The Parts of Speech Rap

Memphis, Tn - Kids at Sherwood Elementary lay down some knowledge in the parts of speech rap!

The “Parts of Speech” Rap

The order of the stanzas in this rap are based on using
the mnemonic device, PAPA AN’ VIC.

CHORUS:

The Parts of Speech . . . the Parts of Speech
The grammar puzzle’s pieces are the Parts of Speech
If you can name them all . . . and you know what they do
Grammar is a “snap” for me and for you.

(In a moderate whisper)
My wise old PAPA . . . and my Uncle VIC
Put their heads together . . . and taught me a trick
Remember their names . . . and it’s easy to teach
The nine categories in the Parts of Speech

PREPOSITIONS (two . . . three . . . four)

The shorter words in grammar . . . can often show direction
If a mouse can move “toward it”, then you’ve got a “Preposition”
Prepositions all have objects . . . in the preposition phrase
So learn to recognize them . . . and you’ll sing a song of praise.

ADVERBS (two . . . three . . . four)

It’s a snap (snap fingers) to spot an adverb . . . and let me tell you why
They modify the verb . . . and might end in “L” and “Y”
The train is “FAST” . . . and the train is “SLOW”
“Quickly” . . . “Swiftly” . . . “Slowly” . . . are adverbs you should know

PRONOUNS (two . . . three . . . four)

When you overuse a noun . . . and you want to replace it
Pick the right pronoun . . . and you’ll know where to place it
Whether it’s Singular or Plural . . . Subjective or Objective
You’ll learn a well-place pronoun . . . is mighty effective

ADJECTIVES (two . . . three . . . four)

Sometimes nouns are boring . . . and you need to “kick it up”
Adjectives will do it . . . like a “young”, “brown” pup
If you need clues for adjectives . . . but you haven’t got any
Think “Which”, “What Kind Of” . . . and, also, “How Many”

ARTICLES (two . . . three . . . four)

There are just three articles . . . and they’re small as a particle
They're “The”, “A”, and “An” . . . and their uses are plentiful
“The” is definite . . . the other two are not
Now don’t you feel like you hit the jack – pot

NOUNS (two . . . three . . . four)

Don’t frown about nouns . . . ‘cause soon you’ll be a hummin’
They are “Persons” “Places” “Things” . . . they are “Proper” and they’re “Common”
“Rain”, “plane”, “brain”, “crane” . . . and even the Memphis Zoo
They’re often sentence subjects . . . so remember what they do.

VERBS (two . . . three . . . four)

Verbs are the words you can call the “predicate”
They show “action” . . . or “being” . . . and here’s some words you get
to “Run” . . . to “Jump” . . . to “Be” . . . or to “Bump”
When you recognize the verbs then you’re over the hump

INTERJECTIONS (two . . . three . . . four)

Sometimes in a sentence there’s a word stuck “in between”
Interjections give emotion . . . and this is what I mean
“Aha”, “Well”, “Wow” or “Cool” . . . are three of many samples
Slip in an interjection . . . to make your own example

CONJUNCTIONS (two . . . three . . . four)

Conjunctions have a function . . . more important than you think
Clauses / phrases get joined together . . . like a chain’s iron link
“But”, “Because”, “And”, and “However”
Are conjunctions you can use . . . in all sorts of weather

Three kids walking to school with backpacks. They pass in front of the SMS outdoor sign as they walk to the front of the school.

- What's the matter, John? You look like your best friend just died.

- You're my best friend, Pete, and you don't look dead to me. Naw, I'm getting
frustrated about Language Arts. The teacher's telling us how important "sentence
structure" is. She says we've got to know what's the relationship between every word in
is. She says they all have names and I've got to learn each and every one of them.

- Yeah, she's telling you you've got to learn the Parts of Speech.

- That's right. That's what she calls them . . . the Parts of Speech

- Well, do have you learned them yet?

- Only two of them. I know there's a SUBJECT and a VERB in a sentence.

- You've got to be kidding me. You think a SUBJECT is a Part of Speech? A VERB
is a Part of Speech. A SUBJECT is NOT. A SUBJECT is usually a NOUN or a
PRONOUN. Those are two of the Parts of Speech . . . not a Subject.

- Hey, I'll loan you my copy of the Parts of Speech Rap. Mr. C made it up so we kids
can better remember what they are and what they do in a sentence's structure.

- That's right, our class learned that learning the Parts of Speech is a SNAP for me and
you.

- What do you mean, "It's a SNAP"?

(Kids say the first verse using their hands to beat out a rhythm to the beat.)

The four kids meet up with others in the Sherwood lobby and they all chant the first verse.

- Well I wish learning the Parts of Speech was a SNAP for me. But it isn't. In fact I can't
even remember all of their names . . .much less what they do in a sentence.

- You need to use the ACRONYM Mr. C made up so we can remember each one.

- How many kinds of the Parts of Speech are there?

- Mr. C. says there are nine, but he said usually ARTICLES are considered

ADJECTIVES. He said he needed an extra "A" in his ACRONYM to make it work.

- An ACRONYM. What's an ACFRONYM?

- An ACRONYM is usually a made-up word that's easy to remember. The first letter
of each item on a list you're supposed to remember starts with one of the letters in the
ACRONYM.

- Don't you remember what our Science teacher taught us. She said if you want to
remember the names of the planets in their order away from the sun you can
think ___________________________ ?

- Yeh, and Ms. Dean said in Math class you can remember the Order of Operations by
saying ________________

- Oh, Yeah. Now I remember what an ACRONYM is. That's pretty helpful. But what's
the ACRONYM Mr. C taught you so you can remember the Parts of Speech?

- It's easy. We just remember PAPA AN VIC.

- PAPA AN VIC????? I don't know what you're talking about.

- You'd know if you know the second verse of the rap.

- Well, lay it on me, brother. I need to know ANYTHING that can get me to pass
Language Arts. Go on. I'm listening. You sure got my attention if you can help me
remember these doggone Parts of Speech.

- Okay. It's just like Mr. C says. You've got to know the "Grammar Puzzle's Pieces"

(Kids chant the first and second verse. Two boys are dressed up like Papa and Vic. They make gestures to illustrate the verse while the other kids rap. Papa gets a solo when he
says, "Remember our names and it's easy to teach, the 9 categories of the Parts of Speech)

- Okay, I think I can remember PAPA AN VIC. But what does each letter of the
ACRONYM represent.

- Well there are two "P"s in the ACRONYM. Let's start with a PREPOSITION.

- Have you seen a mouse in a room. Why that mouse can go just about anywhere it wants
to go. It can go through a crack, or it can squeeze under a door, or it can even climb up a
wall and trot upside down across the ceiling.

- Yep, I guess a mouse can go just about anywhere. What's a mouse got to do with a
PREPOSITION?

-Well, imagine this. Imagine a little mouse and he's staring at a humongous piece of
Swiss Cheese. Do you see that cheese? Do you see all the holes in that piece of cheese?

- Alright. I got the picture in my mind.

-Well, like she said, the mouse can go anywhere it wants - especially when it comes to
its favorite food . . . cheese.

- That old mouse can go OVER it, UNDER it, AROUND it.

- It can go ATOP it, BESIDE it, THROUGH it.

- That mouse can go BENEATH it, INSIDE it, OUTSIDE it, and IN it.

- Don't you see? Those things a mouse can do with cheese are all PREPOSITIONs.

- PREPOSITIONS often show direction. They're usually not long words.
They're usually shorter words than usual. It's all in the rap.

- Well, like I said before, "Lay it on me, brother."

Students perform the second verse. They raise their hands in PRAISE.

- That's cool, can you do it again? Sure, but I just remembered Mr. C says not every
PREPOSITION applies to the mouse and cheese idea. In fact, he wants us to know
that the most commonly used PREPOSITIONS of all is the word "OF" as in
"Most of the boys", "Each of the players" "Some of the students".

Kids hold up a laminated sentence card illustrating each of the above three examples

- Yeah Mr. C says that's really important because no word in a preposition phrase is
ever going to be the subject or the verb of a sentence. For example, "Most" is the subject
in the sentence "Most of the boys ate lunch."

- That's really helpful to remember, because lots of people think "Boys" would be the
subject of that sentence. So recognizing PREPOSITION phrases is really helpful.

The speaker of this line points to the sentence to illustrate the point.

- Hey everybody, let's rap the verse again so ____ will remember about PREPOSITIONS

Student perform the rap again. This time when they say "Sing a song of praise" the camera switches to the choir which sings from Handel's Hallelujah Chorus.
"Hall le lu jah . . . Hall le lu jah . . . etc.

- We've got to move on. Class starts soon. Let's tackle an "A" word in the ACRONYM.

- Okay, there are three "A"s. Let's make the first one an ADVERB.

- Yeah, you said the only Part of Speech you knew was a VERB. Well an ADVERB
modifies a verb.

- But not always. It sometimes modifies an ADJECTIVE or even another ADVERB

- That's right, but let's make it simple for our friend here. Let's stick with ADVERBS
modifying VERBS. Let's shout it out, guys.

Students chant the ADVERB verse. They illustrate the words by holding up signs labeled
"LY" and when the rap says "Quickly, Swiftly, Slowly" the main part of the word is attached to the LY cards.

- Mr. C. wants us to remember when he wrote the train goes SLOW, that's not
grammatically correct. He said he was desperate to make a rhyme with KNOW.

- Yeah, in fact he said if you take the "LY" off of adverbs that end with those two
letters, you usually have an ADJECTIVE

- Yeah, like the "train goes slowly". When you take off the 'ly" you have "slow".
That's an adjective . . . like saying, "There was a slow train blocking

the road.

- Yeah ADVERBS tell us "WHEN, WHERE, WHY, AND HOW, the verb in a
sentence is being modified.

- That's right, cause if the train goes "slowly" that tell us "HOW" it went.

- You bet. Hey let's do the ADVERB verse again so he'll understand it better.

Kids chant the words to the verse again. Holding up the signs when they match
the words.

- We've got to teach ___ more of the Parts of Speech. Let's move on to the second
"P" in PAPA AN VIC.

- That's got to be a PRONOUN.

- Right, Pronouns are words that take the place of a NOUN.

- Like if I said Theo was going to the store. I could say HE goes to the store. It means
the same thing and the person hearing or reading the sentence knows He is a word that
replaced THEO.

- Not so fast, bester. Pronouns need to have their ANTECEDENTS stated or printed
before you use the pronoun. Otherwise, you'll never know who HE is.

- So, you're saying when we use a PRONOUN in place of a noun, we need to know its
ANTECEDENT. And that's got to be a noun.

- Here, listen to this.

Kids perform the Pronoun verse of the rap.

- What do you mean when you say the PRONOUN might be Subjective or Objective.

- There are "cases" of Pronouns. Subjective pronouns are the ones you can use as the Subject of a sentence. Hit it students.

Kids chant out "I, you, he, she, it, we, you, they" while a conjugation poster is held up.

Hey, those are the pronouns we use to conjugate a verb.

They sure are. You're catching on quick.

Students chant out the conjugation of "To run" "To jump" and "To Swim" while a poster
showing the conjugations is shown on the camera.

- And the Objective PRONOUNS are the ones you use when it's the OBJECT of a
PREPOSITION. For example, let's use the PREPOSITION "For" and we'll make the OBJECTIVE PRONOUNS its object.

- Yeah, like, "Give the book to ME." "I'll give the book to YOU" "Give it to HIM, to
HER, and to IT.

- And the Plural OBJECTIVE PRONOUNS are "Give the book to US" "Give it to YOU"
and "Give the book to THEM"

- But Subjective and Objective PRONOUNS aren't the only two cases. Don't forget
the Possessive case.

- Yeah, Like it's MY coat, There is YOUR coat, There is HIS coat, HER coat, and ITS
coat.

- And the plural Possessive Pronouns are "OUR coat, YOUR Coat, and THEIR coat

- And Possessive PRONOUNS that stand alone are "MINE, YOURS, HIS, HERS, ITS
as well as the plurals, OURS, YOURS, and THEIRS.

Students rap the PRONOUN verse again.

- I don't understand the part of the rap that says "When you overuse a noun" Why would
ever "overuse" a noun?

- Well, listen to this. What if I was talking or writing a paragraph and I said.
"Billy went to the store. Billy bought a candy bar and Billy took Billy's candy bar
home to give to Billy's mother.

- That's right. Wouldn't you rather hear the story with pronouns. "Billy went to the store.
He bought a candy bar and he took his candy bar home to give to his mother."

- I see what you mean. I got tired of hearing Billy's name when a pronoun would do just
fine. You DID overuse a noun in that paragraph.

- Okay, now I've got a "pop quiz" for you. What do we call "Billy" in that paragraph
when we use those pronouns which refer to "Billy".

- I know the answer to that question. Billy is the ANTECEDENT to the pronouns.

- You might get an "A" in Language Arts after all.

- I think I WILL get an "A". But what does the second "A" in the ACRONYM
stand for.

- The second "A" has got to stand for ADJECTIVES. Here's the rap.

Students chant the ADJECTIVE verse.

- I like the way you say ADJECTIVES 'kick up" a noun. A "pup" brings to my
mind an unclear picture. I can't see what the pup looks like in my mind. But when
we add, It's a "young" "brown" pup, that makes me see the dog pretty clearly.

- Yep, That's what ADJECTIVES do. They paint a clear picture about whatever
NOUN an ADJECTIVE is modifying.

- And when we say ADJECTIVEs modify NOUNS, what exactly did you say they
tell us about the ADJECTIVE.

- They tell us WHICH

- They tell us WHAT KIND OF

- And they tell us HOW MANY

- For example, we can say THOSE THREE BROWN pups

- Yeah, THOSE is a demonstrative ADJECTIVE that answers the question,
"Which" pups.

- And the ADJECTIVE "Three" tells us HOW MANY pups.

- And, of course, the adjective "Brown" tells us WHAT KIND OF pup it is.

- Here's the ADJECTIVE verse of the rap, again.

Kids repeat the ADJECTIVE verse and hold up the cards for each prompt.

- Well, that leaves one more "A" in the ACRONYM, PAPA AN VIC. What is it?

- It's the easiest of all the Parts of Speech.

- Yeah, there are only three ARTICLES. There's "A", "An", and "The".

- Mr. C. says they're really just adjectives that tell us "Which".

- Right, for example "An apple" tells us WHICH apple and "A football" tells the
same thing. These are called INDEFINITE ARTICLES cause it's not telling us
EXACTLY "which" apple or EXACTLY which ball.

- And we need to use the ARTICLE "A" before a word that begins with a consonant.
Which means that we use the ARTICLE "An" before a word that