Nouns

This concise grammar tutorial addresses a common point of confusion in English writing: how to form the possessive of singular nouns and names that already end in the letter 's'. The video features two narrators, David and Paige, who use handwritten examples on a blackboard to demonstrate that the standard rule—adding an apostrophe followed by an 's'—still applies to these words, just as it does for any other singular noun. The video explores key examples including proper names like "Jess" and "Texas," as well as common nouns like "bus." It visually breaks down the transformation from a phrase like "the air conditioning on this bus" to the possessive form "the bus's air conditioning." The narrators acknowledge that while the resulting words may look crowded with 's's, the additional letter is crucial for accurately representing how these possessives are pronounced in spoken English. For educators, this video serves as an excellent tool for clarifying a specific punctuation rule that students frequently misapply. It helps dismantle the misconception that an existing 's' at the end of a word precludes adding another one for possession. The clear, step-by-step visual examples make it easy to introduce or review this concept in upper elementary and middle school English Language Arts classrooms, supporting better mechanics in student writing.

This educational video provides a clear and friendly introduction to the grammatical concept of the possessive. The narrators, David and Paige, define possession simply as "owning something" and demonstrate how the apostrophe-s ('s) is used to condense complex phrases like "the carrot that belonged to the rabbit" into efficient forms like "the rabbit's carrot." They explore how this rule applies to both common nouns and proper nouns, using whimsical examples to keep the content engaging. The video then pivots to a crucial exception that often trips up students: possessive pronouns. The narrators clarify that while nouns rely on apostrophes to show ownership, possessive pronouns (like his, hers, ours, and its) never take an apostrophe. They illustrate this with side-by-side comparisons to reinforce the difference between a noun's possessive form and a pronoun's possessive form. Teachers can use this video to introduce or review the mechanics of possession in writing. It is particularly valuable for addressing the common error of adding apostrophes to possessive pronouns (e.g., writing "her's" instead of "hers"). The video's visual style—simple handwriting on a black background—focuses student attention directly on the spelling and punctuation changes being discussed.

This video provides a clear and engaging explanation of the difference between concrete and abstract nouns, utilizing etymology to deepen student understanding. The narrator breaks down the Latin roots of both terms—"concrete" meaning "grown together" or physical, and "abstract" meaning "drawn away" or conceptual—to help students visualize the distinction. Through a digital whiteboard demonstration, the lesson contrasts tangible objects that can be sensed with intangible ideas, emotions, and states of being. The content focuses on key grammatical concepts including the definition of nouns as not just persons, places, and things, but also *ideas*. It explores how abstract nouns like "sadness," "freedom," and "permission" function grammatically (often using suffixes like "-ness") despite lacking physical form. The video specifically addresses the nuance between an abstract concept and its physical manifestations, using the example of "freedom" versus the "ice cream" one is free to eat. For educators, this resource offers a robust foundation for grammar instruction in upper elementary and middle school. It moves beyond simple memorization by providing a logic-based framework (the "physical vs. not physical" test) that students can apply to new vocabulary. The video is particularly useful for introducing abstract nouns, a concept that often challenges students transitioning from basic concrete noun identification, and can serve as a springboard for lessons on sensory imagery and descriptive writing.

This instructional video provides a clear, step-by-step guide to identifying direct objects within sentences. Through simple animations and relatable examples, the narrator breaks down the relationship between nouns, verbs, and the objects that receive the action. The video uses a consistent scaffolding method—identifying the subject first, then the action verb, and finally asking specific questions to locate the direct object. The content covers key grammatical concepts including the roles of nouns and proper nouns as subjects, the function of action verbs, and the definition of direct objects. It specifically addresses common pitfalls, such as distinguishing between a direct object and other nouns in a sentence (like objects of prepositions) that do not receive the action of the verb. This resource is highly valuable for elementary and middle school language arts classrooms. Its repetitive, logical structure allows students to practice along with the narrator, reinforcing the mental checklist needed to analyze sentence structure. The visual cues, such as circling and labeling parts of speech, make abstract grammatical rules concrete and accessible for learners.

In this engaging grammar lesson, the narrator introduces the concept of the noun, one of the fundamental parts of speech in the English language. Moving beyond the traditional definition of "person, place, or thing," the video expands the definition to include "ideas," a crucial category often overlooked in early grammar instruction. Through the charming example of Raúl, a penguin from Argentina with big dreams, students see exactly how to identify nouns in sentences by asking if a word fits into one of four specific categories.

This catchy, upbeat song introduces students to the concept of nouns as a fundamental part of speech. Through a repetitive and memorable musical structure, the video breaks down the definition of a noun into three primary categories: people, places, and things. It provides concrete examples for each category, helping young learners distinguish between different types of nouns they encounter in their daily lives. The song explores a wide variety of vocabulary, listing specific examples like family members and occupations for 'people,' common locations like schools and stores for 'places,' and everyday objects and animals for 'things.' Notably, it also briefly touches upon abstract nouns by mentioning 'ideas in your mind' such as love and joy, offering a slightly deeper conceptual layer for students ready to move beyond concrete objects. Teachers can use this song as an engaging hook to start a grammar unit, a transition activity, or a tool for memorization. The clear structure—devoting a specific verse to each category—makes it excellent for sorting activities. Because the video features a static image with audio, it works particularly well as a listening exercise where students can move around the classroom or focus on a worksheet without needing to keep their eyes glued to a screen.

This engaging educational video introduces students to the concept of prepositional phrases through a clear, memorable analogy of a bridge. The narrator explains that just as a bridge connects two pieces of land, a preposition connects a noun (the object) to the rest of a sentence. The video breaks down the specific components of a prepositional phrase—the starting preposition and the ending object—and demonstrates how to identify them within various sentence structures, including phrases at the beginning, middle, and end of sentences. The content covers key grammatical terminology, including "preposition," "noun," and "object of the preposition." It uses repetitive, step-by-step analysis of example sentences like "We went fishing with Ben" and "Outside the window, the birds are singing" to reinforce learning. Humor is woven throughout to maintain engagement, featuring interruptions from a confused cat named Mr. Whiskers and a tangent about the sounds pelicans make, ensuring the tone remains lighthearted and accessible for elementary students. For educators, this video serves as an excellent core resource for teaching parts of speech and sentence structure. It provides a visual and conceptual framework (the bridge) that helps concrete thinkers grasp abstract grammatical rules. The clear distinction between the preposition itself and the entire phrase makes it valuable for lessons on sentence diagramming, expanding sentences with details (time, place, movement), and improving writing complexity.

This educational video introduces and defines three specific vocabulary words: "examine," "resource," and "pollution." Using a "blackboard" style visual approach with colorful handwritten text and simple illustrations, the narrator breaks down each word by identifying its part of speech (verb or noun), providing a clear definition, and explaining its etymology or morphological structure (such as the suffix "-tion"). The video explores the meanings in depth before showing them in context. For example, it connects "examine" to the familiar concept of taking an "exam," expands the definition of "resource" from natural materials to school libraries, and breaks down "pollution" as the act of dirtying the environment. Each segment concludes with an illustrated sentence that demonstrates the word being used correctly in a real-world scenario. Teachers can use this video as a versatile tool for both English Language Arts and Science instruction. It serves as an excellent model for how to learn new vocabulary—by defining, connecting to known words, and using in context. Additionally, the specific words chosen bridge nicely into science units regarding scientific observation (examining), natural resources, and environmental stewardship (pollution).

This educational video explores the fascinating history behind irregular English plurals, specifically focusing on the rare "-en" ending found in words like "children" and "oxen." The narrator, David, breaks down why English grammar often feels unpredictable by explaining its roots as a Germanic language derived from Old English. He uses humor and clear handwriting to illustrate how historical regional variations eventually distilled into the standard English rules we use today. The video delves into etymology to explain common student questions, such as why the plural of "ox" is "oxen" while the plural of "box" is "boxes." By distinguishing between native Old English words and borrowed words from Greek or Latin, the lesson demystifies these apparent inconsistencies. The content encourages students to view English not as a rigid block of rules, but as a "lashed together raft" of history and diverse influences. Included as a bonus segment is a historical anecdote about William Caxton, the first English printer, and a 15th-century confusion between the words "eggs" and "eyren." This story vividly illustrates the concept of dialects and the evolution of language, making it an excellent resource for discussing how communication technologies like the printing press helped standardize the English language.

This animated grammar lesson provides a clear, step-by-step guide to understanding the difference between direct and indirect objects. Building upon previous knowledge of subjects and verbs, the video introduces the concept of indirect objects as the recipients of the direct object. Through a series of illustrated examples—ranging from a football player kicking a ball to a waitress serving coffee—the narrator breaks down sentences into their component parts to demonstrate exactly how to locate each element. Key grammatical themes explored include sentence structure, parts of speech (nouns, proper nouns, verbs, pronouns), and the specific syntactic pattern of Subject-Verb-Indirect Object-Direct Object (S-V-IO-DO). The video emphasizes the specific rule that an indirect object is always positioned between the verb and the direct object, offering students a reliable strategy for identification. For educators, this video is a valuable tool for scaffolding complex grammar instruction. The content uses a "pause-and-think" pacing strategy that allows teachers to stop the video and ask students to identify sentence parts before the answer is revealed. The visual coding of sentence parts and the humorous examples (like clarifying that a boy didn't throw a dog, but threw the dog a ball) make abstract grammatical concepts concrete and engaging for upper elementary and middle school students.

In this engaging grammar lesson, the narrator introduces a special class of irregular English nouns known as "Mutant Plurals." Unlike standard nouns that simply add an "s" to become plural, these seven unique words transform by changing their internal vowel sounds. The video frames these linguistic anomalies as words with "mutant superpowers," making a dry grammatical rule memorable and fun for students. The video systematically lists and charts the only seven words in the English language that follow this specific pattern: foot/feet, woman/women, man/men, tooth/teeth, goose/geese, mouse/mice, and louse/lice. The narrator highlights how the vowel sounds shift (such as "oo" becoming "ee") and points out the additional spelling quirk found in "mouse" and "louse," where the consonant sound also changes. This resource is highly valuable for elementary ELA classrooms as a memorization tool. By isolating these seven words as a closed group, it reduces student anxiety about irregular plurals. The "mutant" metaphor provides a sticky hook for recall, and the clear visual chart supports note-taking and visual learning. Teachers can use this to introduce the concept of morphology or simply to reinforce correct spelling and usage.

This educational video provides a clear and engaging explanation of the difference between concrete (tangible) and abstract (intangible) nouns. Using a whiteboard animation style, the narrator first reviews basic concrete nouns that can be perceived through the five senses. The video then introduces abstract nouns by categorizing them into events, emotions, and ideas/concepts, explaining that while these cannot be physically touched or seen, they are still nouns because they represent "things." The video explores three main categories of abstract nouns in depth. It distinguishes events (like parties or weddings) from the places they occur, defines emotions (like love or anger) as abstract nouns, and explains complex ideas (like friendship, freedom, or permission). The explanation uses concrete examples to anchor these abstract concepts, such as showing how specific symbols or people represent the idea of "freedom." The final segment of the video features an interactive guided practice session. The narrator walks students through analyzing two sentences to identify every noun. This "noun detective" work models a step-by-step process of elimination: first finding the concrete nouns that create mental images, and then questioning the remaining words to find abstract concepts, emotions, or events. This scaffolded approach makes the video an excellent tool for introducing or reviewing this grammar concept in upper elementary classrooms.