Doesn’t everyone have a set of these from the 90s? Here’s one activity to make use of them again.
The Idea
When teaching grammar concepts, I try to separate the grammar activity from handwriting. At young ages, handwriting still takes up so much brainpower that not much else gets through. These poetry tiles are a great way to play with words without tiring little hands. At the very end, after the learning has taken place, the child can practice writing, if desired. This activity is intended for a student who already has a good grasp of the parts of speech. It should not be your first grammar activity.
The Execution
1. Find some nouns. Find some verbs. Pair nouns with verbs. This step could be your entire activity (see The Extension below). If you proceed to the next step and meet resistance, tread water here for a while.
3 nouns + 3 verbs
2. Add articles (“the, a, an”) and conjunctions (“and, but, or”).
Add articles and conjunctions
3. Add adjectives.
Add adjectives.
4. Rearrange as desired into a poem.
Rearranged and tweaked with new words.
5. Copy onto paper (most likely at a later date).
My son wanted to circle the nouns (blue) and verbs (red).
The Extension
If your student enjoys this activity, come back to it each time you learn a new grammar concept. One possible progression:
-find nouns
-find verbs
-pair nouns and verbs
-find adjectives
-pair nouns and adjectives
-create adverbs (there are a few -ly tiles in my set)
-pair verbs and adverbs
-pair verbs and nouns (as direct objects)
Eclectic Ed 