Parts of Speech

Lyrics

Chorus
So you wanna know about nouns, you wanna know about verbs
And you probably know that there are several other types of words
So if you yearn to learn, hey, we’re psyched to teach
Now listen up and let me tell you about the parts of speech.

Verse I
A noun is a person or a place or at thing
Like you or your school or all your bling-bling
But the tricky kinds of nouns are ideas and thoughts
Like your strength or intelligence
Man there are lots of these nouns
To list them all, that would be impressive!
But to describe them, all we need are adjectives
Like hot, cool, false, true, spicy, or bland
And now I think you understand

Chorus

Verse II
Verbs. That’s what we call the action words
Anything you can do, even if it’s absurd
Whenever you eat, drink, move, think, go, or stop
Even if you just are, that’s a verb that you’ve got
“But, Mr. Jackson, how do I describe these words?”
You use another part of speech we call adverbs
Like loudly, proudly, and well, don’t ask me why, but
Most of them end in -ly.

Chorus

Verse III
A preposition gives location, just so you know
Whether an object is between, in, by, or below
But it can also talk about time, as a matter of fact;
If something happened before this, or is gonna happen after that
They always have a prepositional phrase
it’s the traditional way that every preposition operates
So just make sure that the object is there
Or else you’ll never know what goes where

Chorus

Verse IV
A conjunction joins phrases or words together
Like and, but, or, as, if, and whether
Some appear in pairs, like neither and nor,
You know I’d love to list them all but there are so many more
So let’s go on to pronouns, they replace nouns
So you can say “it” instead of saying the same noun again
It can be just a breeze, you see
Instead of names, saying “he” or “she”

Chorus

Verse V
Hold up! Almost forgot about the next one
I’m speaking, of course, of the interjection:
Whoa!, yo!, yikes!, holy cow!
You know the parts of speech? Well, I think you do now

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Description

This educational song teaches the elements of speech and grammar, including noun, verb, adverb, preposition, adjective, conjunction, pronoun, and interjection. The song is useful for teaching students how to construct a sentence and how each component fits together. The additional resource and materials including grammar lesson plans and worksheets, help teachers, students and parents understand concepts and offer teaching ideas for the song topics. Students will learn how to use conjunctions and prepositions.

This song is suitable for elementary school, middle school, and high school students.

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Related Reading and Activities

Reading

330 Grammar
Parts of Speech
This site provides definitions for various parts of speech. Easy to navigate and clear definitions that are easy to understand.
Grades 3-8

Lesson Plans & Activities

ABCTeach
Actions of Animals (PDF)
This worksheet provides a word bank from which students must choose verbs (all past tense) to describe the action of animals. This exercise teaches how to use verbs and the creative use of verbs.
Grades 3-5

She or Her: Grammar and Classics (PDF)
This reading comprehension activity teaches students the difference of pronouns and possessives. Uses and Alice in Wonderland written example.
Grades 3-5

Subject Pronouns (PDF)
This is a worksheet about subject pronouns, object pronouns and possessive pronouns. It allows students to practice using them. Good exercise.
Grades 3-8

Vocabulary Word Strips (PDF)
These word strips illustrate the prepositions for easier understanding and remembrance. Good visual reference to reinforce memory.
Grades 3-8

What is a Verb? (PDF)
This brief worksheet explains the usage of verb and then has a section for students to practice using them.
Grades 2-4

AtoZTeacherStuff.com
Discovering Adjectives
This classroom activity allows students to think creatively about how to describe various food products. This is a fun exercise for everyone.
Grades 2-8

The Educator’s Reference Desk
Appetizing Adjectives
This activity suggests having students edit restaurant menus, focusing on inserting exciting adjectives.
Grades 3-8

Education World
Packing Nouns
This game reinforces students’ knowledge of nouns, and encourages listening skills, as students cannot repeat a noun that another student has already used.
Grades 3-6

Preposition House
This activity uses a drawing of a house and its details to teach students prepositions. Good visual memory exercise.
Grades 3-8

Media

Sporcle.com
Parts of Speech (interactive quiz)
Warning! These games are addictive and a lot of fun to play online! This site is packed with fun games in Language arts. Everything from Parts of Speech to all kinds of vocabulary building. Quizzes are timed.
Grades 4-12

Points of Grammar (interactive quiz)
This Sporcle game tests your knowledge of parts of speech in the song and some that aren’t. A lot of fun!
Grades 6-12

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State Standards

State standards listed here are representative of school standards across the United States.

California

6th Grade
1.0 Written and Oral English Language Conventions - Develop topic with supporting details and precise verbs, noun, and adjectives. Identify and properly use pronouns and verbs.

7th Grade
1.0 Written and Oral English Language Conventions - Identify all parts of speech and types and structure of sentences

8th Grade
1.0 Written and Oral English Language Conventions - Edit written manuscripts to ensure that correct grammar is used

Florida

6th Grade
LA.6.3.4.4 - Edit for correct use of eight parts of speech (noun, pronoun, verb, adverb, adjective, conjunction, preposition, interjection)

7th Grade
LA.7.3.4.4 - Edit for correct use of eight parts of speech, regular and irregular verbs, and pronoun agreement

8th Grade
LA.8.3.4.4 - Edit for correct use of eight parts of speech, regular and irregular verbs, and pronoun agreement.

Illinois

3rd Grade
3.A.1 - Construct complete sentences which demonstrate subject/verb agreement; appropriate capitalization and punctuation; correct spelling of appropriate, high-frequency words; and appropriate use of the eight parts of speech.

4th-6th Grades
3.A.2 - Write paragraphs that include a variety of sentence types; appropriate use of the eight parts of speech; and accurate spelling, capitalization and punctuation.

Massachusetts

5th-6th Grades
Standard 5: Structure and Origins of Modern English - Identify eight basic parts of speech: noun, pronoun, verb, adverb, adjective, preposition, conjunction, interjection.

7th-8th Grades
Standard 5: Structure and Origins of Modern English -
Continue to address earlier standards as needed

New York

5th-8th Grades
Writing - Use correct grammatical construction in parts of speech.

Texas

6th Grade
110.18 (b) (19) (A) - Use and understand function of following parts of speech in context of reading, writing, and speaking: verbs, non-count nouns, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions and prepositional phases, pronouns, conjunctions, and transitional words.

7th Grade
110.19 (b) (19) (A) - Identify, use, and understand function of following parts of speech in context of reading/writing,/speaking: verbs/participles, appositive phrases, adverbial/adjectival phrases/clauses, conjunctive adverbs, prepositions/prepositional phrases, relative pronouns.

8th Grade
110.20 (b) (19) (A) - Use and understand the function of following parts of speech in context of reading, writing, and speaking: verbs/participles, appositive phrases, adverbial/adjectival phrases/clauses, relative pronouns and subordinating conjunctions, and transitions.

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