Nouns Worksheet for Kids (Free Printable PDF)

What’s in the PDF

• Page 1 (Level 1, easier): name six pictures and circle person, place or thing, then circle the noun in six word pairs such as cat or run.
• Page 2 (Level 2, harder): circle two nouns in each of six sentences, then sort nine nouns into person, place and thing.
• Page 3: an answer key for both levels.

Read the instructions aloud for early readers. Children can point or say the answer before they write it.

What are nouns?

A noun is a word that names something. It can be a person (teacher, baby), a place (park, school) or a thing (ball, cup). A quick test: if you can put “a”, “an” or “the” in front of it, it is probably a noun. Names of people and places, like Sam or London, are special nouns that start with a capital letter.

Examples

• People: mum, doctor, sister, friend
• Places: zoo, beach, farm, kitchen
• Things: hat, apple, bike, book
• Animals: cat, frog, dog, bird
• Names: Mia, Ben, Paris, Monday

How to teach it

Begin with what children can see. Walk around a room and name everything you can touch: table, chair, window. Explain that all of these are nouns. Then sort them together into people, places and things. When reading, pause on a page and ask your child to point to three nouns in the picture.

Common mix-ups

Children sometimes think a noun has to be something you can hold. Places and people are nouns too. In sentences, they may circle a describing word, such as big in “big dog”; ask what the word is naming.

Game: Noun hunt

Set a timer for one minute. Your child names as many nouns in the room as they can, while you keep count with tally marks. Then swap and try to beat each other’s score.

Questions to ask

• Is this a person, a place or a thing?
• Can you put “the” in front of that word?
• How many nouns can you spot in this picture?

Practise next

Try verbs, adjectives, singular and plural. Many nouns are also great sight words.