A NOUN is a person, place or thing. There are common nouns and proper nouns. Common Nouns are general names, common to entire groups. (doctor, mountain, war) Proper nouns are names and are capitalized. (George, Godzilla) Example from “The Sniper” “His bullets would never pierce the steel that covered the gray monster..” Identify the nouns. (friend, school, days, home) Instruct students to imitate the sentence in their composition notebooks. Ask for a few volunteers' to read their sentence and identify the types of nouns used in their sentence.

There are action verbs and linking verbs. A VERB is a word or group of words that expresses time while showing an action, a condition or the fact that something exists. There are action verbs and linking verbs. Action verbs express mental or physical activity (write, run, think, dance) Linking verbs join subjects with words or phrases that rename or describe them (is, am, are, was, were, be, being, been, has, have) She is the principal.   Example from “The Sniper” “The rifle clattered to the roof.” Identify the verbs. (thought, going, thinking, ask, bringing) Instruct students to imitate the sentence in their composition notebooks. Ask for a few volunteers' to read their sentence and identify the types of verbs used in their sentence. Field any questions they may have.

Example from “The Sniper” An ADJECTIVE is a word used to describe a noun or pronoun, or to give it a more specific meaning. Adjectives describe nouns by answering one of these three questions: What kind is it? How many are there? Which one is it? An adjective can be a single word, a phrase, or a clause.   Example from “The Sniper” “Dublin lay enveloped in darkness but for the dim light of the moon that shone through fleecy clouds, casting a pale light as of approaching dawn over the streets and the dark waters of the Liffey.” Identify the adjectives. (black, satin, superb, diamond, faster) Instruct students to imitate the sentence in their composition notebooks. Ask for a few volunteers' to read their sentence and identify the adjectives used in their sentence. Which questions do their adjectives answer?

An ADVERB is a word that modifies a verb, an adjective or another adverb. Example from “The Sniper” “The armored car had retired speedily over the bridge, with the machine gunner's head hanging lifeless over the turret.” Identify the adverb. (incessantly) Instruct students to imitate the sentence in their composition notebooks. Ask for a few volunteers' to read their sentence and identify the types of adverbs used in their sentence. Field any questions they may have.

Example from “The Sniper” PRONOUNS are used to replace a noun. There are three types of pronouns. Nominative: Used as subjects and predicate nouns (he, she, it, you, we, they, I) Possessive: Used to show ownership (his, hers, its, your/yours, our/ours, their/theirs, my/mine) Objective: Used as objects of the verb and preposition (him, her, it, you, us, them, me)   Example from “The Sniper” “His face was the face of a student, thin and ascetic, but his eyes had the cold gleam of the fanatic.” Identify the pronoun. (she-nominative) Instruct students to imitate the sentence in their composition notebooks. Ask for a few volunteers' to read their sentence and identify the pronoun(s) used in their sentence. What type of pronoun?

An INTERJECTION is a word that expresses feeling or emotion and functions independently of a sentence. Example: Yes! “The Sniper” is one of my favorite short stories of all time! Identify the interjection. (Ah!) Field any questions they may have.

(see list on page 326 in Write Coach for examples, A PREPOSITION relates the noun or pronoun that appears with it to another word in the sentence. (see list on page 326 in Write Coach for examples, feel free to give list to students) Example from “The Sniper” “He rolled over the roof to a chimney stack in the rear, and slowly drew himself up behind it, until his eyes were level with the top of the parapet..” Identify the preposition. (through, through, in) Instruct students to imitate the sentence in their composition notebooks. Ask for a few volunteers' to read their sentence and identify the preposition(s) used in their sentence.

FANBOYS: For, And, Nor, But, Or, Yet, So Example from “The Sniper” A CONJUNCTION is a word used to connect other words or groups of words. FANBOYS: For, And, Nor, But, Or, Yet, So   Example from “The Sniper” He looked at the smoking revolver in his hand, and with an oath he hurled it to the roof at his feet. Identify the conjunction. (but) Instruct students to imitate the sentence in their composition notebooks. Ask for a few volunteers' to read their sentence and identify the types of conjunctions used in their sentence. Field any questions they may have.