3rd grade · English Language Arts · Unit 3 of 15
Word Jobs
Nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs
What your child practices
Finding nouns (naming words), verbs (action words), adjectives (describing words) and adverbs (words that tell how) in sentences.
Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) teks student expectation: 3.11(D) · nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs
How we explain it
Children can open this short lesson before they practice.
- A noun names a person, place, animal or thing.
- A verb is an action word. An adjective describes a noun.
- An adverb tells how, when or where. Many adverbs end in -ly.
Example: Which word is an adjective? “The playful kitten chased a ball.” An adjective describes a noun. “Playful” tells what the kitten is like. Answer: playful
Word Jobs in Texas
In the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS), this is unit 3 of 15 in 3rd grade English Language Arts, after Story Elements and before Punctuation Power.
Gradelings describes a child's practice on this unit as Beginning, Approaching, Meeting or Exceeding (Four practice steps). That reflects practice, not a report-card mark: the teacher decides the mark.
- 3rd grade guide for Texas parents
- Printable 3rd grade English Language Arts sheet
- Texas report cards explained
Source: Texas Education Agency (TEA)
Sample questions
A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.
Question 1
In this sentence, what kind of word is “ate”?
The hungry children ate warm pancakes.
- Verb (shows an action)
- Adjective (describes a noun)
- Noun (names a person, place, animal or thing)
Verb (shows an action)
Hint: Look at how “ate” is used. A verb is an action word. Ask: what is someone or something doing?
Question 2
Which word in this sentence is a noun?
A tiny ant lifted a huge crumb.
- crumb
- tiny
- huge
crumb
Hint: A noun names a person, place, animal or thing. Ask: which word is something you could name or point to?
Question 3
Which word in this sentence is an adjective?
Grandpa gently watered the thirsty tomatoes.
- thirsty
- tomatoes
- gently
thirsty
Hint: An adjective describes a noun. Ask: what kind? Which word tells more about a thing?
Question 4
Which word in this sentence is an adjective?
Leo proudly kicked the muddy ball.
- muddy
- Leo
- kicked
muddy
Hint: An adjective describes a noun. Ask: what kind? Which word tells more about a thing?
Question 5
Which word in this sentence is a verb?
The playful puppy barked loudly at the squirrel.
- barked
- puppy
- loudly
barked
Hint: A verb is an action word. Ask: what is someone or something doing?
Question 6
Which word in this sentence is a noun?
The wind blew loudly through the dark forest.
- dark
- blew
- forest
forest
Hint: A noun names a person, place, animal or thing. Ask: which word is something you could name or point to?