Education Technology


NCTE: Collaborating with Parts of Speech

Activity Overview

Students work in pairs to create lists of words (using all eight parts of speech) that could be used to describe an image. These lists will form the basis of the vocabulary for a short story or poem that clearly and creatively describes the image.

Before the Activity

See the attached Activity PDF file for detailed instructions for this activity.

Print the appropriate pages from the Activity for your class.

Install the LearningCheck™ App on the students' graphing calculators following the attached instructions.

Determine whether students will use online photographs or pictures, or whether you will provide photographs or magazines from which they can select images. Explain the objectives to the students and direct them to open the "Parts of Speech" LearningCheck(tm) resource file for this activity. An explanation of the activity is provided in the "Directions" file. Have students pair up with their partners.

During the Activity

  • Distribute the appropriate pages from the Activity to your class
  • Distribute the LearningCheck file(s) to your class using TI Connect™ and the appropriate TI Connectivity cable
  • Follow the procedures outlined in the Activity


  • Students will: Identify parts of speech.
  • Describe roles parts of speech play in sentences.
  • Develop lists of parts of speech.
  • Use a variety of words and a variety of parts of speech to create a descriptive story or poem.
  • Evaluate identifications of parts of speech for accuracy and explanation.
  • After the Activity

    Have students exchange their lists and stories or poems using the TI Unit-to-Unit cables. Allow pairs to read one another's lists and stories or poems. Students should also share the image they used as the basis. Ensure that students have used a variety of parts of speech in their drafts.