Some weeks I make my own activities, but I was short on time. I was saved by Hanging with Mrs. Hulsey, a 3rd Grade teacher from my neighboring state. At our school, our mascot is the Bulldogs, and I have a dog theme in my classroom, so when I saw her "Paws-itively Perfect Proper Nouns activities, I knew I had to use it in my classroom!
Mini books can be homemade. Just staple a few index cards together and have the students write a rule on each page with examples for proper nouns, common nouns and abstract nouns.
With a homemade mini book, you could also have students write several words on one of the pages and color code them.
Throughout the week, we had different centers. The correct/incorrect proper nouns center is one of my favorites because I love having my students sort. First, they sort by whether or not the proper nouns are written correctly. Afterward, I had my students rewrite the incorrect sentences.
I like this type of sorting activity and use it often. This is where I put those worksheets that I have a dislike for into practice. I cut up parts of the worksheet and have the kids sort them! Just like this correct/incorrect sorting activity and then we correct some of the sentences on our white boards. I find that the kids are more invested and engaged even though they are truly doing the same work.
We use IXL at my school, so another one of my centers involved working toward earning a medal for completing the skills that we were covering: common and proper nouns and abstract nouns. IXL is free for the first 10 questions, but it is worth every penny for the subscription! This is the 3rd year that our school has purchased it.
The Color-a-Noun center was probably the most popular. Who doesn't enjoy coloring with dry erase markers? I laminated this center so I could use it over and over. However, I tell you one way to get those kids motivated to do this activity would be to let them use the sheet without lamination and allow them to use the smelly markers! My kids go ape over using those.
After using this Color-a Noun activity, I was inspired to make a few homemade sorting activities similar to this for my classroom. It was so easy. All you have to do is make several shapes (circles "polka dots" are super easy) all over the page and write a word in each one. Then at the bottom add a code.
The Paws-itively Perfect Proper nouns activity pack has even more print and go activities. If you love these hands-on type activities as much as I do, you may want to check out similar resources here >>> Grammar resources by Hanging with Mrs. Hulsey <<< 
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