Curated OER
Grammar Worksheets: Using Strong Verbs
Strengthen your pupils' writing with this worksheet, which provides a reference guide to using strong verbs instead of forms of is and have. Learners then rewrite twelve sentences to make them stronger. This is a great activity to work...
Curated OER
Strong Verbs
Add interest to your class's writing by having them focus on strong verbs. Using this worksheet, first have them identify all of the main verbs in each sentence. Then, have them rewrite each sentence using a stronger verb. Practice often...
Curated OER
Vivid Verbs
Spice up your writing! Your amateur writers will benefit from concentrating on understanding and improving verb use in writing. An introductory activity addresses weak verbs. A second exercise helps them see the importance of strong...
Curated OER
Word Choice: Descriptive Verbs
In this word choice activity, students will read a 5 paragraph essay about an igloo hotel. Then students will replace 10 verbs with more descriptive verbs. Next, students will use strong verbs from a word bank to complete 14 sentences...
EngageNY
Writing to Show, Not Tell: Dialogue, Sensory Words, and Strong Action Verbs
Consume, gobble, devour ... serving up strong verbs! Writers focus on using dialogue, strong action verbs, and sensory details in their writing. After analyzing a model narrative, they apply their learning to their own hero's journey...
EngageNY
Writing the Children’s Book: Day One
With a brief mini-instructional activity, scholars learn about using strong verbs, sensory details, and precise descriptions. Next, pupils continue working on their children's book storyboards before choosing their strongest pages for...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Vengeful Verbs in Shakespeare’s “Hamlet”
It's time for pupils to read, examine, and contemplate literature to explore the difference between vivid and generic verbs. Pupils distinguish between the two types of verbs as they read the ghost scene from Shakespeare's Hamlet. They...
Curated OER
Writing with Vivid Verbs
Students find vivid verbs in literature and use them in their own writing. In this vivid verbs lesson, students use a 'Thinking Thesaurus' of major verbs to study common verbs. Students then practice rewriting sentences using vivid...
Virginia Department of Education
Developing an essay: Using specific nouns, strong verbs, and vivid adjectives
Feeling bored and unimpressed with word choice in your class? If so, consider this activity, which focuses on using specific and precise language. Pupils use highlighters, brainstorm independently and in small groups, and create a poster...
PreKinders
The Animals in the Mitten
If you need a visual aid for your lesson on The Animals in the Mitten by Jan Brett, consider a presentation that features pictures of each animal from the book. Each slide contains a line from the book with a vivid verb to help kids...
Curated OER
Conventions: Strong Verbs
Fifth graders practice using strong verbs. In this conventions lesson, 5th graders brainstorm words to complete sentences and list lively and exciting verbs. Students act out meanings of certain words. Students come up with new ways to...
Curated OER
Example of a Description of Action
Read the descriptive paragraph (included) with your middle schoolers, and have them study the stylistic elements included. They'll look for vivid verbs, alliteration, assonance, similes, and personification. Before writers craft their...
Curated OER
Eliminate Weak Verb-Adverb Combinations
Encourage your writers to use sob instead of cry loudly to trade in adverbs for strong verbs. Improve your middle and high schoolers' writing with this humorously written lesson which demonstrates how to remove excessive adverbs.
Curated OER
Strong Descriptive Writing: James and the Giant Peach
Support your writers! Clear procedures and appropriate support make this a superb resource for elementary writing instruction. Ready your class to compose original descriptive paragraphs inspired by the episode in Roald Dahl's James and...
Curated OER
Strong Verb Image Makers
Students use description language to clarify ideas and create vivid images in an essay focusing of strong verbs. They discuss weak verbs and explore that the better image the words create, the better the reader understands the text.
Curated OER
Rikki-Tikki Colorful Verbs
Study and practice the vocabulary in Rudyard Kipling's famous story "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi." Pupils underline verbs in a passage from the story, taking special note of vivid or precise verbs. They then write original sentences for five...
Curated OER
Homophones and Vivid Verbs
Students define and practice using synonyms, antonyms, homonyms, and homophones in complete sentences, paragraphs and essays. They include "vivid verbs" in their writing with the aid of a dictionary or thesaurus.
National Behaviour Support Service
Writing with Wow Words and Building Vocabulary
There are some words out there that just make you say, "Wow!" Encourage your class to find and use these words in their writing to make their work more interesting and complex. This packet goes through the writing process, beginning with...
Curated OER
Vivid Verbs in Writing
Eighth graders explore how to incorporate vivid verbs in their writing. They review action verbs in sentences and view a Power Point presentation discussing possible verbs and their meanings. They view a website and retell a Greek myth...
Curated OER
Verbs To Explain What People Or Things Are Doing
For this verbs worksheet, students analyze a detailed picture of 15 children who are playing in a tree. Students write a sentence with a vivid verb to describe what each child in the picture is doing.
Curated OER
Vivid Verbs
Students find vivid verbs in the story Thank You for the Thistle, by Doree Durston. They add vivid verbs to an existing story to make it more interesting.
Curated OER
Student Resource Sheet-- Using Verbs in Writing
In this language arts worksheet, students explore the use of strong specific verbs in their writing. Students first read the information and look at the examples given. Students then brainstorm strong verbs to replace common words and...
Curated OER
Writing a Comparison/Contrast Paragraph: Using Vivid Verbs
In this vivid verbs worksheet, students complete three activities that help them use strong, vivid verbs in the comparison and contrast writing.
Curated OER
Writing with Strong Verbs
Students use strong verbs in their writing. In this verbs in writing lesson, students locate the verbs in their writing, then identify the verbs that are weak and make revisions.