: Discover a wide range of free printable resources to help students enhance their understanding and mastery of nouns in a fun and interactive way.

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Nouns worksheets are essential tools for teachers who aim to enhance their students' reading and writing skills, as well as their overall grammar proficiency. These worksheets provide a structured and engaging way for students to practice identifying and using different types of nouns, which are the building blocks of sentences and a crucial component of grammar and mechanics. By incorporating nouns worksheets into their lesson plans, teachers can ensure that their students have a solid foundation in the parts of speech, which will ultimately lead to improved reading comprehension and writing abilities. Furthermore, these worksheets can be easily tailored to suit the specific needs and grade levels of each class, making them a versatile and valuable resource for educators across the board.

Quizizz, a popular online platform for creating and sharing educational quizzes and games, offers a wide range of resources for teachers, including nouns worksheets and other materials focused on reading, writing, grammar, and mechanics. By utilizing Quizizz in conjunction with traditional worksheets, teachers can create a dynamic and interactive learning environment that caters to the diverse needs of their students. The platform also allows educators to track their students' progress and identify areas where additional support may be needed, ensuring that each student receives the personalized attention they need to succeed. With Quizizz, teachers can seamlessly integrate technology into their lesson plans, providing students with a fun and engaging way to practice and master the parts of speech, as well as other essential language arts skills, regardless of their grade level.

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13 Entertaining ESL Homework Ideas to Keep Your Students Engaged

Homework may not be many students’ favorite thing, but research says it’s truly an effective learning tool that teachers should use .

The trick is assigning great homework.

To help you do this with ease, we’ve compiled an awesome list of 13 homework assignments that will have your ESL students begging for more.

1. Read a Short Story

2. share a passion, 3. start a chat group, 4. listen to a podcast, 5. write a letter, 6. write an amazon review, 7. do a wikipedia edit, 8. write a short story or poem, 9. share their culture, 10. catch a movie, 11. meet new people, 12. analyze a song, 13. go on a photo scavenger hunt, what makes homework effective.

Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)

Have students read a short story for homework and then ask them to tell the class about the story in the next session.

I would recommend giving students some suggestions on what short stories to read, depending on the level of your students.

Here are some suggestions of short story collections for each level of ESL learner:

“The Very First Americans” by Cara Ashrose: This collection of short stories features Native American culture and history, written in simple language.
“Oxford Bookworms Library: Starter Level” This series offers simplified versions of classic stories, such as fairy tales, adventure stories and more.
“Classic Tales for ESL Students” by L.A. Hill: This collection of classic stories from literature is retold with easier vocabulary and sentence structure.

Intermediate

“The Best American Short Stories” This series features contemporary short stories from a wide range of American writers, so there’s something for everyone here.
“Short Stories in English for Intermediate Learners” by Olly Richards: This collection of engaging stories is designed specifically for intermediate ESL students.
“Roald Dahl: The Collected Short Stories” This delightful collection of quirky and imaginative tales has become a favorite of many of my students.
“Interpreter of Maladies” by Jhumpa Lahiri: This Pulitzer Prize-winning collection of short stories explores the immigrant experience, something which many ESL students can relate to.
“Dubliners” by James Joyce: This classic collection of interconnected stories captures the essence of Dublin in 1914. But it still feels modern to many students.
“Nine Stories” by J.D. Salinger: This classic collection of short stories is a class favorite when I’ve used it.

What do your students really care about? Give them a chance to talk about it in front of the class.

Have each person choose something they’re passionate about, something they might consider themselves an expert on.

Challenge students to think of a creative way to present five must-know facts about that subject. They might make a movie, create a poster or brochure, write a song or even put on a skit.

Have each person present their creative project to the class, and then give the class five minutes to ask questions of the presenter.

Set certain parameters like students must speak in complete sentences or require that every student ask at least two questions at some point during the presentations.

Students will love sharing about their passions, and they’ll get some great speaking, listening and discourse information in the process, as well as teach the rest of the class some interesting vocabulary.

Ask for class for a volunteer to start a class WhatsApp chat group. They can also decide to use another messaging app like Telegram, Viber, Voxer or any other app that has a group chat function.

Encourage them to send at least one message and to respond to a couple others for their homework.

This text group has the added advantage of students being able to make friends with one another, and a place to ask about missed homework assignments on days when they can’t make it to class.

Note that if a student doesn’t want to be included in the chat group, you should have a back up assignment prepared for them.

Listening is one of the ESL student’s most difficult skills to acquire, so listening to a short podcast episode is ideal homework.

You can ask students to write a little about the podcast to turn in to you, or you can ask them to briefly summarize what they heard for the class in the next session.

Here are some suggestions for well done podcasts:

The English We Speak : Produced by the BBC, this podcast focuses on teaching commonly used phrases and idioms in conversational English.

The Moth : A storytelling podcast where real people share their personal experiences and anecdotes in English.

Stuff You Should Know : Though not specifically designed for ESL students, this podcast covers a vast array of interesting topics, providing exposure to diverse vocabulary and subject matters.

Ask your students to write a letter . The letter can be written to a friend or family member (which they could then actually mail or email), or it could be a fan letter to a favorite musician or actor. They could even write a letter to Santa Claus or a historical figure.

For example, a student might choose to write a letter to Marie Antoinette, asking her what it was like to be the queen of France at such a young age.

You can also choose to have students write letters to one another. Then the next homework can be writing that letter writer back.

Ask you students to review a product on Amazon (or any other shopping website that has reviews). Ask them to select a product they have really used, so they have a genuine opinion on the quality of the product and whether it lived up to their expectations.

Then, in the next session, show the reviews on the overhead projector to the class and ask a student to read the review.

You can then go over any errors in vocabulary, grammar or sentence structure and revise the review together as a class.

Since anyone can edit a Wikipedia article, it’s a great place for ESL students to hone their writing and editing skills, and they’ll have a built-in readership, too!

Ask students to select a person that they know a lot about—a well-known figure from history, pop culture, music or film would all work. Then ask them to read the Wikipedia entry to see if they can add anything else to the article.

Perhaps the article on Ryan Gosling is missing a key detail about his recent Ken performance. If so, the student will revise and edit the article. They should take notes on what they changed, so they can explain it to you or the class the next day.

Ask your students to get creative. Have them write a short story or a poem . This can get them to use descriptive language that they don’t always have a chance to use.

One good activity to do before you assign this homework is an adjective bubble chart. For this, you start with one adjective. For example, write “moist” on the board, circle it and then draw 4-5 lines coming off of the”moist” bubble.

Ask your students to come up with other adjectives that are related to “moist” and so on. They may come up with “wet,” “watery,” “soaked” or “damp.” Then draw lines from each of those. This can lead to words that you never expected to come up.

Have your students select 3-4 adjectives from this introduction activity that they’ll use in their story or poem.

Ask your students to prepare a short presentation on an aspect of their home culture to tell the class about in the next session.

For example, a student from China may explain the Lunar New Year, a student from Vietnam may explain Tet or a student from El Salvador may tell the class about their quinceañera .

They can use photos, art, a PowerPoint presentation or they can just explain in their own words.

Then open the class up for questions.

Can you legitimately send students to the movies for homework? You can when you’re teaching ESL.

Your students don’t have to commit to a full-length movie. Instead, you can use the videos on FluentU to screen mini-lessons using clips from TV shows and movies, movie trailers, news segments, vlogs or music videos.

Use these videos in the classroom or assign homework to watch a few and complete the subsequent quizzes. You can also ask students to complete flashcard quizzes based on vocabulary words you want them to pay special attention to. These quizzes are adaptable so every student will have a unique experience catered to his learning level.

There are plenty of ways to use a movie for language development. And whether students watch a new release or catch an old Elvis flick on TV, they can do any of the following activities as homework:

Summarize the plot.
Describe a main character.
Note new or interesting vocabulary (particularly slang) they hear while watching.
Write an interview with one of the characters in the movie.

I’m sure you also have your favorite movie-related language activities and many work as homework assignments. So get creative with how you have students share about what they watched.

For the most part, people are willing to help someone in need, and that is doubly true for someone who needs to complete an assignment for school.

That’s why sending students out to interview native speakers on campus is such a fun homework assignment.

Start by helping your students write a list of questions they’ll use for their interviews. Students can choose a topic or you can assign one, like leisure activities or celebrity news.

Tell students to list five to ten questions they might ask on that topic that will elicit specific answers.

As a class, discuss how students might introduce themselves to a potential interviewee.

Then send students out to their interviews after class. They can share the answers they got in the next session.

Music is great for English learners since it stresses many aspects of language that can otherwise be hard to isolate, like the emotion of language, intonation and stress.

Have students choose their favorite English language song to listen to for homework and then ask them to do the following:

Practice the lyrics to learn intonation and rhythm.
Note slang and cultural references in the songs.
Summarize the theme of the song, or just what it’s about.
Have students share their favorite lyrics and what a particular song means to them.

Give individual students or groups of up to three students a list of items to find on their homework scavenger hunt. But instead of being specific in your list (for example, including items such as cat), be descriptive in your list.

You might include items such as something frightening, something beautiful, something quiet, something cool.

Students find items they think fit the description. For example, someone who is claustrophobic might choose an elevator for something frightening. They then take a picture of it.

The next day, have each person get with a partner and show them the pictures they took for each item on the list.

If the connection is not obvious, students should ask their partner to explain why they chose a particular item, such as the elevator.

Assigning homework that works isn’t as hard as you might think, especially if you focus on the following points.

Put your homework in writing. It can be tempting to just announce homework assignments to students at the end of class, but language learners benefit when you reinforce what you say with what they can see. So take a minute to write any homework assignment on the board so students can read it as well as listen to it.
Let students know what goals you have for a particular assignment. Is it practicing a certain grammar point ? Improving their listening skills ? Pronunciation practice ? When students know why they’re doing something, they’ll be able to tell on their own when they’ve successfully completed their homework assignment.
Keep your homework practical . Your students may not find themselves planning out a menu for Thanksgiving when they leave your ESL classroom, but odds are they’ll have to order food at a restaurant at some point. Think about realistic ways students will have to use English in the real world and try to make your homework practical.
Let your students be creative . Give your students choices on how they express themselves or present information. It’s okay for students to make a home movie, put on a one-man play or paint a picture to present to the class. Just because you prefer a particular type of creative expression doesn’t mean your students do, so give them choices and let them express themselves.
Make homework fun! Every class has its own personality, so what’s fun for one might not be fun for another. Tailor your assignments to the personality of your class. Think about what they would think is fun, and go with that.

No matter what you believed in your student days, homework doesn’t have to be boring. With a little creativity when assigning homework, you might find that the activities you assign for outside of class become the highlights of your students’ days.

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FREE Noun Worksheets

There are many different types of worksheets in this section on nouns. teachers approach the topic in a variety of ways which has resulted in 489 noun worksheets being posted on this page. there are some subsections which may help you find what you are looking for more easily. here is an example of one of the noun worksheets available. it is for complete beginners and, due to the fact that it relies on images, younger students. the worksheet is to help students practice forming plural nouns and contains both regular and irregular nouns. other worksheets focus on countable and uncountable nouns, possessive forms, and other noun related topics. take a look around to see what busy teacher can offer. a noun is the name of a person, place, or thing; as one of the fundamental building blocks of english, your students will be learning a lot of them. when introducing new vocabulary use flashcards with clear images that indicate the meaning of the words, drill nouns with articles during pronunciation practice, and be sure to test individual pronunciation and comprehension before asking students to complete further activities. students will have to learn the difference between countable and uncountable nouns, regular and irregular plural noun forms, and the possessive forms. while this may seem like an immense amount of material, you can and should break it down into sections that your students will find more manageable. read more... ...less.

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10 entertaining homework ideas for online English Language Learners

Did hearing the words, “do your homework,” when you were a child excite you?

For most of us, the word homework doesn’t conjure up exciting or fun memories.

Homework was likely one of the last things you wanted to do as a student!

However, what if you could make homework fun for students? What if homework was entertaining?

In this article, we share some entertaining homework ideas for English language learners to help them improve their English while having fun!

You might be familiar with lots of ESL games and activities for your students , but assigning the right homework can feel overwhelming.

This is particularly true if you don’t want to burden your students with a tremendous amount of information.

Have you ever thought about combining games with homework?

There are many alternative ways to create memorable lessons, such as incorporating karaoke songs to learn English.

Here are 10 fun and entertaining homework ideas for your ESL students:

Cafe hopper
Tiktok star
Let’s go to the movies
Hello Mr. Teacher
Interview a stranger
Shine like a Karaoke star
Expert on the loose
24 hour challenge
It’s a wrap!
Masterchef in the making

1. Cafe hopper

Most people love checking out cafes and this is an easy homework task to assign to your students.

Have your students visit a variety of cafes as part of their homework.

Then, consider what they could do for homework in a cafe of their choice.

Here are some fun ideas for turning cafe-hopping into homework:

Practice ordering in English off of the menu.
Take a photo of the cafe’s and share the differences and similarities with you in class.
Speak to a stranger in each cafe in English and ask them some interesting questions about their life.
Interview the barista about their favorite kind of coffee or beverage.

This is a stress-free homework idea that your students will love, especially if they are coffee or tea lovers!

2. TikTok star

Tiktok is a fun social media application where you can watch videos and songs from creators. You can also watch creators lip-synching to catchy tunes.

Show some fun examples in your class of some famous TikTok songs being lip-synched to by others and practice doing one together.

For homework, have them choose their favorite song on TikTok.
They can lip-synch to the song and download the song to their camera album without having to actually post it to TikTok.
Have them share their creation with you in the next class!

Depending on the age and location of your student, TikTok might not be an option for them. If you are teaching older students or adults , then it might be easier for them to use social media for this homework assignment rather than young children.

If they are too young to use the app, have them find an online video of their favorite song and ask a parent to record them singing!

3. Let’s go to the movies

Going to the movies doesn’t sound like homework, does it? Well, as you might already be discovering, homework doesn’t have to be conventional!

Find some interesting movies that are playing in your students’ area or ask them to watch a movie of their choice in English.

Tell them that their homework is going to be based on the movie they watch.

Here are some ideas for making going to the movies part of their homework:

Have them write a summary of the movie or their favorite part.
Tell them that they have to give you a movie review in your next class.
Have them act out their favorite part of the movie with a sibling or family member and record it (in English of course!).
Ask them to make a poster advertising the movie with captions, titles and text to accompany any drawings.

If you are struggling to find movies they can go and watch in the cinema, you can always use these ESL movies and TV shows as a resource.

Students can also watch movies from the comforts of their homes.

4. Hello Mr. Teacher!

Students love playing the role of the teacher!

This can work for in-person or online ESL classes.

Tell them that as part of the next classroom activity, the first 5 – 10 minutes will be their time to shine as the teacher!

For homework, ask them to:

Think of one topic that they know a lot about (This could be a sport, musical instrument, game, topic, etc…).
Have them prepare 5 important things that someone needs to know about their topic.
Tell them that in their next class they will be the teacher and share their knowledge! (They can even give you homework!).

Have fun with this homework idea and role-play the student where you ask them questions after they finish.

Your students will love this one!

5. Interview a stranger

This one might need some parent support and guidance if you are teaching children, but having them interview someone is an entertaining homework idea for English language learners.

It encourages their own voice as they come up with ideas.
It helps with writing skills as they write out their questions.
Interviewing encourages conversation and role playing which is a fun way to learn English.

You could have your younger students interview a family member and ask questions related to that family member’s childhood.

Here are some sample questions you could help your students form:

What kind of things did you like to do when you were my age?
What was your favorite thing about school?
What types of sports did you play when you were young?
Tell me about what life was like when you were a child.

Have them choose and write out 5-10 questions and come back to class to report on their findings!

6. Shine like a Karaoke star

Who doesn’t like a bit of karaoke? Imagine….singing your heart out to “I love rock n roll” in the privacy of your own home!

You don’t need to go to a karaoke place to actually sing karaoke songs. There are lots of great karaoke songs available online to learn English with your students.

YouTube is a great place to start, just by searching for your favorite song + “karaoke lyrics” in the search bar.

In class, help your student(s) choose a song and task them with finding the online karaoke lyrics to sing along.

Have them sing this for homework! You could even ask a parent to help them record it if they are comfortable with that.

Here are some fun and popular karaoke songs online to learn English:

“I Will Survive” with Gloria Gaynor
“Livin’ on a Prayer” with Bon Jovi
“Summer Nights” with John Travolta and Olivia Newton John
“Don’t Stop Believin’” with Journey

7. Expert on the loose

There is an expert in all of us, including your students!

In this fun and entertaining homework idea, have your student share their expertise on something!

To add a different dimension to the homework idea, “Hello Mr. Teacher,” task your students to dress up as the expert and make a short speech on their topic of choice.

Here are some examples:

Harry Potter
Michael Jordan (to talk about basketball)
Favorite sports athlete
Insect scientist
Astronaut (if your student knows a lot about space)
Presidential candidate
Pilot (for students who know a lot about countries)

Even if they are not an expert on the topic, part of the homework assignment could be to do some research and learn more about their chosen field.

You could even ask them to dress up and come to class in the role, ready to share their knowledge with you!

8. 24 hour English challenge

This one is self-explanatory and incredibly fun!

Set a challenge for your student to only speak in English for 24 hours.

This means that you might need to get parents involved with the homework assignment, so that they can help out.

The idea is that they have to speak only in English (as much as is possible given their situation) when interacting with family, friends and at school.

Your students might already be immersed in English environments, but, oftentimes, they are speaking their native language at home with family and friends.

Having your students force themselves to only speak in English is challenging and a great way to encourage English outside the classroom.

9. It’s a wrap!

Lots of students love to rap! Rap music is poetic and encourages a lot of ESL language skills that we want to build in our students.

This is an activity that you can model with your students in class and assign it for homework for them to create their own rap.

Again, they can come back to class and rap their new song to you! It might, however, work better with older students who have a good base level of English, to begin with.

Here are some fun homework assignments incorporating rap:

Create their own rap if they are the creative type
Find a well known rap online and practice it to present in class
Assign your students to find a rap online that they sing and record with their friends

10. Masterchef extraordinaire

For the food lovers, creating a homework assignment that includes cooking can be really fun.

Most kids love the idea of cooking, especially if it centers around cooking their favorite food!

When considering this as a homework idea, consider these possible assignments:

Create and write out a recipe for a unique culinary dish.
Make a video about the cooking experience.
Record a tutorial of how to cook something.
Turn it into a competition if you have multiple students.

Plus, this works with physical and online classrooms.

Of course, if you have a physical classroom with multiple students, this could be a really fun in-class experience with some homework assignments to accompany it.

Who doesn’t love a food-related assignment?

If you choose Masterchef extraordinaire, allow your students to share the food they make with the class and encourage lots of conversations in English.

Homework doesn’t have to be boring!

As you can see, homework doesn’t have to be boring!

Most of your ESL students have a lot to do even outside class, and that’s why assigning homework that doesn’t feel like homework is ideal!

This is an opportunity to get creative, creating excitement for your students to learn English.

If you use some of the homework ideas mentioned here, make sure you document the experience and continue to discover new activities that bring laughter and joy to the classroom.

And when you are applying to online teaching jobs , be sure to share how you plan to creatively incorporate class assignments and homework for your students!

Enjoy the process and make learning an enjoyable experience for everyone.

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A Complete Guide to English Nouns (Types & List of Nouns)

Posted on Last updated: December 9, 2023

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Nouns form the backbone of our language, giving us the means to name and identify every person, place, thing, or idea we might want to talk about. We use them all the time, often without even noticing. They help us share stories, give directions, and exchange ideas. When we think about a noun, we often describe it as a word that encapsulates an entity we can experience with our senses or conceive in our minds.

Table of Contents

Basics of Nouns

What is a Noun?

A noun, in its simplest terms, is a word that is used to identify a class of people, places, or things. There are special types of nouns that can also be considered, like the abstract noun or the proper noun, which we’ll go through in the next section. But for now, we just want to focus on the meaning of a noun and where it’s usually found in a sentence.

Generally, most sentences are only ever used to talk about a noun, so it’s no wonder they’re one of the most important types of words in the English language.

In sentences, nouns serve several functions. They can act as subjects, telling us who or what is performing the action, as direct objects, receiving the action of the verb, or as indirect objects, to whom the action is being done. They can also serve as predicate nouns, renaming or providing more information about the subject after a linking verb.

Subject : The dog barks.
Direct Object : We read the book .
Indirect Object : I gave him a gift.
Predicate Noun : Karen is a doctor .

By understanding the basics of nouns, we can better organize our thoughts and communicate them effectively.

Types of Nouns with Examples

Proper nouns.

Proper nouns refer to specific names of people, places, organizations, and sometimes things. They are always capitalized to signify their uniqueness. For example:

People: Maya Angelou
Places: Paris
Organizations: United Nations

Here are some examples:

Common Nouns

Common nouns are the general names for things. They are not capitalized unless they begin a sentence and encompass a wide range of objects, people, and places. Examples include:

Objects: table, window
People: artist, teacher
Places: city, park

Concrete Nouns

Concrete nouns represent items that can be experienced through our five senses . These are tangible and can be seen, heard, smelled, tasted, or touched. Some examples are:

Seen: flowers, computer
Heard: music, thunder

Abstract Nouns

Abstract nouns refer to ideas , qualities , or states that cannot be experienced with the senses. They are intangible and often represent concepts such as emotions or concepts. For instance:

Emotions: love, anger
Concepts: freedom, beauty

Countable Nouns

Countable nouns are those that we can count. They have both singular and plural forms and can use numbers to indicate quantity, as well as articles “a” or “an.” Examples are:

Singular: cat, sandwich
Plural: cats, sandwiches

Uncountable Nouns

Uncountable nouns, also known as mass nouns , refer to substances, concepts, or masses of objects that cannot be counted individually. They do not have a plural form and cannot be preceded by “a” or “an.” Some examples include:

Substances: water, air
Concepts: information, advice

Collective Nouns

These refer to a group of people or things. So, “gang”, “herd”, or “class” work for collective nouns.

Number of Nouns

In English grammar, we classify nouns based on their number to indicate one or more entities. Essentially, we use the singular form to denote a single item, and the plural form when we’re referring to more than one.

Singular Form

A singular noun represents one person, place, thing, or idea. It is the base form of a noun. For example:

To use these in a sentence, we often precede them with a determiner like ‘a’ or ‘the’.

Plural Form

Conversely, plural nouns signify more than one entity. We typically form plurals by adding an “-s” or “-es” to the singular noun. However, there are various rules and exceptions. Here’s a simple break down:

Cat → Cats
Desk → Desks
Box → Boxes
Bush → Bushes
Baby → Babies
Party → Parties
Man → Men
Child → Children

Nouns in a Sentence

In sentences, we use nouns to assign names to participants and to specify objects or entities involved. Let’s examine how they function as subjects, objects, and complements.

The subject of a sentence is the person, place, thing, or idea that is performing the action or being described. In English, the subject typically comes before the verb.

The teacher explains the lesson. (The noun “teacher” is the subject performing the action.)
Birds fly south in the winter. (The noun “birds” is the subject performing the action.)

A noun can serve as the object in a sentence, receiving the action of the verb. Objects can be either direct or indirect.

She read the book . (Here, “book” is the direct object receiving the action of reading.)
I gave my friend a gift . (In this sentence, “gift” is the direct object of “gave”, and “friend” is the indirect object, the one who receives the gift.)

A complement is a noun that provides more information about the subject or object, often after a linking verb. Complements can either be subject complements (following the subject and a linking verb) or object complements (providing additional information about the object).

My favorite hobby is painting . (The noun “painting” is a subject complement that renames the hobby.)
The members elected Lisa president . (The noun “president” is an object complement that renames Lisa.)

List of Nouns

Below is the list of nouns that we often see.

Nouns | Infographic

Frequently Asked Questions

What are some common examples of nouns in sentences?

We often encounter nouns in every sentence we read or speak. Examples include “dog,” “happiness,” “city,” and “car.” For instance, in “The dog chased the car through the city , seeking happiness ,” each italicized word is a noun.

Can you list 100 different nouns for me?

Certainly! Here are one hundred different nouns: apple, bicycle, laughter, friendship, elephant, mountain, river, galaxy, music, courage, restaurant, ocean, teacher, tomato, festival, rectangle, coffee, dragon, stadium, joke, history, queen, violin, dream, lemon, art, gold, poem, lawyer, honey, candle, thunder, key, universe, rainbow, clock, water, shadow, kangaroo, pyramid, rose, chocolate, anchor, eagle, island, anchor, wizard, mirror, forest, feather, pumpkin, bubble, treasure, anchor, knight, melody, winter, sugar, heart, armor, dancer, flame, castle, dew, lightning, dove, pearl, tiger, wheat, comet, harp, button, ghost, anchor, trumpet, starfish, anchor, igloo, silk, broccoli, tulip, anchor, cliff, anchor, helicopter, sapphire, tornado, cricket, anchor, anchor, zebra, anchor, avalanche, anchor, passport, and yeast.

Could you explain what a noun is to a first-grader?

Sure! A noun is the name for a person, like a “teacher” or “mom;” a place, like “school” or “park;” a thing, like “ball” or “chair;” or an idea, like “love” or “happiness.” If you can name it, it’s probably a noun!

What are the various categories of nouns?

Nouns can be sorted into several categories. Common nouns name general items, like “city” or “dog.” Proper nouns name specific ones, like “New York” or “Fido,” and always start with a capital letter. Concrete nouns can be touched, like “sandwich” or “pencil.” Abstract nouns represent ideas or feelings, such as “freedom” or “joy.” Countable nouns have a singular and plural form, like “cat/cats,” whereas uncountable nouns do not, such as “information.”

How do you pronounce ‘noun’ properly?

We pronounce ‘noun’ as /naʊn/. It rhymes with “town” and “clown.”

How can I distinguish between a noun and a pronoun?

We recognize nouns as words that name people, places, things, or ideas, like “computer” or “beauty.” Pronouns are words we use to replace nouns to avoid repetition. Examples include “he,” “they,” “it,” and “who.” In the sentence “The musician played the guitar, and then he took a bow,” “musician” and “guitar” are nouns, while “he” is a pronoun that replaces “musician.”

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Free ESL Noun Worksheets For Your Lessons

Struggling to find ESL noun worksheets for your class?

That is over now! We’ve made a list of free noun worksheets with exercises and practices – for all ages and levels!

Free ESL noun worksheets for your lessons

Why Should You Spend Time Teaching Nouns?

How can you incorporate noun worksheets into your lessons, free printable esl noun worksheets.

In English, there are many different noun forms. Students have to know about singular, plural, uncountable and countable nouns to use English grammar properly.

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Furthermore, there are irregular plural nouns, like man and men, foot and feet, or tooth and teeth. By using the below listed worksheets, your students will learn the nouns properly.

There are various ways to include these worksheets into your lesson.

You can make your students work on the exercises on their own during class and compare the solutions together in class.

Another option is to divide your students into groups. Then they can ask each other questions in the singular or plural and get a feel for the nouns. After such a lesson, you can give your students another assignment sheet as homework.

Throughout the year, you can distribute individual worksheets on the nouns and thus check the level of knowledge and anchor the knowledge better in the minds of your students.

Download, edit and print all of the following worksheets for ESL teachers – completely free!

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11 vocabulary homework ideas and how to motivate students to do it, by: vocab gal.

Homework is such a valuable formative assessment for both teachers and students, and yet students are motivated* by many different factors when it comes to their desire to actually complete the work. In this article, I'm sharing how to motivate students to do their homework and 11 vocabulary homework ideas and worksheets that work in grades 1–12. Plus, preview and grab my 7 Options for Vocabulary Homework Kit .

Keep scrolling to find vocabulary homework ideas!

How to motivate students to do their homework.

As a teacher, I try to concentrate students’ learning on activities done in class, because asking some students to complete work at home can be daunting. Many times in my career I have been discouraged when more than half the class does not return to class with their homework assignment complete.

Yet we only have so many minutes with our students, and we need them to practice the concepts and skills they are learning until the knowledge becomes ingrained. Most students have a homeroom, study hall, or other downtime during the day in which they could complete activities, they just have to be motivated to do it.

Many studies cite “student choice” as one of the most important factors in inspiring students to learn. When students have the opportunity to select what questions to answer, what activity to complete or what role to play, they tend to feel more comfortable and confident about performing.

Additionally, research shows that when students are dedicated to a task important to them, like improving their video game scores, or optimizing their success on a playing field, they will go to great lengths to improve. While probably not as meaningful as their video game level, students will be more excited to answer questions about themselves than a generic worksheet.

By providing students with both choice and a topic that is personally meaningful, homework can be a great learning exercise as well as an important formative assessment.

Steps to Ensure Students Complete Homework

There are a few other motivating factors that can help establish homework as a meaningful part of a student’s educational experience. Here are suggested steps a school, parish, department, or teacher might take to ensure successful homework completion.

Step One First, confirm that students have a strong rapport with their teacher(s). While it is difficult to cultivate a deep relationship with each student, teachers should strive to show students that they value their students and are committed to helping them learn and grow to their fullest potential. I would encourage teachers not to assign homework for the first few weeks of school until they develop a classroom community of respect and appreciation for learning.

Step Two Second, once the classroom community has been established, teachers should specifically explain the importance of homework as a way of deeply ingraining knowledge. Teachers should also make it clear that homework is a meaningful formative assessment where both they and their students can understand what students know and where there are knowledge gaps.

Step Three Third, some students may be quite unhappy when being mandated to do specific work. Therefore, teachers should stress the choices a student gets when completing their homework and that students get to complete the work that best reflects their own sense of self.

Step Four Finally, the teacher should praise students individually, as well as praise the class when homework is turned in on time. Many students thrive on positive reinforcement and also many may feel guilt if they let their classmates or teacher down. Additionally, as many teachers know, a word of encouragement or a small sticker can make the difference to many.

How to Respond When Homework is Not Completed

When at last it comes time for homework collection, there will be students who did not complete the assignment, no matter how well it was set up. Teachers can again encourage students who did not complete the homework in time to think about what may motivate them to complete it. If a student seems to dislike direct mandates, providing support such as, “I know that you value your learning and will find a way to demonstrate your abilities,” might be more effective than, “Turn in your paper by Thursday or it’s a zero!”

For others who seem driven by the need to please or help others, teachers might encourage students by stating, “I’m disappointed that you weren’t able to complete your work on time, and I know you will submit your work in order to show us both what you know and understand,” might work better than, “Don’t you want the credit for this assignment?”

Vocabulary Homework Ideas for Students

For this post, I have a few homework assignments that model these ideas. Both in my new It's All About Me vocabulary practice page, and my tried-and true, 7 Options for Vocabulary Homework bundle, students are motivated to continue their learning because they have both choice and a focus on themselves, a topic in which they are already invested.

My new It's All About Me Vocabulary Activity tasks students with answering a series of questions about themselves using vocabulary words in context. On the first page of this download students will list their vocabulary words and write their own brief definitions. On the second page student will answer eight prompts. Each response should include at least one of the vocabulary words from their list in context . In each of their answers students must underline the context clues that would help someone unfamiliar with the word understand what it means.

I find that students tend to be more engaged in an assignment if they are asked to answer questions about themsleves than a generic worksheet. My new It's All About Me Vocabulary Activity tasks students with answering a series of questions about themselves using vocabulary words in context.

With the 7 Options for Vocabulary Homework bundle, students can choose from a variety of fun and engaging activities for learning or reviewing vocabulary words. In addition to the homework selection sheet, the bundle includes worksheets for vocabulary homework ideas number five and six. The other vocabulary homework options can be completed on a plain piece of paper or in student workbooks.

Here are the vocabulary activities listed on the 7 Options for Vocabulary Homework handout:

#1 Say Your Words

Do you love the sound of your own voice? Do you tend to learn information by teaching others? Then try saying each of the vocabulary words, out loud and in context, to friends, family, strangers, etc. Use either your flashcards or your list of words, and make sure to get initials from someone who heard you say your vocabulary sentence. If you can’t get a signature, just explain when and how you said the sentences and we will invoke the HONOR SYSTEM! Create two sentences per word.

Do you love to write? Do you copy your notes to help you remember information? Then try writing two sentences for each vocabulary word. These can either be two individual sentences for each word or you can put all of your words together in a story. (If you write a story, you only have to use each word once). Have fun and get creative – amuse me and impress me, but make sure you use your vocabulary words in context!

#3 Write Your Words in Other Classes

As an alternative to the above “Write your Words,” use your vocabulary in your assignments for other classes – social studies essays, science notes, art descriptions, etc. Write down the vocabulary you used for this assignment (For example: On my science test I said “Newton was meritorious,” etc.). You can abbreviate your explanations slightly, as long as I understand you know the word’s meaning; remember to use each word twice.

#4 Become Your Words

Do you gesture when you talk? Is it hard for you to sit still? Then consider creating motions to go along with your words. Cry for lament , raise your arms in praise for approbation , etc. See me during class to “perform” your motions, or write them down, making sure that the connection between word, meaning, and gesture makes sense.

#5 Draw Your Words

Are you an artist? Do you constantly doodle? Then create cartoons or drawings that illustrate each word’s meaning. Create one drawing or cartoon per word and make them neat, using clean white paper (consider using recycled paper that has printing on the other side). Paperclip all your drawings together for the end of the week.

Vocabulary Homework Ideas: Draw Your Words - Are you an artist? Do you constantly doodle? Then create cartoons or drawings that illustrate each word’s meaning. Create one drawing or cartoon per word and make them neat, using clean white paper (consider using recycled paper that has printing on the other side). Paperclip all your drawings together for the end of the week.

#6 Sing Your Words

Do you love to sing? Are you constantly creating your own raps? Try rewriting the lyrics to a song to incorporate each of your vocabulary words or write your own song, rap, etc. You can also write poetry; regardless of the form you choose, the words should be used in the correct context.

Vocabulary Homework Ideas: Sing Your Words - Do you love to sing? Are you constantly creating your own raps? Try rewriting the lyrics to a song to incorporate each of your vocabulary words or write your own song, rap, etc. You can also write poetry; regardless of the form you choose, the words should be used in the correct context.

#7 Test Your Words

Do you want to play teacher and write the test as well as take it? Now you can! Create a vocabulary test using all the words in a variety of different types of questions. Make sure to create the answer key to the test as well.

Download the 7 Options for Vocabulary Homework bundle and have students keep the selection sheet in their binders. Now they have seven weeks of vocabulary homework assignments!

Additional Vocabulary Homework Ideas

Ultimately, establishing a culture of community and trust in the classroom, explaining the reasoning behind and the benefits of homework, and providing choice and meaningful topics can make a significant difference in completion rates. Even if homework is not completed on time, teachers can still work to connect with each student to provide motivation to complete the assignments.

As educators, we all strive to make learning exciting and applicable to our students. By setting up clear expectations and providing interesting options, we can make any homework, including vocabulary homework, meaningful and valuable to students.

*I have recently completed Gretchen Rubin’s audiobook The Four Tendencies about what motivates different groups of people. Many of the ideas about motivating students come loosely from her book as well as my own observations. I highly recommend the book to anyone wanting to learn how to better motivate themselves and others.

Common and Proper Nouns: Definition, Examples, & Exercises

The Albert Team
Last Updated On: March 1, 2022

Do you get confused about the difference between a common noun and a proper noun? Would practice help you become a master?

Read on to learn about the difference between common and proper nouns, how they are used, and when to use them.

When you feel like you’ve got it, test yourself with a quiz and practice with our high-quality, standards-aligned questions here .

What We Review

The Basics of Common and Proper Nouns

What is a common noun?

A common noun is the general, non-specific term for a person, place, thing, or idea. Usually, common nouns are not capitalized unless they begin a sentence.

For example, as you work on your homework, think about the things you are using. You might be using a computer, a textbook, or a pencil. All of these are generic items that we encounter on a regular basis and are common nouns .

What is a proper noun?

A proper noun is a specific, unique person, place, thing, or idea. Unlike common nouns, proper nouns are almost always capitalized . This is true whether they begin a sentence or not.

Let’s consider the same example from above, but instead, now we will be more specific about the resources necessary to complete your homework.

As you work, you may be using a Pearson Algebra 1 textbook, a Google Chromebook, and a Ticonderoga pencil. You are better able to visualize this scenario if proper nouns are provided since they are more specific and unique.

What is the relationship between common and proper nouns?

Common and proper nouns are closely related. The most straightforward way of understanding the relationship between common and proper nouns is to think about proper nouns as specific examples of common nouns.

For example, the word building is a common noun. Examples of buildings include The White House, The Art Institute of Chicago, and Memorial Hall at Harvard University.

These examples are all proper nouns since they are specific, unique examples of the common noun building . Generally, we can more vividly picture or understand a text when the author uses examples of proper nouns since there is less room for interpretation.

How do you use common and proper nouns?

Common and proper nouns can be used in relation to each other or separately. Typically, authors use common nouns when they are describing something broad or ambiguous.

Proper nouns are used to describe a person, place, thing, or idea that is specific and concrete. Common and proper nouns are often used together in sentences.

Take the following sentence as an example: The doctor worked long hours at Memorial Hospital to help contain the spread of the common cold.

In this sentence, we see examples of common nouns, such as doctor, hours, and common cold. Additionally, the sentence has an example of a proper noun– Memorial Hospital.

If the sentence were not to name the hospital specifically, then it would have remained a common noun (hospital).

Return to the top

3 Tips for Understanding Common vs. Proper Nouns

Here are some important tips to help you determine the difference between common and proper nouns:

Tip #1: If it’s a noun and it’s capitalized, then it’s probably a proper noun .

For example, book is a generic common noun.
The Scarlet Letter is a specific book and, as a result, is a proper noun.
For example, Lampshades come in many different colors, varieties, and shapes . Even though lampshades is capitalized in this sentence, it is not a specific brand or size of lampshade.
Lampshade is capitalized because it begins the sentence, not because it is a proper noun.

Tip #2: Make sure it’s a noun.

Do not rely solely on the capitalization of words to determine whether or not the word (or words) in question is a common or proper noun.
For example, consider the following sentence: It can be difficult for young people to read complicated, Shakespearian language. At first glance, you may quickly classify Shakespearian as a proper noun. Upon further inspection, however, Shakespearian merely describes the common noun language .
Therefore, in this instance, Shakespearian is NOT a proper noun even though it is capitalized. Instead, it is a proper adjective.

Tip #3: When writing, ask yourself, “what message am I trying to communicate?”

If you are using common and proper nouns in your own writing, it is important to consider what it is that you want the reader to take away from your writing.
If you are trying to paint a clear, vivid picture for the reader, then it is important to use more proper nouns.
However, if you are attempting to create a more general, vague scene, then using more common nouns is appropriate.

Remember, if you are trying to figure out whether a word is a common or proper noun, ask yourself if the word in question is a noun and whether or not it’s capitalized.

If you are writing, ask yourself what message you are trying to communicate before using common or proper nouns.

Applying the Basics: Common and Proper Noun Review & Practice

Now that you understand what common and proper nouns are, let’s review how and when to use them, and how to tell them apart! Remember, every proper noun has a common noun counterpart, but not every common noun has a related proper noun.

The Ultimate List of Common and Proper Nouns

Refer to the graphic below for an extensive list of example common and proper nouns:

This list, obviously, does not include all common and proper nouns and is meant to be used as a guide while identifying other nouns.

Common Noun Exercises & Review

Now that you know the difference between common and proper nouns, test your ability to accurately identify common nouns.

Select the common noun(s) in the sentences below. Remember, these are generic items that we encounter on a regular basis. They are not capitalized unless they begin a sentence.

1. You’ve probably used Google Earth to look at the roof of your own house.

In this sentence, roof and house are both common nouns because they are not specific names or titles. They are just general, making them common nouns.

2. In New York City, for example, subways chug along 500 miles of underground track.

In this sentence , example, subways, miles, and track are common nouns because they are not specific names or titles. They are just general, making them common nouns.

3. Some people argue that the government should control what goes on underground, and private companies should not be able to profit from the land beneath your house.

In this sentence , people, government, underground, companies, land , and house are all common nouns because they are not specific names or titles. They are just general, making them common nouns.

4. How would you feel about a public road going under your porch?

In this sentence, road and porch are common nouns because they are not specific names or titles. They are just general, making them common nouns.

5. The way we answer these questions will help determine how our society grows and changes in the future.

In this sentence, way, questions, society , and future are all common nouns because they are not specific names or titles. They are just general, making them common nouns.

Pro tip : When evaluating whether a noun is common, ask yourself, “Is it general, and is it in lower case?”

Proper Noun Exercises & Review

Complete the quick exercise below to assess your mastery of proper nouns.

Select the proper noun(s) in the sentences below. Remember, a proper noun is a specific, unique person, place, thing, or idea. Unlike common nouns, proper nouns are almost always capitalized . This is true whether they begin a sentence or not.

1. In 1890, long before your great-grandparents were born, the U.S. Congress established Yosemite National Park.

In this sentence, U.S Congress and Yosemite National Park are proper nouns because they are specific names or titles. When a noun is specific like this, it is proper and must be capitalized.

2. Before becoming a national park, the Yosemite area was home to the Ahwahneechee and Miwok people for many generations.

In this sentence, Yosemite, Ahwahneechee, and Miwok are proper nouns because they are specific names or titles. When a noun is specific like this, it is proper and must be capitalized.

3. Disney’s “Pocahontas” has a similar happy tone, but the actual life of Pocahontas was more interesting than what we saw on screen.

In this sentence, Disney’s and Pocahontas are proper nouns because they are specific names or titles. When a noun is specific like this, it is proper and must be capitalized.

4. Pocahontas was born around 1595 in modern-day Virginia.

In this sentence, Pocahontas and Virginia are proper nouns because they are specific names or titles. When a noun is specific like this, it is proper and must be capitalized.

5. Heralded as an example of the possibilities in the “New World”, Pocahontas and John Rolfe traveled to England with their son in 1616.

In this sentence, New World, Pocahontas, John Rolfe, and England are all proper nouns because they are specific names or titles. When a noun is specific like this, it is proper and must be capitalized.

Pro tip : When evaluating whether a noun is proper, ask yourself, “Is it specific, and is it capitalized?”

For additional practice, check out Common and Proper Nouns content on Albert.

Try for Yourself: Common and Proper Nouns Quiz

Feeling confident in your understanding of common and proper nouns?

Take this short six-question quiz to see what you’ve learned:

1. Is a common noun general or specific?

Answer: General
Correct Explanation: That’s right! A common noun is the general, non-specific term for a person, place, thing, or idea. Usually, common nouns are not capitalized unless they begin a sentence.
Incorrect Explanation: Sorry, that’s not right! Remember, a common noun is the general, non-specific term for a person, place, thing, or idea. Usually, common nouns are not capitalized unless they begin a sentence.

2. Is a proper noun general or specific?

Answer: Specific
Correct Explanation: That’s right! A proper noun is a specific, unique person, place, thing, or idea. Unlike common nouns, proper nouns are almost always capitalized .
Incorrect Explanation: Sorry, that’s not right! Remember, a proper noun is a specific, unique person, place, thing, or idea. Unlike common nouns, proper nouns are almost always capitalized .

3. In this sentence, are the underlined words common or proper nouns ?

Adolescent brains are constantly rewiring and retraining to prune skills that are not being used to make room for the skills being used often.

Answer: Common
Correct Explanation: That’s right! A common noun is the general, non-specific term for a person, place, thing, or idea. Usually, common nouns are not capitalized unless they begin a sentence. Brains, skills, room, and skills are not capitalized in this example.

4. In this sentence, are the underlined words common or proper nouns ?

We enter our REM stage within the first 90 minutes of sleep and repeat this cycle several times throughout the night.

Correct Explanation: That’s right! A common noun is the general, non-specific term for a person, place, thing, or idea. Usually, common nouns are not capitalized unless they begin a sentence. In this example, stage, sleep, repeat, times, and night are all general common nouns.

5. In this sentence, are the underlined words common or proper nouns ?

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, plastic litter is of the greatest concern as it has the most widespread and harmful impacts on animal populations.

Answer: Proper
Correct Explanation: That’s right! A proper noun is a specific, unique person, place, thing, or idea. Unlike common nouns, proper nouns are almost always capitalized . In this example, the Environmental Protection Agency refers to a specific government entity.

6. In this sentence, are the underlined words common or proper nouns ?

What does NASA’s space program cost each of the 328 million people that currently live in the USA?

Correct Explanation: That’s right! A proper noun is a specific, unique person, place, thing, or idea. Unlike common nouns, proper nouns are almost always capitalized . In this example, NASA and USA refer to a specific organization and nation.

For additional practice with common and proper nouns, check out our practice on Albert.io: Common and Proper Nouns .

Teacher’s Corner

While it’s true that common and proper nouns are a foundational grammar skill, the Common Core English Language Progressive Skills Chart shows that even elementary-level skills “require continued attention in higher grades as they are applied to increasingly sophisticated writing and speaking.”

For specific standards addressing common and proper nouns, check out the Common Core State Standards site!

Albert’s common and proper nouns practice can be used for much more than homework! Our assessments can be used as pre-and post-tests to measure student progress. Our pre-made quizzes can be used as bell-ringers, exit tickets, and more!

In addition to our pre-made assessments, you can also use our assignments feature to create your own quizzes and assessments.

Summary on Common and Proper Nouns

Common nouns are general, non-specific people, places, things, or ideas.

Proper nouns are specific, concrete people, places, things, and ideas.

In writing, proper nouns generally provide the reader with a more clear, tangible image of what the author describes.

Common and proper nouns can be used in tandem with one another or separately. Be sure to check out our grammar course for more common and proper noun practice.

You can also access over 3,400 high-quality questions that address nearly every grammatical concept.

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StoryLearning

Learn A Language Through Stories

11 ESL Homework Ideas To Engage Your Learners & Simplify Lesson Planning

Are you looking for ESL homework ideas for your classes? If you’re thinking about setting homework you’re onto a good thing. Learning a language requires a lot of exposure and practice. And much of that happens outside of class.

The more students make contact with English outside the classroom, the faster they’ll progress. And if you can connect their homework assignments to what you’re teaching in class, you’ll make lesson planning a lot easier for yourself.

So, without further ado, here are 11 ESL homework ideas for adults that you can use with groups, individuals, in-person or online.

If you want to become a qualified online language teacher and earn a living from home, I recommend checking out CeOLT (Certificate of Online Language Teaching).

Click here to find out more .

How To Make Homework Work For You &Your Students

Many ESL teachers are wary of setting homework because students often don’t do it! You may remember being set useless homework in language classes that you weren't motivated to do, such as learning lists of words for a test.

The problem is, if ESL learners rely too much on you or on coming to lessons, they will make slow progress because so much language learning takes place outside of the classroom.

The trick then is to integrate homework assignments into what happens in class so that it becomes non-negotiable. In the list of ESL homework ideas below, you’ll find tasks that are fun and motivating to do as well as ways to fit them into your class time.

1.Read A Short Story Or Short Book Chapter

Reading is the foundation of the StoryLearning method and makes for the perfect ESL homework idea.

Instead of spending time reading in class, get the students to do it between classes.

They can find a quiet time to read the story or chapter as many times as they like.

In my short story books , they’ll find tools to help them understand the material such as glossaries and comprehension questions.

In class, students can then discuss the chapter or story together. If you’re teaching 1:1, you can ask them to present a summary and show you new words they learned from the chapter. You can then discuss it together.

For more ideas on how to use my short story books for teaching check out my Short Stories teacher’s Guide .

2. Listen To A Short Podcast Episode

Many ESL students struggle with English listening skills so they need as much practice as possible.

If you teach conversation classes then this activity will also mean fewer lesson planning headaches. And you won’t waste any class time on listening.

Tell your student to listen to a short ESL podcast such as the BBC’s 6-Minute English podcast. Ask them to prepare a summary of it to present to you in class. If the episode includes show notes, they can compare their summary with those notes.

You can also adapt this homework activity for groups and ask them to discuss the podcast in pairs in class. This is also a great opportunity to use class time to clarify and new words, or structures that came up in the episode.

If you’re feeling ambitious or your students have a high level, you could plan a whole series of lessons or a semester around a particular podcast such as a true crime or other investigative journalism show.

3. Presentation About A Passion

Not everyone is passionate about learning English and many ESL students come to class because they have to. But even if they’re not interested in English, they must be interested in something, right?

You can harness their hobbies and passions and generate some excitement for the English language by asking them to present a special object to the rest of the class.

This can also work well in a 1:1 online lesson. You can ask your student to prepare a short talk about an object that they hold up to the webcam to show you.

You can use time in class to work on presentation and storytelling skills. You can model this type of presentation by telling them about your own significant object so they know what to aim for.

4. Write A Review

Who doesn’t love sharing their opinion whether it’s about the latest movie they’ve seen or the hot new restaurant they had dinner at?

You can harness this desire and get your student to practice useful language by getting them to write reviews as homework. These could be movie reviews, product reviews, restaurant reviews etc.

In class, you can take a look at the structure of reviews in English plus the language used such as colourful adjectives or phrases for giving opinions.

That way, your students will have a model they can use to write their own reviews at home. Back in class, students can share their reviews with each other and discuss them – would they see this movie, buy this product etc or not based on the review.

You can also give feedback both about the content of the reviews as well as any language points to improve.

5. Get Creative

Creativity requires constraints and there’s no greater one than writing a story in your second, third or fourth language.

You can challenge students to write a short story based on words they’ve learned recently in class or on a particular topic you’ve been discussing. Give them a word count to respect as well.

Again, you can use class time to read stories together and analyse their structure so that they know what to aim for.

After they’ve written a short story at home, they can come back to class to read and discuss each others’ stories.

6. Share Amazing Anecdotes

Telling an interesting anecdote is a real skill in any language, especially in a new one that you're learning. But it's a great way to work on your speaking skills.

You can use your class time to read or listen to anecdotes in English. You could even tell your learners a funny or sad story about yourself. Once they’ve understood what makes a great anecdote, it’s time to create their own one for homework.

At home, learners can write their anecdotes, or even better, can prepare and rehearse them orally, so they’re ready to tell them in class.

During the lesson, you and the other students can react to the anecdotes and ask follow-up questions.

7. Blogs And Blogging

Did you know that blogs are an incredibly rich resource for language learning and teaching? You can use blogs in many ways both inside and outside of the classroom.

As a homework activity you could ask students to read a blog post of their choice and leave a comment for the writer.

If your students prefer watching YouTube videos, they can watch videos and leave comments underneath them.

In both cases, in class time, students can report back on the blog they read, why they chose it and what comment they left and why.

If you and your students are feeling really ambitious, you could start a class blog or they could start writing their own individual blogs about their English learning journeys.

For even more inspiration for your teaching, check out these best ESL bloggers .

8. Start A Podcast

This one is a bit more ambitious, but as well as listening to podcasts, learners can also consider starting their own!

In fact, English learner Daniel Goodson from Switzerland started his podcast, My Fluent Podcast , to develop his speaking skills and gain confidence. He interviews other learners who have similar projects.

Of course, your students don’t have to make the podcast public. It can simply be a project between you and the members of the class. They could interview each other or otherwise upload short episodes on a topic of their choice.

Again, if they do this outside of class as homework you can use time in class to give them feedback on their work. Their episodes can also be a springboard for further discussion as well as a listening comprehension activity for the other students.

9. Class WhatsApp Group

Another way for students to use English outside the classroom thanks to digital tools is to create a class WhatsApp group.

Other chat apps like Telegram or Voxer would work just as well.

In this group, you can ask your students questions or share material for them to discuss.

Their homework in this case could be as simple as sending at least one message per week in the group. For more ideas about using apps check out this post about English teaching apps.

10. Write A Letter

Do you remember writing letters to a pen friend when you were learning languages at school?

Instead of writing letters to someone else, your students can try some creative writing activities that involve writing letters to themselves.

That’s right, you can ask them to write a letter to their younger self with advice or to their future self about goals and dreams. There’s even a website where you can write and schedule a letter to your future self called FutureMe .

This activity is quite a personal one so you’d need to be willing to get vulnerable yourself and share your letter before encouraging your students to talk to each other about the content of their letters.

11. The Student Becomes The Teacher

Here’s an interesting reversal of classroom roles that works well with groups. For homework, you can ask your students to teach the rest of the class some new vocabulary or a spelling or grammar rule.

You won’t expect them to give a whole class on the topic. But they could do a short presentation of the topic in the format they prefer – through song or story or in a more traditional way.

As long as you keep expectations clear, they’ll benefit from peer teaching this way. After all, you can only teach what you’ve understood well yourself.

11 ESL Homework Ideas

So there you have it – 11 engaging ESL homework ideas that your students will actually want to do outside of class!

As you can see, these ESL homework ideas are a million miles away from the types of boring worksheets that you had to fill in for language classes at school.

Thanks to these engaging ideas, you’ll make your lesson planning easier and your students will be excited to do their homework. And they’ll start to become more independent learners who make faster progress.

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13 Exciting Homework Ideas for EFL/ESL: No worksheets!

Who likes homework? Nobody, right? Especially not if it’s the same dreary worksheets and textbook exercises every time.

Well, some students actually do like homework! That’s because their teachers give them engaging, interesting and unique activities to do.

I used to find setting homework a challenge in EFL/ESL classes. What can you do to give them good practice and develop confidence without boring them to tears?

Simple – do one of the activities on this list!

Narrative Telephone
What Do You See?
Write a blog
Record a vlog
Scavenger photos
Watch films & series
Write a journal
Listen to podcasts
Write to a pen pal
Prepare a mini-presentation
Read the news
Enjoy some English music

The first six entries are creative and unique, suitable for classes where you really want to get students active and involved. The following seven are just as engaging, but a little more focused and “normal”.

1. Word Hunts

A Word Hunt is a vocab acquisition activity (a technique I describe in my article How to Elicit Vocabulary ).

You can do it in class, with students searching for things they don’t know the word for in English. They take a photo and add it to a list of vocabulary to learn.

The home version is similar. Students go around their house and photograph things they’d like to learn the name for in English. They bring the pictures to class and start learning the words.

It doesn’t have to be restricted to things in their home, either. If they go shopping, to the park, on holiday, etc. they can take photos of things they see and share them with their classmates.

Any student who has their own phone can do this activity. For younger kids, you’ll need the support of the parents.

For more on vocab learning techniques, check out my article Ultimate ESL Vocab Teaching Guide: Revolutionary system .

2. Narrative Telephone

This game features in my 9 EFL/ESL Games and Activities for Advanced Learners article, so it’s an advanced activity. You can adapt it for intermediate students, but it won’t work well with beginners. It requires everyone to have email or a messenger app on their phone. So not ideal for young kids.

You can play it in the classroom, but the homework version is just as fun, if not more so. It’s like the Telephone/Whispers game, but with stories instead of words.

The way it works is the teacher records themself reading a short story and sends it to one of their students. That student listens ONCE. Then they record themself re-telling the story and send it on to the next student who does the same.

This continues until the last student, who records themself re-telling it. They can send the final audio to everyone, or keep it until the next class to share the hilarity.

Here’s a video I made on my YouTube channel that explains how it works:

With a large class, you can set off multiple telephone chains. If you have 30 students, instead of having the chain go all the way around the 30, have three chains which go through 10. Then see which chain transmitted the story the best.

When choosing a story, keep it relatively short (a couple of paragraphs at most) and use it to introduce or consolidate new vocab and grammar.

3. What Do You See?

What Do You See? is another great activity for expanding students’ breadth of language.

They should go somewhere: to the street, the park, into the countryside, etc. You can tell them where to go if you want to direct their learning, for example if you’re learning about transport, they should go near a busy road.

With a pencil and paper, they find a comfortable place and write what they see.

For beginners, this can just be individual words. For intermediates it could be sentences like “I see a woman jogging with her dog.” And for advanced students, challenge them to create a full description of the place, taking into account all the senses.

While they are doing it, they are allowed to look up individual words. In this way they learn language that is immediately relevant. However, they shouldn’t translate sentences. By writing what they see, they develop sentence formation skills.

If you want to avoid making them writing, or want to repeat the activity in a different way, get students to record themselves talking about what they see.

4. Write a Blog

Blogs are a fun way of getting students to explore their interests while using English.

This one isn’t great for young kids who aren’t used to using tech yet, although if their parents are on board, they can help get things set up.

It’s super easy to set up a blog nowadays, and students can post articles from home or from their phone while travelling.

The way you set up the homework really depends on your class. With an individual student, you could get them to write one short article a week, then you can take a look at it in the next class.

With a small group, you might want to alternate who posts an article each week. And with a large class, you may want to choose a few students each week to post their article, or get everyone to write something short every week.

The content of the articles is up to you, or up to your students!

You could make it an account of what they did that week, an explanation of something they know a lot about, or a review of a film or series they recently watched.

5. Record a vlog

Recording a vlog is just like writing a blog, but challenges students speaking skills while on camera.

Yes, it requires students to have access to video recording technology, but let’s be honest, even 10-year-olds nowadays have powerful cameras on their phones.

If you really want to push your students, challenge them to record a short post every day for a full week. Maybe when they’re on the way to school/work or in their free time afterwards.

Again, the content can be whatever you or your students decide.

A word on privacy and safety. If you’re going to do this with students under 18, DEFINITELY get their parents’ permission. Most will be perfectly fine with this.

And if you’re worried about privacy concerns, you can keep the videos private – only for those in the class to watch. Most video content platforms like YouTube and TikTok have this option now.

6. Scavenger photos

A fun challenge for kids and adults alike, scavenger hunts with photos are great fun. Give students a list of things and over the week they have to take a photo of one.

With beginners, this can be household items, food, common things in the city, etc. It’s a great way to introduce new vocabulary.

Challenge students with more abstract things, like “something that is squishy” or “something that you can’t break”.

And go a step further: “something you couldn’t live without” or “something which terrifies you”, or “something worth over a million dollars”.

In the next class, students can share the things they photographed and, with the more abstract ones, talk about why they chose that thing.

7. Watch films & series

Everyone loves watching films and series. Since most of the famous ones are in English, they’re a great resource for fun homework.

You can make things as structured as you like – focus on specific words and grammar that appear in dialogue, or just have a chat about what happened in the film/episode in the next class.

I like to let students recount the events. Older students can even make predictions about what will happen in the next episode.

A word on subtitles: Advanced students should try to watch the English version without subtitles. For most, though, this is too difficult. Just make sure subtitles are in English, not their native language, otherwise you lose all benefits of the activity.

8. Write a journal

Either at the start of the day or before they go to bed, writing a short English entry into a journal is a powerful way of embedding English in students’ day-to-day lives. This activity is for most ages, except the youngest kids.

As a journal is a private endeavour, I would never expect to see it. Just encourage them to write a few sentences, not worrying too much about accuracy.

When they’re writing, they’ll come across words they don’t know. They’ll be motivated to learn this vocabulary, as it’s immediately relevant to their lives. It’s valuable .

This is an example of organic acquisition, something you can learn about in my article What Vocab Should You Teach in EFL/ESL .

9. Listen to podcasts

Podcasts get more and more popular with every year. You can find them on pretty much any topic, and they provide excellent listening practice.

Advanced students can attempt to listen to natural English podcasts in their original form.

For beginners/intermediates, there are some podcasts designed for EFL/ESL learners, podcastsinenglish.com being one example, with British English, and Effortless English for those wanting to learn the American way of speaking.

10. Write to a pen pal

Writing homework is always a tough sell. Pen pals can provide the kind of motivation which is impossible to get from the usual writing assignments.

The challenge is finding pen pals who will write back consistently. PenPal World is a good option to connect with people online, although there are plenty of other sites which do the same.

Alternatively, write the responses yourself. Have an ongoing back and forth of letters between you and your students, where you can get to know each other (and give some helpful corrections!)

11. Prepare a mini-presentation

Mini-presentations are a great peer-teaching activity. Give students a topic (can be anything: grammar, a famous person, a favourite hobby, etc.) and have them do a 1-minute presentation on it in the next class.

Scripts are optional. Personally, I prefer my students to speak without a script, but for those who aren’t as confident, encourage them to make brief notes.

12. Read the news

Reading the news is a more advanced activity. Most newspapers and websites require a fairly high level of English to understand, and the content isn’t interesting for most children.

However, there are websites designed for EFL/ESL students, such as News in Levels and Simple English News . Also, try CBBC Newsround . It’s not specifically for EFL/ESL students, but it is perfect for kids.

For more advanced learners, any news network is great. I prefer BBC News for the quality and clarity of writing.

News-based homework can be formal, with a conversation and questions about specific articles in the next class, or you can allow your students to pick what they read and share their findings.

13. Enjoy some English Music

This one applies to learners of all ages and levels. Many students will already listen to music in English, as it’s popular around the world.

You can make this a structured homework, assigning specific songs, with the aim of recognising certain words or grammar structures. Supplement this by studying the lyrics in class.

Or keep it relaxed. Introduce your students to some new artists, and encourage them to share songs they’ve enjoyed over the week. Ask them why they like the music, how it makes them feel, etc.

With younger kids, just having them listen to English songs is enough. Give parents a playlist to put on in the car or when they wake up in the morning.

Homework can be fun. In fact, I’d argue it should be fun to get the best results.

The important thing is to know your students and keep things varied – that way you won’t have to chase your students up every week.

Thanks for reading, and I hope you use these ideas for wonderful teaching. If you’re looking for ideas of what to do in the classroom, check out my article on Why All EFL/ESL Teachers Should Use Role Play Activities

If you’re looking for more games and activities, check out my other lists: 9 EFL/ESL Speaking Games & Activities Perfect for Beginners 9 EFL/ESL Games & Activities for Intermediate Learners 9 EFL/ESL Games and Activities for Advanced Learners 9 High Energy EFL/ESL Games for Boosting Vocabulary 9 Engaging Homework Ideas for EFL/ESL: No worksheets! 9 Exciting EFL/ESL Activities for Writing & Spelling 9 Fun EFL/ESL Games & Ideas With Standard Playing Cards 9 EFL/ESL Games With No Materials or Preparation Needed 9 EFL/ESL 5 Minute Games Every Teacher Needs to Know 9 Superb EFL/ESL Games & Activities Using Just Pen & Paper 9 Classy EFL/ESL Games & Activities for Adults (+ tips) 9 Confidence-Boosting EFL/ESL Speaking Games for All Levels 9 Exciting Flashcard Games for EFL/ESL Classes

I’m Will, a teacher, blogger, and fantasy author. I grew up in England, but now I live in Spain where I teach private English classes to dozens of wonderful students.

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The best ESL / EFL homework ideas that require no marking 2021

April 9th, 2018 / Materials

Homework is an important part of study, but it can be overwhelming for a TEFL teacher with a mountain of exercise books to mark.

To avoid this, smart ESL teachers should set some (if not, the bulk) of their ESL homework assignments as independent study which the teacher does not have to correct.

Why set no-marking ESL homework?

First of all, you are not short-changing your students by asking them to go out and learn some English themselves.

Languages are an enormous subject ; there is no way that you could teach your students everything they need to know in the few hours a week they have with you.

In reality, if your students want to get good at English, they must listen, read, watch and practice the language in their own time.

No-marking assignments have benefits for class time also. Students can recap on the last class or prepare for the next one by watching grammar videos.

Teachers can use material from a podcast or video as the basis of a speaking activity.

This is why, I believe, that TEFL teachers set a no-marking study assignment at least once a week. It’s better for your students, your classes and your own sanity.

The following assignments have been divided into: Listening, Reading, Writing Grammar, Vocabulary and Pronunciation . First up, listening

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Listening assignments

Podcasts are a great way to practice comprehension. In additional, the material can be used for speaking practice the following lesson as students share with each other what they have learnt from the episode.

Mistakes to avoid when choosing a podcast

Do not choose a podcast that is too long. Four to 10 minutes is the sweet spot – anything longer your students will get confused and the task will become a chore.

Do not choose a podcast which speaks unnaturally slowly or with a childish topic. Students need to get used to the normal pace of speaking and how native speakers actually use the language. OK, so granted, ESL podcasts do have to be simpler but anything that is overly contrived is a waste of your students’ time.

Do not use a website that requires flash player to play an MP3. Access to any homework material should be really, really easy or you’ll find that half your students won’t complete the assignment.

The best ESL Podcasts

BBC 6 Minute English

Lower-intermediate to upper-intermediate British

This is without doubt the best EFL podcast on the list and the one that I use time and time again. Updated weekly, Six minute English provides fun and interesting ESL podcasts on topics such as culture, technology, travel, business and more. They’ll always include at least three new phrases to learn and after listening, students can check their understanding with the transcript.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/english/features/6-minute-english

Podcasts in English

Elementary to Intermediate British

The first homework is www.podcastsinenglish .com. This site provides free three to five minute podcasts for English learners for beginner, intermediate and upper-intermediate level. To practice comprehension and expand vocabulary, tell your students to listen to two podcasts a week and write a summary of what they hear. To do this effectively, they’ll have to listen a few times.

Negative: The podcasts are free but to read the transcript students must pay for the premium version.

https://www.podcastsinenglish.com

Upper-intermediate-advanced American

CNN 10 is not an TEFL podcast, it is a real news show which condenses world news for that day down to 10 minutes. Despite this, it provides a great way for higher-level students to practice their listening skills while keeping abreast or world news. The video can be accessed in the CNN app and students can read the full transcript afterwards to check their understanding.

Negative: Not made for ESL and so speech can be fast.

https://edition.cnn.com/cnn10

Elementary to Intermediate Variable

Elllo provides thousands of free English video lessons and ESL podcasts on everyday English conversation. The podcasts consist of a dialogue between two people about an everyday topic. They are short and sweet but there are thousands of them and so you could ask your students to do one a day without much time commitment from them.

The best thing about ELLLO podcasts is that students can check their understanding with the transcript AND a quiz.

Negative: Podcasts are under three minutes.

http://www.elllo.org

Upper intermediate-advanced Variable

TED provides thousands of videos about technology, education, politics, science and culture.

In my experience setting a TED talk for homework can be hit and miss. Sometimes I’d set a TED video and everyone would love it and other times they’d complain that it was too long, too fast or too confusing to understand.

TED is still a great resource but when choosing a talk for homework this is my advice:

Choose a video which is no more than 10 minutes long. You can separate talks by duration, topic and language in the talk tab.

Check that the speaker isn’t speaking too fast and the accent isn’t too thick (native speakers are best).

Another way to do this is to choose a theme such as ‘business’ ‘finance’ ‘or ‘crime’ and ask your students to select and watch a TED video on the subject. Centre your following class around this theme and give your students 10 to 15 minutes to recount their video to their partners. This is a great way to reinforce the lesson vocabulary and engage your students with the topic.

https://www.ted.com

TED ED: A much better choice!

A much better choice of listening is TED ED. TED Ed is full of short educational videos about science, culture and history. You’re students will be able to follow the listening much better because along with the speaker’s voice there are animations to help tell the story.

Best of all the videos are only five minutes long and so it’s a homework activity that everyone has time to do.

https://ed.ted.com/

ESL Lounge provides short readings and gap fill exercises divided into elementary, pre-intermediate, intermediate, upper-intermediate and advanced. Students can check their understanding with a quiz at the end.

http://www.esl-lounge.com/student/reading.php

Five Minute English

Five minute English also provides short reading exercises. All activities come with a glossary of new words and a quiz at the end so your students can check their understanding. The only drawback is that the readings are not defined by level.

http://www.5minuteenglish.com/reading.htm

Grammar review

Viewing video lessons to either recap on the last grammar class or prepare for the next one is another highly productive no-marking homework activity.

Here are the best grammar video resources.

ENGVID Provides bite-sized video lessons on most aspects of English grammar and lots of vocabulary points. Students can also read a transcript of the lesson and check their understanding with a quiz on their website.

https://www.engvid.com

Let’s Talk: Youtube

You need it, you’ll find it here. This Youtube channel has hundreds of videos on every aspect of the English language.

Grammar and vocabulary quizzes

If you’ve just finished a grammar topic, setting your students a few grammar quizzes is a good way to review the lesson. There are dozens of grammar quiz sites out there, but proceed with caution: many of these sites are spammy with annoying adverts and pop ups all over the page. They are difficult to navigate for a native speaker never mind a student.

The BBC also offers a comprehensive library of grammar resources and quizzes for English learners. However, I haven’t included them in the list because you need a flash player to use them.

The websites I have selected also have adverts but they are not invasive. They have also established sites within the TEFL community.

Dave’s ESL Café (grammar)

This site provides a meeting point for TEFL teachers to ask and answer questions and share resources. A little known fact is that Dave’s ESL Café also boasts hundreds of quizzes on various grammar and vocabulary points, written by teachers.

http://www.eslcafe.com/quiz

ESL-lounge (grammar)

ESL-lounge is another well-known site for TEFL resources, it also has a library of grammar quizzes for students.

http://www.esl-lounge.com/student/

British Council Teens (vocabulary)

The best vocabulary quiz I have found comes from The British Council Teens site. Here users must match pictures and words together to learn vocabulary. All words come with an audio so students can check their pronunciation.

http://learnenglishteens.britishcouncil.org/grammar-vocabulary/vocabulary-exercises

Writing is an essential skill and, as a TEFL teacher, you must set and mark writing assignments.

But what if there were a way for students to practice writing independently as well?

Well, there is.

Do you remember when you were learning French or Spanish at school and your teachers encouraged you to start a correspondence with a foreign pen pal to improve your language skills?

Well, the concept still exists. If a few of the class take it up, it can also become an interesting weekly speaking practice as you catch up on the news from their pen friends, and as a group, correct the grammar and spelling on their next correspondence.

Popular Pen Pal sites

http://www.penpalworld.com

https://www.globalpenfriends.com

https://www.penpalsnow.com/index.html

Pronunciation

Pronunciation is often the blight of an ESL class. Bad pronunciation should be corrected , but if you have a large class it is often difficult to give that one-on-one attention to a student who is really struggling to improve.

This is why asking your students to watch pronunciation videos and practice in their own time is a worthwhile homework exercise. Here are some of the best sites to learn.

Rachel’s English: Accent American

Rachel’s English undoubtedly provides one of the most comprehensive pronunciation resources on the web. Rachel will walk your students through all of the sounds in the English language. In addition, she has videos on the rhythm of English, elision (when speakers drop vowel sounds as they link words together in a sentence) and common idioms.

http://rachelsenglish.com

Youglish: Accent International

Youglish uses YouTube to teach the pronunciation of any English word. Simply write the word into the search bar and Youglish will bring up a snippet of a video with someone using it. It is truly brilliant.

https://youglish.com

BBC Learning English Pronunciation Guide: Accent British

Teacher Jamie teaches students all the common sounds in the English language.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/english/features/pronunciation

For more on pronunciation, check out our pronunciation http://bilinguanation.com/english-pronunciation-activities-for-your-esl-class/ guide.

Cambridge PET, FCE, CAE Exam

If your students want to sit the Cambridge English exam then they can find everything they need to prepare with Flo-Joe.com. Here students will find a rich archive of free listening, reading, speaking and writing papers from each exam level. Listening and reading exams come with their own answer keys for self-correction. The writing paper, however, will have to be corrected by the teacher and speaking practice done in class.

https://www.flo-joe.co.uk

If your students are taking the IELTS exam, here are three resource sites where students can practice with past papers, complete with an answer key. Again any writing practice will have to be corrected by the teacher and speaking practice done in class.

https://takeielts.britishcouncil.org/prepare-test/british-council-online-resources

https://www.ieltsbuddy.com

https://ieltsforfree.com/

So these are my go-to sites for no-marking TEFL assignments. Have a I missed one? Do you know of an amazing podcast or ESL resource site that could benefit your fellow ESL teachers? Write it in the comments below and if it’s good I’ll include it in the list.

For more resource sites check out Free TEFL resource sites for your ESL students. Good luck and happy teaching!

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K5 Learning offers free worksheets, flashcards and inexpensive workbooks for kids in kindergarten to grade 5. Become a member to access additional content and skip ads. Noun worksheets for grades 1 to 3, including identifying nouns, using nouns in sentences and "person, place or thing" exercises, plural nouns, collective nouns and abstract nouns.
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Activity #3: Have students do a "noun hunt" in the books they're reading. I like to have my students search for nouns "in the wild!". Again, this is a great way to help them connect grammar concepts to real texts. Students can search for proper nouns, common nouns, or both. This half-sheet scavenger hunt list comes from my Second ...
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Explore printable Nouns worksheets. Nouns worksheets are essential tools for teachers who aim to enhance their students' reading and writing skills, as well as their overall grammar proficiency. These worksheets provide a structured and engaging way for students to practice identifying and using different types of nouns, which are the building ...
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Nouns: Types of Nouns With Examples
Girl is a common noun; we do not learn the identity of the girl by reading this sentence, though we know the action she takes.River is also a common noun in this sentence.. Types of common nouns. Common or generic nouns can be broken down into three subtypes: concrete nouns, abstract nouns, and collective nouns.A concrete noun is something that is perceived by the senses; something that is ...
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Noun Quiz. BusyTeacher Contributor. • Countable/Uncountable Nouns, Demonstrative Pronouns, Possessive Pronouns, Personal Pronouns. This noun quiz helps learners understand the different types of nouns. The point value of the nouns and pronouns may be changed. There are 14 questions: 1-10 are easy, but 11&ndash ...
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If you're looking for a worksheet readily available to help you with nouns, look no further. Check out these sets of printable noun worksheets. ... Schoolgirl Doing Homework SOURCE ... Neliakott / iStock / Getty Images Plus PERMISSION Used under Getty Images license Nouns are people, places, things, and ideas — but there's a bit more to ...
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Types of Nouns. Common and proper nouns are the two main types of nouns. Common nouns refer to general categories of people, places, things, or ideas, while proper nouns refer to specific individuals, places, organizations, or events. Collective nouns refer to groups of people or things, while compound nouns are made up of two or more words that together represent a single noun.
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The students have a lot of homework to complete over the weekend. knowledge: Knowledge is more valuable when shared. traffic: ... Abstract nouns represent ideas or feelings, such as "freedom" or "joy." Countable nouns have a singular and plural form, like "cat/cats," whereas uncountable nouns do not, such as "information." ...
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Create opportunities for your students to practise, practise, practise. Make speaking and listenin g and grammar BFF's (best friends forever). Explicitly connect the two and give your students the chance to apply their knowledge of grammar in the context of speaking. Use real-world contexts. Look at the grammar on restaurant menus, billboards ...
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Free Printable ESL Noun Worksheets. Download, edit and print all of the following worksheets for ESL teachers - completely free! Browse our full archives of resources for ESL teachers. Join our mailing list to receive a free ESL teaching resource every week. Click to Join.
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Students will do the following:1. Play a 3 minute game that is fast and fun and requires only a pencil and a copy of my worksheet!2. Make a list of common and proper nouns based on a theme.3. Correct a poorly written letter in which a student has not used common and proper nouns correctly (can be used as homework!).4.
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1.Read A Short Story Or Short Book Chapter. Reading is the foundation of the StoryLearning method and makes for the perfect ESL homework idea. Instead of spending time reading in class, get the students to do it between classes. They can find a quiet time to read the story or chapter as many times as they like.
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Tween Speech Therapy. $5.00. PDF. Use these homework sheets to target distinguishing between nouns and verbs.FeaturesAssign 24 different homework sheets (12 for nouns, 12 for verbs).Send home the included parent letter, explaining the homework program.Use the included data sheet for therapy notes and keeping track of speech homework you've ...
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8. Write a journal. Either at the start of the day or before they go to bed, writing a short English entry into a journal is a powerful way of embedding English in students' day-to-day lives. This activity is for most ages, except the youngest kids. Image by Pexels from Pixabay.
The best ESL / EFL homework ideas that require no marking 2021
No-marking assignments have benefits for class time also. Students can recap on the last class or prepare for the next one by watching grammar videos. Teachers can use material from a podcast or video as the basis of a speaking activity. This is why, I believe, that TEFL teachers set a no-marking study assignment at least once a week.
Countable Noun & Uncountable Nouns with Examples
Uncountable nouns, or mass nouns, are nouns that come in a state or quantity that is impossible to count; liquids are uncountable, as are things that act like liquids (sand, air). Abstract ideas like creativity or courage are also uncountable. Uncountable nouns are always considered to be singular, and can stand alone or be used with some, any ...
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by 7ESL. 3.3k. SHARES. Last Updated on November 23, 2023. The following are 1000+ of the most commonly used nouns in the English language. They are sorted alphabetically and by their grammatical functions. One of the most important types of word within any language, is the noun and this is no different in English.

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Nouns and Capitalization Common Core State Standards

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Grade 1 nouns worksheets

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5 Fun Activities for Teaching Nouns in the Primary Grades

Activity #1: Have students identify examples of nouns in real sentences.

Activity #2: Have students sort common nouns into the categories of people, places, and things.

Activity #3: Have students do a “noun hunt” in the books they’re reading.

Activity #4: Have students sort common and proper nouns (and categories of proper nouns).

Activity #5: Have students brainstorm matching pairs of common nouns and proper nouns.

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1. Read a Short Story

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FREE Noun Worksheets

10 entertaining homework ideas for online English Language Learners

1. Cafe hopper

2. TikTok star

3. Let’s go to the movies

4. Hello Mr. Teacher!

5. Interview a stranger

6. Shine like a Karaoke star

7. Expert on the loose

8. 24 hour English challenge

9. It’s a wrap!

10. Masterchef extraordinaire

Homework doesn’t have to be boring!

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November 7, 2018 VG Teaching Resources Vocab & ELA Res , Vocab Gal , ELA K-5 , ELA Seasonal Back to School , ELA 6-8 , ELA Resources - Activities , ELA 9-12 , ELA PD - Classroom Management , ELA PD - Vocabulary , ELA Focus - Writing with Vocabulary , ELA Focus - Vocabulary

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Steps to Ensure Students Complete Homework

How to Respond When Homework is Not Completed

Vocabulary Homework Ideas for Students

Additional Vocabulary Homework Ideas

Common and Proper Nouns: Definition, Examples, & Exercises

The Basics of Common and Proper Nouns

What is a common noun?

What is a proper noun?

What is the relationship between common and proper nouns?

How do you use common and proper nouns?

3 Tips for Understanding Common vs. Proper Nouns

Tip #1: If it’s a noun and it’s capitalized, then it’s probably a proper noun .

Tip #2: Make sure it’s a noun.

Tip #3: When writing, ask yourself, “what message am I trying to communicate?”

Applying the Basics: Common and Proper Noun Review & Practice

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