Nouns and Proper Nouns

Nouns and Proper Nouns

Pencil and paperOnline interactive
Overview
Using this Resource
Connecting to the Curriculum
Marking Student Responses
Working with Students
Further Resources
This task is about finding nouns and proper nouns in a short story.

Question Change answer

illustration: animals and people at the zoo
Nouns
Nouns are naming words. Nouns are words that name people, places, and things.
Highlight all the nouns in the story below.
The first noun has been highlighted for you.
  • Nouns
Yesterday we went to visit the zoo in Wellington. My mum packed me a great big lunch so I wouldn't get hungry. We had to meet at the school at eight o'clock to catch the bus. I sat next to Jason and Hemi. When we first arrived we watched the monkeys being fed. Then we saw heaps of other animals. I liked the elephant most of all. It kept on waving its trunk in the air. On the way back to Whanganui it started to rain and I fell asleep. When we got back I found that I had left my jersey behind. My teacher said not to worry because we could get it posted back to us.

Question Change answer

Proper nouns
Some nouns are called proper nouns. That’s because they name a real person or place.
Highlight the proper nouns.
When you have finished, share your work with a classmate.
Does your classmate think you have highlighted the proper nouns correctly? (There are four.)
  • Proper Nouns
Yesterday we went to visit the zoo in Wellington. My mum packed me a great big lunch so I wouldn't get hungry. We had to meet at the school at eight o'clock to catch the bus. I sat next to Jason and Hemi. When we first arrived we watched the monkeys being fed. Then we saw heaps of other animals. I liked the elephant most of all. It kept on waving its trunk in the air. On the way back to Whanganui it started to rain and I fell asleep. When we got back I found that I had left my jersey behind. My teacher said not to worry because we could get it posted back to us.
Task administration: 
This task can be completed with pencil and paper or online.
Copyright: 
Text: NZCER
Image: iStock
Level:
3
Curriculum info: 
English, Creating meaning, Writing
Key Competencies: 
Using language, symbols, and texts
Keywords: 
grammar, parts of speech, nouns, grammar knowledge
Description of task: 
Students are required to identify the nouns and proper nouns in a short story about a class trip to the zoo.
Curriculum Links: 
Links to the Literacy Learning Progressions for Writing:
This resource helps to identify students’ ability to:
  • demonstrate knowledge of how language works
as described in the Literacy Learning Progressions for Writing at: http://www.literacyprogressions.tki.org.nz/The-Structure-of-the-Progressions.
Learning Progression Frameworks
This resource can provide evidence of learning associated with
Writing meaningful text: vocabulary knowledge, set 4
within the Writing Learning Progressions Frameworks.
Read more about the Learning Progressions Frameworks.
Answers/responses: 

solution to nouns

 

  

Y6 (11/2002)

Wellington
mum
lunch
school
bus
Jason
Hemi
monkeys
animals
elephant
trunk
air
Whanganui
jersey
teacher

very easy
easy
moderate
easy
easy
very easy
very easy
very easy
easy
very easy
moderate
very difficult
very easy
easy
easy
Diagnostic and formative information: 
Common error Likely reason
29% of students incorrectly identified the word "rain" as a noun. It is likely that students relied on prior knowledge that the word "rain" can be used as a noun rather than using the context of the sentence which indicates that it is being used as a verb.