LanguageNaming Words and Action Words
Quill the friendly feather pen sits at a little wooden desk in a cozy classroom, carefully sorting colorful word cards into two piles — one pile labeled NAMING WORDS with cards showing a dog, a chair, and a garden, and another pile labeled ACTION WORDS with cards showing a child running, a frog jumping, and a bird singing.
- Identify words that name a person, place, or thing as naming words (nouns).
- Identify words that show an action as action words (verbs).
- Sort a list of words into naming words and action words.
- Demonstrate understanding by choosing the correct word type for words in a sentence.
Key terms
- naming word (noun)
- A word that names a person, place, or thing.
- action word (verb)
- A word that tells what someone or something does.
- person
- A human being, like a teacher, that a naming word can name.
- place
- A spot or location, like a school, that a naming word can name.
- thing
- An object you can name, like a chair or a flower.
What Naming Words Do
Naming words, also called nouns, give the name of a person, a place, or a thing. To check if a word is a naming word, ask who is it or what is it. Dog answers what is it with a dog, so dog is a naming word. Teacher answers who is it with a teacher. School answers what is it with a school. If a word can answer who or what, it is a naming word.
What Action Words Do
Action words, also called verbs, tell what someone or something does. To check if a word is an action word, ask what is happening or what is someone doing. Run answers what is happening because someone is running. Jump and sing work the same way, telling an action you can do. If a word can answer what is happening, then it is an action word, not a naming word.
Spotting Words in a Sentence
In a sentence, naming words and action words work together. Take the sentence Mia runs across the playground. Mia answers who, so it is a naming word. Playground answers what place, so it is also a naming word. Runs answers what is happening, so it is the action word. Asking the who-or-what question and the what-is-happening question helps you label every word correctly.
Worked examples
Is the word cat a naming word or an action word?
- Ask what is it: a cat, which is a thing you can see and touch.
- A word that names a thing is a naming word.
- It does not tell an action, so it is not an action word.
Answer: Cat is a naming word.
Find the action word in Mia runs across the playground.
- Ask who or what for each word: Mia is a person and playground is a place, so both are naming words.
- Ask what is happening: Mia is running, and runs tells that action.
- So runs is the action word in the sentence.
Answer: runs
Activity
Sort each word card into the correct pile — naming word or action word.
Practice
Decide whether each of these words is a naming word or an action word: flower, swim, garden.
Find the action word in the sentence about a frog that jumps high.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Every word in a sentence is a naming word.Many sentences also have action words that tell what is happening, not just naming words.
- Action words can only be people.Action words tell what anyone or anything does, like a frog that jumps or a bird that sings.
Check your understanding
Which word is a NAMING word?
Which word is an ACTION word?
Mia RUNS across the playground. Which word in that sentence is an action word?
Recap
Naming words, or nouns, name a person, place, or thing and answer who or what. Action words, or verbs, tell what someone does and answer what is happening. Asking those two questions helps you sort any word into the right group.
Reflect
Can you say one naming word and one action word about something you did today?