Common, Proper, and Possessive Nouns
Sarah Sheldon and Jayne Titus
First Grade Lesson Plan
Common Core State Standard: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.1.1b Use common, proper, and possessive nouns.
Lesson Plan
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Common Nouns – Person, place, thing, or idea and they do not refer to specific people, places, or things.
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Proper Nouns- Formal words or name and give specific names to a noun.
Common = girl Proper = Sarah Common = cookies Proper = Chips Ahoy
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Possessive Nouns - Typically include an apostrophe
Think of the apostrophe mark as a hook or hand reaching out to take ownership of the object. Without the little hook or hand grabbing onto the ‘s’ or the next word, the noun is simply plural.
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Exceptions to Possessive Nouns - If a noun is plural and ends in s, then add an apostrophe to the end; otherwise, add apostrophe then an s." This sounds a bit awkward at first, but it always works
Possessive Nouns = Sarah’s cookies are on the shelf. The turtle’s shell is very hard.
Play Slouch Game
Direction: When a common noun is said the students slouch down in their chair because common nouns do not start with a capital letter. When a proper noun is said the students sit up straight in their chair because it starts with a capital letter. When a possessive noun is said the students form an apostrophe with their hand. noun)
Teacher Examples: chicken (common noun), Chicago (proper noun). Blake’s (possessive
Student Examples: Wisconsin (proper) astronaut (common) dog’s (possessive)
Lake Michigan (proper) water fountain (common) the boy’s (possessive)

Individual Work
Activity: Battle of the Brains
How many common nouns can you think of on a specific topic?
1. Nouns: Items in a Jewelry Store
2. Nouns: Grocery Store
3. Nouns: Fruits
Activity: Battle of the Brains
How many proper nouns can you think of on a specific topic?
1. Nouns: Famous People
2. States
3. Fast Food Restaurants
Assessment - Watching each student as they participate in group activities. Review each student’s worksheet individual and watch for progress through their writing.
Accommodations – For students with low mobility or lack of fine motor skills, during the slouch game these students could have common, proper, and possessive noun cards to hold up.
Professional Resources/Helpful planning websites
http://teachers.net/lessons/posts/4155.html

Activity: Battle of the Brains
1) How many nouns can you think of on a specific topic? Can you tell me which ones are common and which ones are proper?
Items in a
Jewelry Story
Items in a
Grocery Store
Fruits Famous
People
States Fast Food
Restaurants
2) Create a sentence using one of the common nouns above.
1.
3) Create a sentence using one of the proper nouns above.
1.

4) Write two sentences using two different possessive nouns.
1.
2.