Parts of Speech: Identifying nouns, verbs and adjectives in texts for JSS 1

Class: JSS 1
Term: First Term
Week: 4
Age: 12 years
Duration: 45 minutes
Subject: English Studies
Curriculum Theme: Grammatical Accuracy
Focal competence: NOUNS, VERBS AND ADJECTIVES: Identifying nouns, verbs and adjectives correctly
Skills:

• NOUNS, VERBS AND ADJECTIVES: Identifying nouns, verbs and adjectives in texts

Previous Lesson: Reading Fluency: Reading Fluently
Topic: Parts Of Speech: Nouns, Verbs And Adjectives
Subject Matter: Practical skill

Specific Objectives

By the end of the lesson, pupils/students should be able to:

Cognitive Domain

• List the functions of nouns, verbs, and adjectives.
• Identify nouns, verbs, and adjectives in given texts.

Psychomotor Domain

• Use nouns, verbs, and adjectives appropriately in sentences.
• Classify words from a passage into their correct parts of speech.

Reference Materials

The following resources were used in planning this lesson:

• 2025 Revised 9 Years Basic Education Curriculum
• Relevant State Unified Scheme of Work
• A suitable English Studies textbook for JSS 1
• The HeadTeacher Scheme of work

Instructional Materials

The teacher will teach this lesson with the aid of:

• Audiobooks
• Interactive Videos
• Audio-visual materials
• Course books
• Various passages (e.g., on a chart, projector, or printed handouts)
• Whiteboard and markers

Rationale for the Lesson

Understanding nouns, verbs, and adjectives is fundamental to building strong grammatical foundations in English. This lesson helps students recognise the basic building blocks of sentences, which is essential for effective communication and writing. It enhances their ability to construct clear, meaningful sentences and comprehend written texts.

Prerequisite/Previous Knowledge

Students should have a basic understanding of what words are and how they form simple sentences.

Lesson Content/Board Summary

Parts Of Speech: Nouns, Verbs And Adjectives

Nouns

A noun is a word that names a person, place, animal, thing, or idea.

Functions of Nouns:

1. They name specific entities (e.g., John, Lagos, dog, table).
2. They can act as the subject of a sentence (who or what performs the action).
3. They can act as the object of a verb (who or what receives the action).
4. They can be modified by adjectives.

Examples of Nouns:

1. Person: teacher, boy, Mary
2. Place: school, market, Nigeria
3. Animal: cat, lion, bird
4. Thing: book, chair, phone
5. Idea: happiness, freedom, love

Verbs

A verb is a word that describes an action, state, or occurrence. It is the main part of a sentence that tells what the subject is doing or what state it is in.

Functions of Verbs:

1. They show action (e.g., run, eat, write).
2. They show a state of being (e.g., is, am, are, was, were).
3. They indicate tense (past, present, future).
4. They are essential for forming complete sentences.

Examples of Verbs:

1. Action verbs: jump, sing, read, sleep
2. State of being verbs: be, seem, appear, feel

Adjectives

An adjective is a word that describes or modifies a noun or pronoun. It provides more information about the noun or pronoun by telling us its quality, quantity, or characteristic.

Functions of Adjectives:

1. They describe the quality of a noun (e.g., beautiful, tall, red).
2. They specify the quantity of a noun (e.g., many, few, two).
3. They indicate which noun is being referred to (e.g., this, that).
4. They make sentences more descriptive and interesting.

Examples of Adjectives:

1. Quality: kind, happy, big, small
2. Quantity: five, many, some, little
3. Demonstrative: this, those, these

Identifying Nouns, Verbs, and Adjectives

Clues to identify each word class:

1. Nouns:
   • Often preceded by articles like ‘a’, ‘an’, ‘the’.
   • Can be plural (e.g., books, children).
   • Can be subjects or objects in a sentence.
   • Often answer the questions “Who?” or “What?”.
2. Verbs:
   • Show action or a state of being.
   • Change form to show tense (e.g., walk, walked, walking).
   • Usually follow the subject in a sentence.
   • Often answer the question “What did the subject do?”.
3. Adjectives:
   • Usually come before the noun they describe (e.g., a red car).
   • Can follow linking verbs (e.g., The car is red).
   • Often answer questions like “What kind?”, “Which one?”, “How many?”.

Classification Exercise

Read the passage below and classify the underlined words into nouns, verbs, or adjectives.

The beautiful girl ran quickly to the large market. She wanted to buy fresh fruits for her small family.

Classification:

1. Nouns: girl, market, fruits, family
2. Verbs: ran, wanted, buy
3. Adjectives: beautiful, large, fresh, small

Teaching Methods/Instructional Techniques

Discussion, Explanation, Question and Answer, Guided Practice, Individual Practice, Group Work

Instructional Procedures

Step 1: Introduction

Time: 5 minutes

Teaching Skill: Activating Prior Knowledge

Teacher’s Activity: The teacher greets the students and asks them to recall what they know about words and sentences. The teacher then introduces the topic: “Parts of Speech: Nouns, Verbs, and Adjectives.”

Pupils’ Activity: Students respond to the teacher’s questions and listen attentively to the introduction.

Learning Point: Introduction to parts of speech

Step 2: Explanation of Nouns

Time: 8 minutes

Teaching Skill: Explanation/Modelling

Teacher’s Activity: The teacher explains what a noun is, its functions, and provides clear examples. The teacher also highlights clues for identifying nouns in a sentence, using simple sentences on the board or chart.

Pupils’ Activity: Students listen, ask questions, and identify nouns in example sentences provided by the teacher.

Learning Point: Understanding nouns and functions

Step 3: Explanation of Verbs

Time: 8 minutes

Teaching Skill: Explanation/Modelling

Teacher’s Activity: The teacher explains what a verb is, its functions, and provides clear examples. The teacher also highlights clues for identifying verbs, demonstrating with sentences.

Pupils’ Activity: Students listen, participate in discussions, and identify verbs in example sentences.

Learning Point: Understanding verbs and functions

Step 4: Explanation of Adjectives

Time: 8 minutes

Teaching Skill: Explanation/Modelling

Teacher’s Activity: The teacher explains what an adjective is, its functions, and provides clear examples. The teacher also highlights clues for identifying adjectives, using descriptive sentences.

Pupils’ Activity: Students listen, answer questions, and identify adjectives in example sentences.

Learning Point: Understanding adjectives and functions

Step 5: Guided Practice (Identification)

Time: 6 minutes

Teaching Skill: Guided Practice

Teacher’s Activity: The teacher presents a short passage (e.g., from the instructional materials) and guides students in pairs or small groups to identify nouns, verbs, and adjectives within it. The teacher provides support and feedback.

Pupils’ Activity: Students work in pairs/groups to identify and classify words from the passage.

Learning Point: Identifying parts of speech

Step 6: Application (Sentence Construction)

Time: 6 minutes

Teaching Skill: Application

Teacher’s Activity: The teacher asks students to construct simple sentences using specific nouns, verbs, and adjectives provided by the teacher or identified from the passage. The teacher checks for appropriate usage.

Pupils’ Activity: Students construct sentences individually or in pairs, demonstrating appropriate use of the parts of speech.

Learning Point: Using parts of speech in sentences

Step 7: Evaluation/Review

Time: 5 minutes

Teaching Skill: Questioning/Assessment

Teacher’s Activity: The teacher evaluates the learning by asking the following questions:

1. List two functions of a noun.
2. Identify the verb in the sentence: “The children played happily.”
3. What is an adjective? Give an example.
4. Use the word “beautiful” as an adjective in a sentence.

Pupils’ Activity: Pupils answer orally and in writing.

Learning Point: Assessment of understanding

Step 8: Note-Taking

Time: 4 minutes

Teaching Skill: Guided Writing

Teacher’s Activity: The teacher guides pupils/students to copy the essential Board Summary notes on nouns, verbs, and adjectives into their notebooks.

Pupils’ Activity: Pupils/students copy the notes carefully into their notebooks.

Learning Point: Recording lesson information

Step 9: Conclusion

Time: 1 minute

Teaching Skill: Consolidation

Teacher’s Activity: The teacher briefly summarises the main points about nouns, verbs, and adjectives and encourages students to practice identifying them in their everyday reading.

Pupils’ Activity: Students listen and acknowledge the summary.

Learning Point: Lesson recap and reinforcement

Continuous Assessment/Further Study

Type: Homework

Instruction: Read the following short paragraph and identify all the nouns, verbs, and adjectives. Write them in three separate columns in your notebook.

1. “The clever boy quickly solved the difficult puzzle. He felt very happy after his great achievement.”
2. Write three sentences, each containing a noun, a verb, and an adjective.

Lesson Keywords

• Noun – A word that names a person, place, animal, thing, or idea.
• Verb – A word that describes an action or state of being.
• Adjective – A word that describes or modifies a noun or pronoun.
• Identify – To recognise and name.
• Classify – To arrange into groups based on shared characteristics.

Differentiation

For students who struggle, provide simpler sentences and passages with fewer words to identify. Use flashcards with pictures and words. For advanced learners, challenge them to write a short paragraph using a specified number of nouns, verbs, and adjectives, or to identify adverbs as an extension.

Suggested Lesson Videos

For further understanding, search on YouTube for: parts of speech nouns verbs adjectives jss1

Teacher Guide for Using This Lesson Plan

Before the lesson, prepare a chart or printouts with short, clear passages or sentences for identification exercises. Ensure the audio-visual materials are ready if you plan to use them. Begin by reviewing basic sentence structure to connect with prior knowledge. During the lesson, model the identification process clearly for each part of speech before guiding students through practice. Pay close attention to common errors, such as confusing adjectives with adverbs. Encourage active participation through questioning and pair/group work. Students should copy the Board Summary notes after the main teaching and practice activities, typically towards the end of the lesson, to consolidate their learning. Check their understanding frequently through oral questions and the assigned evaluation task.