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Naming Words and Doing Words

A 30-minute Kindergarten lesson on telling nouns from verbs, and on adding -s to make more than one.

Naming Words and Doing Words is a free 30-minute Kindergarten English lesson plan for Common Core standard L.K.1 — use nouns, verbs and question words correctly when you speak and write. It is timed across 5 sections, gives the exact wording to use where the wording carries the meaning, names 3 misconceptions with the teaching move that addresses each, and ends with an exit ticket and a printable worksheet with its answer key.

Grade:
Kindergarten
Length:
30 minutes
Standard:
L.K.1

Kindergarten · Language

L.K.1

Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.

Objective

Students will be able to sort a spoken word into a naming word or a doing word, and say the plural of a naming word.

Students are successful when they can

  • Puts "cup," "dog" and "chair" in the naming hoop and "hop," "eat" and "sing" in the doing hoop.
  • Gives the test as the reason: "I can point at a cup" or "I can do hop."
  • Says "two cats" with -s and "two boxes" with -es, and only for naming words.

What you need

  • Two hoops on the carpet labeled NAMING WORDS (with a pointing-hand picture) and DOING WORDS (with a running figure)
  • Picture-and-word cards: cup, dog, chair, bus, box, hat, fox, ball, hop, eat, sing, clap, dig, swim, sleep, kick
  • The printable practice sheet linked at the end of this plan

The lesson

Warm-up — can you do it?

4 min
  1. Children stand in a space. Rule: if I say a word you can DO, do it. If I say a word you cannot do, freeze and point at something.
  2. Say, with a pause after each: jump, table, clap, window, hop, shoe, wave, door.
  3. Watch for a child who tries to "do" table by touching one. Ask: "Can you table? Can you do a table?" Laughter is the right response; it is the test working.
“Can you do it? Then do it. Can't do it? Point at one.”

Teach — two hoops, one test

9 min
  1. Hold up the cup card. Say the test aloud: "Can I do a cup? No. Can I point at a cup? Yes." Place it in the NAMING hoop.
  2. Hold up hop. "Can I point at a hop? Not really. Can I do it?" Hop once. Place it in DOING.
  3. Sort dog, sing, chair and eat the same way, asking the class the test question each time and letting them chorus the answer before you place the card.
  4. Write two sentences on the board: "The dog can hop." "I eat a bun." Read each, pointing under the words. Ask: "Which word is the naming word? Which is the doing word?" Fish for dog/hop and bun/eat. Point out that "I" is a person, not a doing word.
  5. Move to plurals with the naming hoop only. Hold up one cup card, then a second: "One cup, two cups." Clap the -s: "cup-s." Do "one hat, two hats" and "one dog, two dogs."
  6. Now hold up box. "One box, two..." Let the class say "boxes." Ask: "Can you say boxs?" Let them try; it sticks in the mouth. Do "one bus, two buses" and "one fox, two foxes." Say only that words ending in a hissing sound get an extra "es" bit you can hear.
“Ask the word two questions. Can I do it? Can I point at it? If I can point at it, it is a naming word, and a naming word can be more than one.”

Guided practice — sort and pluralize

9 min
  1. Pairs get eight cards: bus, ball, fox, hat, clap, dig, swim, kick. One child reads or names the picture; the other says the test aloud and places it.
  2. When a pair has sorted, they take each naming word and say "one ___, two ___" to each other.
  3. Circulate and listen for "two buss" or "two foxs." Ask the child to say it slowly and count the beats: "fox-es" has two beats, so there is an extra bit.
  4. Bring the class back and check one card from each hoop. Ask a pair: "How did you know swim was a doing word?" The answer you want is the test, not "because it is."
“Tell your partner the test before you put it down. Say it out loud.”

Independent practice

6 min
  1. Hand out the sorting sheet. Read every word on it aloud once before children start, since most cannot decode them yet.
  2. Children write or draw each word in the naming column or the doing column.
  3. For the plural frames, read each frame ("I have two ___") and let children finish it with the -s or -es form.

Close

2 min
  1. Say four words; children point (naming) or do an action (doing): sock, run, apple, sleep.
  2. Finish with one plural: "One dish, two...?" Listen for "dishes."

What goes wrong, and why

Each of these is a reasoning error rather than carelessness. The fix addresses the reasoning.

Cannot sort "run" or "kick" — says "it goes in both, you can have a run."

Why: Many English words are both nouns and verbs, and the child has noticed something true about the language.

Fix: Keep dual words out of the sorting set for now. When one comes up, say: "You are right, that word is tricky — it can be both." Then ask how it is used in one sentence: "I kick the ball."

Makes a doing word plural: "two hops," "two eats."

Why: The child has learned "add -s to make more" as a rule for every word, because the -s sounds identical on "cups" and "he hops."

Fix: Only pluralize from the naming hoop. Sort first, then pluralize, every time, so the plural step is tied to things you can count and point at.

Says or writes "boxs," "foxs," "buss."

Why: The -s rule has been learned and applied consistently. That is learning, not carelessness; -es has not been heard as a separate part.

Fix: Clap the beats: "box" is one clap, "box-es" is two. A plural that adds a clap needs the extra "es." Say it before writing it.

If they are not there yet

  • Sort with picture cards only, no words, so the task is the test and not decoding.
  • Act every word before sorting it: try to do it, then try to point at it.
  • Use regular -s plurals only (cup, hat, dog, pen) until the sort is secure.

If they finish early

  • Add a third hoop for describing words (big, red, soft) and ask what test would put a word there: "Can it tell you about a naming word?"
  • Meet one irregular plural: "one child, two children," "one mouse, two mice." Ask why "mouses" sounds wrong.
  • Say a sentence ("The fox can dig") and ask the child to find both the naming word and the doing word in it.

Exit ticket

Point to the hoop for "jump." Then finish: "One box, two ___."

What to look for: DOING hoop and "boxes." Naming hoop for jump means the child is guessing; re-run the do-it test with them. "Boxs" means the -s rule is there but the clap-the-beats step is not; practice box, fox and bus aloud.

Printable practice for L.K.1

Free to print and copy, answer key included. Each sheet can generate a fresh set of problems for a retake.

Questions about Naming Words and Doing Words

How long does the Naming Words and Doing Words lesson take?

30 minutes, split across 5 timed sections: warm-up 4 min, teach 9 min, guided practice 9 min, independent practice 6 min, close 2 min. The minutes are stated per section and add up to the stated length, so the plan can be cut or extended at a section boundary rather than abandoned halfway.

Which standard does Naming Words and Doing Words teach?

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.K.1 — L.K.1, Language for Kindergarten: “Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.” In plain terms, use nouns, verbs and question words correctly when you speak and write.

What do I need to teach this lesson?

Two hoops on the carpet labeled NAMING WORDS (with a pointing-hand picture) and DOING WORDS (with a running figure), picture-and-word cards: cup, dog, chair, bus, box, hat, fox, ball, hop, eat, sing, clap, dig, swim, sleep, kick and the printable practice sheet linked at the end of this plan. Everything listed is either ordinary classroom equipment or a free printable from this site — there is nothing to buy and nothing to prepare beyond photocopying.

What mistakes should I expect in this lesson?

Three, each a reasoning error rather than carelessness: cannot sort "run" or "kick" — says "it goes in both, you can have a run."; makes a doing word plural: "two hops," "two eats." and says or writes "boxs," "foxs," "buss.". The plan gives the thinking behind each one and the teaching move that addresses the thinking rather than the symptom.

How do I know whether the lesson worked?

The exit ticket asks: “Point to the hoop for "jump." Then finish: "One box, two ___.".” DOING hoop and "boxes." Naming hoop for jump means the child is guessing; re-run the do-it test with them. "Boxs" means the -s rule is there but the clap-the-beats step is not; practice box, fox and bus aloud. That tells you whether the class needs a reteach or a thirty-second conversation before you plan tomorrow.

Is there a worksheet to go with Naming Words and Doing Words?

Yes — 1 printable L.K.1 worksheet, linked at the end of the plan and free like the rest of the site. Each one comes with an answer key and 25 versions, so the practice after the lesson can be a different paper on every desk.

Is Naming Words and Doing Words free to use?

Yes. The plan, its printables and their answer keys are free to read, print and photocopy for your own class, with no account and no email capture. It was last reviewed on October 8, 2026. Please do not resell it or republish it as your own.

Last reviewed 2026-10-08. Aligned to L.K.1 of the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts.