So What Are Collective Noun Examples?

After reading through the common core ELA standards, I had to google “What are collective noun examples?” I am fairly certain I was absent that day when and if they were taught when I was in school.  

I know that a noun is a person, place, or thing so it makes sense now that a collective noun is a collection of nouns. After researching I learned that many animals have multiple words that can be used for their “collection.”  Some collective nouns for animals include a skein of geese (flying) or a gaggle of geese (standing around); or how about a colony of ants (standing) or an army of ants (on the move)?   Poor second graders and especially ELL students, do not stand a chance of catching on the first time this is taught…

Collective Nouns Anchor Chart

So I knew this was going to be a challenge to teach, and I had to keep it simple.  So I began to think of the most common ones I knew of and began to make an anchor chart. 

We made the anchor chart together and added things that were familiar around the school, like a class of students or a team of players.  Then we branched into foods they were familiar with, like a bunch of grapes, a batch of cookies, and a bowl of cereal.  Then we ventured into places, and that was a little more difficult, like a library of books and a suite of rooms.  Ultimately we made a pretty extensive list.

Collective Nouns Books and Videos

I have a couple of books by Ruth Heller and A Cache of Jewels is one of my favorite.  Her books are so engaging and teach a collective noun with such beautiful illustrations!  I highly recommend this book or Herd of Cows, Flock of Sheep: Adventures in Collective Nouns by Rick Walt.  Both are excellent and cover a huge gamut of collective nouns! I put them in the lesson plans I created in my unit.

I also show a few videos to spark their interest and give more visuals.  This one is not long and uses the majority of the examples I used in my Collective Noun Unit.  It is important to give enough examples for them to become familiar with the concept.

Collective Nouns Worksheets

Teaching collective nouns can be fun with the right activities!  I have included three days of lesson plans and plenty of activities to help engage and master the standard.  Here is what is included in the unit:

• 3 Days of Lesson Plans
• Anchor Charts and Mini-Posters for teaching
• Intro to Collective Nouns worksheet with answers
• Creative Writing with Collective Nouns Sentences
• Extended Learning Collective Nouns Paragraph Worksheet
• Text Features Review covering Collective Nouns *POPULAR*
• Collective Noun FlipBook – Multiple version for differentiation
• Pennants – super cute to hang in the hall
• Assessment with 15 questions 

Look how cute these pennants are to hang in the hall!  I have included several different versions for differentiation!  I know how hard it can be to teach a whole group and this makes it so much easier!  You will find several versions of the flipbook as well in the unit.

I am currently creating units for ALL SECOND GRADE ELA STANDARDS! So stick around for the final products!

If you are looking for a cute lesson for Earth Day or for Spring, check these out!  I also have a great video we caught of a butterfly coming out of the cocoon!  Super Cool!

I am all about making your life simple!!

Teach On!