Function of Words: The Verb

The verb is the sun of the sentence — the source of movement and life. The elementary child, eager for action and story, embodies grammar by doing. If no action or state can be performed or imagined, it is probably not a verb — the physical test is the control.

• Framework: Montessori
• Unit: Language
• Learning area: Grammar
• Level: Ages 6-7

Objectives

• Identify verbs as words of action and being
• Associate the red circle symbol with motion and energy
• Experience the verb through movement
• Compose sentences pairing verbs with nouns

Materials

• Large red circle (sun) cut from cardboard or felt
• Small basket of verb command cards (run, jump, turn, clap, sit, whisper, shout)
• Story chart of the verb as fiery sun

Instructions

1. Gather the group. 2. Tell the story: 'Every sentence has a sun, alive, warm, and full of motion. Without it, nothing in the sentence could move or change. We call this sun the verb.' 3. Place the red circle. 4. Offer a child a command card and let them perform the action. 5. Ask the group, 'What was the verb?' 6. Write the word under the red circle. 7. Repeat for many verbs. 8. Show that not all verbs are obvious motions: 'seem, be, appear, exist' are also verbs, quietly burning. 9. Mark verbs in written sentences with a small red circle.

Educator tip

Keep commands short, specific, and safe. The physical embodiment is the heart of the lesson — a verb that can't be performed can still be imagined.

Assessment

Observe whether the child identifies verbs across tenses and whether they naturally pair the verb with its subject.

More from Language

• Sentence Analysis: The Simple Sentence
• Classified Cards — Animals of the Farm
• Grammar Symbols: The Adjective
• Function of Words: The Preposition
• Function of Words: The Pronoun
• Function of Words: The Adverb
• Function of Words: The Conjunction
• Function of Words: The Interjection