Although young learners might not quite understand what a noun is yet, they use them all the time! Nouns are a basic part of speech—a person, place, or thing—and often need to be modified to become plural, with a few exceptions like moose and sheep. These special cases are where children can run into problems. When speaking they may use the plural form when the singular is needed and vice versa. You may find that children will say “The two cat are very soft” instead of the correct “The two cats are very soft.”

Wild About Literacy by the Between the Lions® Staff can help your little learners start to develop a better understanding of singular nouns and plural nouns through patience and repeated, meaningful explanation.

Check out the kindergarten literacy lesson plan idea below!

Plurals

Recommended for ages 4+

Skill Focus
- Letter Recognition
- Phonological Awareness (Ending sounds)
Theme Connection
- Sounds
Vocabulary
- End
- One
- More then
- Plural
- Sound
- Star
- Two
Materials
- Cut-out stars
What to Do
- Talk about the concept of plurals as you engage the children in a discussion about the sound they hear at the end of the word stars.
- Hold up a single cut-out star. Ask, “How many stars do I have in my hand? Yes, I have one star.” Have the children repeat the word star with you.
- Hold up two cut-out stars. Ask, ‘How many stars do I have now? I have two stars.”
- Ask the children to say the word stars with you, stretching the final /s/ sound: starssss. Ask, “What sound do you hear at the end of the word stars?”
- Explain that sometimes when we hear the /s/ sound at the end of a word, it means that there is more than one. Say. “One star (hold up a star); two stars (hold up two stars).”
Extension Idea
- Throughout the day, ask the children to find two similar objects in the classroom — two blocks, two crayons, two napkins, two trucks, and so on.