{"id":5149,"date":"2025-03-02T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-03-02T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/?p=5149"},"modified":"2025-02-28T09:34:29","modified_gmt":"2025-02-28T14:34:29","slug":"teach-verbals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/itslitteaching.com\/teach-verbals\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Teach Verbals Effectively in High School Grammar"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Verbals—gerunds, participles, and infinitives—are essential grammar concepts that can deepen students’ understanding of sentence structure. Not knowing them can lead to some major mistakes for students down the road. However, many teachers find it challenging to effectively teach verbals while keeping students engaged. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This blog post will guide you through a step-by-step approach to teaching verbals. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Want to skip creating your own lesson from scratch?<\/strong> Grab my done-for-you Verbals Lesson right here<\/a> complete with slideshow, student handout, practice worksheets, and more!<\/p>\n\n\n

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Pinterest pin that reads \"How To Teach Verbals\" over the image of a teacher working with a small group of students<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Teach Verbals Step #1: Assessing Students’ Knowledge of Verbals<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Not sure if students are ready to discuss verbals? Or maybe you’re sure they learned all of this stuff last year and you can skip it. <\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Cover<\/a>
If you need a formal assessment for tracking student grammar growth all year, then you NEED these Grammar Assessments<\/a>! Included are three assessments for the beginning of the year, middle of the year, and end of the year.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Better to assess and know for sure. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Give your students a quick assessment to see if now is the right time to teach verbals. <\/strong>This could be a writing sample, an exit ticket, or even a short worksheet. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you need a formal grammar assessment that gives you a comprehensive view of your students’ grammar abilities, check out these Grammar Assessments<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You’ll want to make sure your students have a basic understanding of sentence structure, nouns, and verbs before tackling verbals.<\/strong> (For more information, you can check out my post, “How To Sequence Grammar.<\/a>”)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Teach Verbals Step #2: Review Verbs<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Since verbals are derived from verbs, a solid review of verbs is crucial. Even if you *just* taught verbs, start your lesson with a quick recap.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don’t forget to cover irregular verbs like “to be” or “to have.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Use examples to highlight how verbs function as the engine of a sentence. This foundational review ensures students can better understand how verbals differ from verbs.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Pinterest pin that reads \"How To Teach Verbals Effectively in High School Grammar\" under a close-up image of student hands on books and with pencils<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Teach Verbals Step #3: Differentiate Between Verbals and Verbs<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

One of the most challenging aspects of teaching verbals is helping students recognize the difference between verbs and verbals.<\/p>\n\n\n

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This Verbals Lesson<\/a> includes everything you need for direct instruction: lesson plan, slideshow, student worksheets, reference handout, and more!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

I like to start by giving students a formal definition of a verbal and explaining how it differs from a verb.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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  • Verbs<\/strong>: Show action or state of being and have a subject performing the action.
    Example<\/em>: “She runs<\/strong> every morning.”
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  • Verbals<\/strong>: Look like verbs but function differently—as nouns, adjectives, or adverbs.
    Example<\/em>: “Running<\/strong> is her favorite activity.”<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    Use clear examples to show how verbals serve different purposes in a sentence, making it easier for students to identify them. After students understand that a verbal is not a verb–more like another part of speech masquerading as a verb–you can move on to defining specific verbals. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    I like to start with gerunds because I think they’re the easiest to understand. Students typically feel pretty good about nouns. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Then, I move on to participles. These are similar to gerunds (many have the -ing ending) and only function as one part of speech. I usually spend a whole day (at least!) just reviewing gerunds, participles, and practicing telling them apart. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Only once I feel that students have a basic understanding of gerunds and participles do I introduce infinitives. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Teach Verbals Step #4: Provide Lots and Lots of Examples<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    I’ve said this before, but you can never provide too many examples. This is especially true when it comes to anything related to grammar. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    As you go over gerunds, participles, and infinitives, it’s important to give students tons of examples of each.<\/strong> Try to trick them. Make your examples more complex and irregular as you go. <\/p>\n\n\n\n