1.1
Common and Proper Nouns
OBJECTIVES • To identify and use common and proper nouns • To understand that a proper noun starts with a capital letter
DAILY MAINTENANCE Assign Practice Book page 2, Section 1.1. After students finish, 1. Give immediate feedback. 2. Review concepts as needed. 3. Model the correct answer. Pages 4–5 of the Answer Key contain tips for Daily Maintenance.
WARM-UP Write on note cards the following nouns: baseball, shopping, school, games, government, food, movies, and vacation. Have small groups choose a card and write as many nouns that relate to that noun as possible in two minutes.
PRACTICE
1.1
EXERCISE 4 Encourage students to complete the exercise using both common and proper nouns. Ask volunteers to share their sentences with the class.
Common and Proper Nouns A noun is a word that names a person, a place, or a thing. A common noun names any one of a class of people, places, or things.
TEACH
2 • Section 1.1
EXERCISE 3 Complete item 10 with the class. Point out that talent and personality are nouns, even though they cannot be physically touched.
EXERCISE 2 Review the difference between common nouns and proper nouns. Remind students that they can test for a proper noun by checking
Read from a piece of writing that the class is currently reading. Emphasize the common and proper nouns.
Read aloud the definitions of a noun and a common noun and the examples. Write on the board the headings Person, Place, and Thing. Ask students to give examples of each from the lists students created during the Warm-Up. Have a volunteer read aloud the definition of a proper noun and the examples. Encourage students to look at the list on the board, read aloud each noun, and tell whether it is a common noun or a proper noun. Ask students to explain their responses. Provide examples of common nouns such as writer, teacher, doctor, and athlete. Ask volunteers to name proper nouns that would fit into the same category. For example, for the noun writer, students might say Dr. Seuss.
whether it names a particular person, place, or thing and begins with a capital letter.
EXERCISE 1 Encourage students to create a three-column chart with the headings Person, Place, and Thing. Have students record their answers in the chart. Complete the first item as a class. Then have small groups complete this exercise. Invite volunteers to share their answers with the class.
PERSON
PL ACE
THING
skater citizen writer governor
rink country library capital
ice skates flag book law
A proper noun names a particular person, place, or thing. Proper nouns begin with capital letters. PERSON
PL ACE
THING
Shawn Johnson Nelson Mandela Columbus Anne Frank
Iowa South Africa Spain Europe
Olympics Nobel Peace Prize Santa Maria Bill of Rights
EXERCISE 1 Tell whether each noun names a person, a place, or a thing. Then tell whether each is a common noun or a proper noun.
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
2
•
James Naismith Massachusetts inventor teacher basket
11. 12. 13. 14. 15.
LeBron James Boston Garden fan seat Yao Ming
scoreboard gym Indiana uniform coach
Section 1.1
Dr. James Naismith, inventor of basketball