Action Verbs and Linking Verbs Review Grammar Activity

This hands-on verb activity is a great way to get your students working with mentor sentences to further understand how linking verbs and action verbs function and to see how great writers use them in their own writing.

You can use this interactive activity in multiple ways and at different points in the school year.

What You Get

• 34 mentor sentences from The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (two sentences are printed on each page so you can quickly and easily cut them apart)
• Detailed teacher directions of 3 different ways you can use this activity in your classroom to fit your students' needs and class size
• Answer sheet explaining where all the verbs are in each sentence

HOW THIS LESSON WORKS:

• You will prep this lesson by cutting the sentences apart
• You can then choose the full class option: each student in the class gets a sentence and that person must determine whether the sentence has action verbs, linking verbs, or both. On your white board you will write "action, linking, both," and students will place their sentence in the correct area
• You can choose the small group/paired activity where students work in small groups to separate 15-20 mentor sentences according to whether they have action verbs, linking verbs, or both
• After students separate mentor sentences according to the types of verbs, they can use the mentor sentences to create short creative pieces by putting sentences together and filling in gaps in the story (all the mentor sentences are taken from the same Sherlock Holmes story)

HOW THIS LESSON ENGAGES YOUR STUDENTS:

• High school students rarely get to do hands-on work with grammar, but they LOVE it when they get a chance to do it
• Moving the sentences around engages their hands which engages their minds
• By separating the sentences, they will naturally compare the sentences, thus bringing further understanding of the differences between action and linking verbs

When to do this lesson:

• At the end of the school year for a fun review
• After finishing a lesson on action and linking verbs
• At the beginning of the school year to gauge students' knowledge of verbs
• Any time you need a low prep, high-interest lesson

Are you curious to know more about mentor sentences and how to use them? Check out my full explanation with examples on my blog HERE!

Check Out These Related Products:

• Vivid Verbs
• Basic Grammar Bundle

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