Hello, friend! Today, we’re going to learn about something super cool called verbs. Verbs are action words, and we’re going to have some fun with them. Are you ready? Let’s go!
First, let’s make some space around you. Push your chair back and get ready to move. If you need a moment, pause and come back when you’re ready.
Let’s start by running in place for 10 seconds. Ready? Go! Count with me: Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one. Great job!
Now, let’s sing a fun song together. How about “Row, Row, Row Your Boat”? Ready? Sing along!
Row, row, row your boat, gently down the stream. Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily, life is but a dream.
Awesome singing!
Next, walk around the room. You might need more than 10 seconds, so feel free to pause if you need more time. Ready? Go! Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one, zero.
Now, let’s sit down for five seconds. Easy, right? Ready? Begin! Five, four, three, two, one, zero.
Finally, talk to someone near you or pretend to talk to an imaginary friend. Let’s do this for five seconds. Go! Five, four, three, two, one, zero. Nice job!
Did you notice all the actions we just did? We ran, sang, walked, sat, and talked. These action words are called verbs!
Verbs are everywhere! Think about swimming, painting, or jumping. All these actions are verbs too. Isn’t that cool?
Every sentence has a subject and a verb. The subject is who or what is doing the action. Let’s see some examples:
“James runs down the street.” Here, James is the subject, and “runs” is the verb.
“Agatha will be eating ice cream tonight.” Agatha is the subject, and “eating” is the verb.
Verbs can show actions in the past, present, or future. For example:
Sometimes, verbs have little helpers called helping verbs. They tell us when the action happens. Here are some helping verbs: am, is, are, was, were, will, and more.
For example:
Verbs can also describe what we think or feel. For example:
Every time you do something, like running or listening, remember that you’re using verbs!
Verbs are everywhere, and they’re so much fun to learn about. Keep exploring and see how many verbs you can find in your day. Happy learning!
Verb Scavenger Hunt: Go on a verb scavenger hunt around your home or classroom. Look for people or things doing actions. Write down or draw what you see. For example, if you see someone reading, write “reading” or draw a picture of it. How many verbs can you find in 10 minutes?
Verb Charades: Play a game of charades with your family or friends. Take turns acting out different verbs without speaking, and have others guess the action. You can act out verbs like jumping, dancing, or eating. How many can your friends guess correctly?
Verb Story Time: Create a short story using at least five different verbs. You can write it down or tell it aloud. For example, “Once upon a time, a cat jumped over a fence, ran across the yard, and climbed a tree.” Share your story with someone and see if they can spot all the verbs!
Sure! Here’s a sanitized version of the transcript:
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[Music]
Welcome to “Verbs for Kids”! Today, you are going to get an introduction to verbs. To do that, you’ll participate in a couple of fun physical activities. If you’re unable to do all the activities, feel free to modify the movements to something that works for you.
Push your chair back and make some space. Pause the video if you need a minute to get ready. As soon as you have an area cleared, start the video again.
The first thing you’re going to do is run in place for 10 seconds. Ready? Go! Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one. Great job!
Next, we’re going to sing! That’s right, we’re going to sing the song “Row, Row, Row Your Boat.” Ready? Go!
Row, row, row your boat, gently down the stream. Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily, life is but a dream.
Great singing!
Next, walk one lap around the room. Depending on the size of the room, you may need more than 10 seconds to do this, but you can pause the video if you need more time. Ready? Go! Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one, zero.
Okay, I hope you made it back to the computer. Now, simply sit down in your seat for five seconds. That’s easy, right? Ready? Begin! Five, four, three, two, one, zero.
For the last activity, talk to someone in the room with you. If no one is near you, talk to an imaginary friend or to yourself. We’ll set the timer for another five seconds. Go! Five, four, three, two, one, zero. Nice job!
So, what do all those activities have to do with verbs? Great question! Let’s find out.
Can you name all the actions you just did in the last few minutes? You ran, sang, walked, sat, and talked. Looking at that list, can you guess what type of words those are? Those words are all verbs!
Now, look at these activities: swimming, painting, hanging from monkey bars, pulling, tug of war, throwing, jumping. Someone is actively doing something in each of these images; they are all performing a different action. You’ve probably done a lot of these actions yourself. All these actions—swimming, painting, hanging, pulling, throwing, and jumping—are verbs.
All sentences have verbs and subjects. A subject is the part of a sentence that contains a person or a thing that performs an action or verb.
Let’s look at some example sentences:
“James runs down the street.” In this sentence, James is the subject; he is the person performing the action. Remember that verbs are action words. What action is James performing in this sentence? The verb is “runs.”
Let’s look at the next sentence: “Agatha will be eating ice cream tonight.” The subject in this sentence is Agatha. What action will Agatha be doing tonight? The verb is “eating.”
This sentence was a bit different; it doesn’t say that Agatha is eating the ice cream, but that she will be eating it. In both sentences, “eating” is still the verb because that is the action word.
So, what if the sentence said, “Agatha has eaten the ice cream”? The word “eaten” is still a verb because it is still an action word.
Let’s look at this sentence: “Jasmine texted her friend a message.” Can you find a verb in this sentence? Yes, “texted” is an action that Jasmine has already performed.
Verbs can be written in the past, present, or future. “Agatha ate the ice cream” means it has already happened (past), and “ate” is the verb. “Agatha is eating the ice cream” means that it is happening right now (present), and “eating” is the verb. “Agatha will eat the ice cream” means that she hasn’t eaten it yet, but she is going to (future), and “eat” is the verb.
Notice that before the word “eat” in this sentence, the word “will” helps us know what Agatha is going to do with the ice cream.
There are words that can help us find the verb in a sentence. These words are called helping verbs. Helping verbs tell us about past, present, and future actions. The helping words go in front of verbs.
Take a look at this sentence: “Thomas was standing in the rain.” Let’s first find the verb. What is the action word in this sentence? He’s standing. Now, let’s identify the helping verb that helps us know if Thomas was standing in the past, present, or future. The word “was” tells us that Thomas was standing in the rain, but he’s not anymore.
If the sentence said, “Thomas is standing in the rain,” the word “is” would be the helping verb and would help us know that Thomas is standing in the rain right now (present).
If the sentence said, “Thomas will be standing in the rain,” then the helping verb “will” helps us understand that the action is going to happen in the future.
Remember that helping verbs show us if the action words or verbs are in the past, present, or future. Easy, right?
Helping verbs can also tell us about a state of being. For example, “I am tired,” “I am tall,” “I was home.” Helping verbs can be used alone with action verbs or with other helping verbs.
Here is a list of some helping verbs: am, is, are, was, were, being, do, does, did, has, have, been, can, could, may, might, must, had, will, would, shall, should, ought to, having.
And here are some examples of sentences that use helping verbs: “Our dog is being good today,” “Our dog’s name is Rocky,” “Dad said we should call him Sleepy,” “Agatha will be eating ice cream,” “Agatha has eaten her ice cream,” “Agatha is eating her ice cream.” Yum!
Verbs don’t just describe physical actions; they can also show mental actions, like in this sentence: “The teacher is thinking about homework.”
And in this sentence: “The boy listened to his teacher.”
Who listens to their teacher? I sure do!
There are many different verbs in the English language because there are many different actions. Every action that can be explained uses a verb or a helping verb.
Remember, a verb is an action word. Verbs can tell you what a subject is doing, has done, or will do.
Now, every time you perform an action like running, talking, or listening, remember those actions aren’t just fun; they’re verbs!
Hope you had fun learning with us! Visit us at learnbrite.org for thousands of free resources and solutions for teachers and homeschoolers.
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