Common Nouns Explained for 1st Grade

Written by Lori Toney, English teacher, educational writer and mother of three school children

First grade is such a critical year for a child’s reading and writing skills as this is when they learn the building blocks of language. Sure, they already know how to speak, but now they must learn grammar rules and sentence structure to help them put words together on paper.

One of the first grammar rules children must master is the parts of speech. This refers to how words are used in sentences; does the word describe an action, or does it describe a person, place or thing? Parts of speech consist of many different types of words, from verbs to adjectives, and beyond. The simplest first step in teaching parts of speech cover common nouns. These are everyday words that kids use all the time!

What Are Common Nouns?

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

Some examples to help teach 1st graders include:

People: child, mom, dad, woman, man, teacher, chef, president, guard, person, etc.

Places: mountain, island, room, playground, basement, attic, school, street, etc.

Animals: cat, dog, monkey, fish, elephant, bear, frog, fly, snake etc.

Things: violin, wind, grass, tree, car, cake, juice, star, moon, sun, rose, etc.

Ideas: sadness, anger, hunger, language, friendship, family, bravery, confusion, sleepiness, etc.

While many people, places, animals, and objects have specific names, it’s important to keep in mind that common nouns are general.  Because they are nonspecific, common nouns do not require a capital letter.

Common nouns signify classes of those things, such as:

• Academic concepts like reading, science, or math;
• Unspecific titles, professions and occupations, such as queen, king, doctor, or biker;
• Types of living and non-living things, like dog, cat, house, book, citizen, child etc.;
• Unspecific geographical features and places, like city, ocean, or hill.

Common nouns are one of the easiest grammar concepts to teach because most people or things in their world are nouns! Still, it can be tricky to learn because there are so many different types of nouns.

Common Nouns Learning Activities

To get started, it may be easiest to compare them to other parts of speech, like verbs. Since verbs are action words, it’s for learners to spot the difference.

The lesson below consists of a video tutorial led by Teacher Mike, as well as two worksheets. In the video lesson, the teacher explains how to solve this Verb or Noun worksheet. Students can follow along and complete it before tackling the remaining worksheets. 

All in all, the three things this lesson teaches are how to identify nouns, how differentiate between nouns and verbs and how to sort nouns by categories.

When students are ready for more practice, have them try the “Noun or Verb?” series of exercises. These are quick, bite-sized drills that serve to check if they are on the right track, while solidifying their knowledge and boosting their confidence. Each set of drills are like mini quizzes that offer immediate feedback.

Another helpful resource to check your child’s progress is this Verb or Noun worksheet, which allows learners to match the words to the correct part of speech. Use this worksheet as extra practice in between drills to keep students engaged or use it as a progress check or quiz before moving on to the next concept.

Once your first grader has mastered common nouns and is ready to move on to the different types, check out www.kidscademy.mobi to find more lessons, worksheets, and drills to level up your child’s grammar instruction! Use our web-based Kids Academy Classroom to create curated classes on different topics and share them with your students!