Helping Words and Word Usage

We just finished going through helping words and word usage in Language.  Students learned some helping words, such as is are, have, had, etc., and then learned words that need help and words that don't need help.  Words such as knew, blew, sang, went, drank and many more don't need any helping words.  Words such as known, forgotten, forgiven, seen and others do need helping words.  I wanted to make sure my kids really understood which words need help and which did not.  I made some graphics, using that term very loosely... just not sure what else to call them...for the students to use.  They are not cute at all, I'm still working on how to do things as cute as others I have seen...{have seen!!!  That's part of the word usage we learned!}.  I'm not sure if I will ever get there, it's not quite my forte, but they do work for what I need. :)  On the days I only had one student, I had him try to quickly place the correct words under the headings Need Help or No Help.

For those days, he seemed to get a good grasp on which words did and did not need help.  When the other student came back, he was very quick putting them under the proper side.  So, the next day I put sentences on the board and they had to figure out which word would fit best in the blank.

That was definitely a challenge, but a good one.  It really made them think!  I LOVE seeing kids really work and think through things, especially when they finally figure it out.  I put my not-so-cute "graphics" in my TpT store.  They aren't very appealing to look at, but they do work to help teach words that need and don't need help.  Sorry they're not cute, but they are there. :)
And yay!!!! It's spring break for me, yippee!!  Reading, shopping, DVR-ing, blog stalking, sleeping, basketball watching....here I come!