Grammar Lesson Plan · Grades 2–4
Verbs Lesson
A parts of speech lesson covering action verbs, helping verbs, verb tense, and irregular verbs. Includes classroom examples and three printable PDFs: teacher copy, student copy, and worksheets with answer keys.
Subject
Grammar / Language Arts
Grades
2 – 4 (Grade 3 target)
Skill Focus
Action verbs, helping verbs, verb tense
Lesson Length
30 – 45 minutes
Lesson
What Is a Verb?
A verb is an action word. A verb tells what the subject does, is, or what happens to it.
Example 1: “Kayla smiled at the teacher.” — smiled tells what the subject (Kayla) did.
Example 2: “Sam listens to the teacher.” — listens tells what the subject (Sam) is doing.
Example 3: “Maria was lost in the woods.” — was lost tells what happens to the subject (Maria).
Many sentences have more than one verb. Can you find three verbs in this sentence? “Kyle runs with the football and shouts to his teammates while he plays outside.”
Helping Verbs
Some words help express action. These are called helping verbs. Pay special attention to these — they are verbs that are difficult to identify and correctly use.
is swimming
have brought
was running
was going
does ride
will throw
had broken
has carried
Verb Tense
Present tense: The verb shows what is happening now. Ex. Trina reads a book.
Past tense: The verb shows that something already happened. Ex. Trina read a book.
Present tense examples: Today I dance. Jessica dances with Kent. Jessica dances with me. We all dance together.
Past tense examples (change from present to past by adding -ed): Yesterday I danced. Kent danced with Jessica. Jessica danced with me. We all danced together.
Irregular verbs (do not add -ed):
| Present | Past | Present | Past |
|---|---|---|---|
| I run, we run | I ran, you ran | I go, you go | I went, you went |
| he comes | he came | he goes | he went |
| I come, you come | I came, you came | I give, you give | I gave, you gave |
| she does | she did | he gives | he gave |
| I do, they do | I did, they did |
Verbs be and have
| be | have | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Present | Past | Present | Past |
| I am | I was | I have | I had |
| he, she, it is | he, she, it was | he, she, it has | he, she, it had |
| you, we are | you were | you, we have | you, we had |
Printable Resources
Three classroom-ready PDFs are available for this lesson: a teacher copy, a student copy, and printable worksheets with answer keys. Full Member resources.
Full Member Resource · Printable PDF · 3 pages
Teacher’s Lesson Copy
Original InstructorWeb verbs lesson — teacher’s version with objectives, board-activity notes, and helping verbs reference.
Full Member Resource · Printable PDF · 3 pages
Student’s Lesson Copy
Original InstructorWeb verbs lesson — student-facing version covering action verbs, helping verbs, verb tense, and irregular verbs.
Full Member Resource · Printable PDF · 8 pages
Printable Verbs Worksheet
Two worksheets with answer keys: verb usage (circle the correct form) and verb identification (underline the verb). 15 exercises each.
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