An adverb is a word that describes how, where, when or why an action is completed. It can also modify an adjective or another adverb. Although we use adverbs all the time in spoken and written language, it can be difficult for students to distinguish them from other sorts of words, such as adjectives. Teach your students the basics of adverbs by showing them how to understand whether they answer the questions of how, where and when.

Identifying
Part of learning about adverbs is knowing what question they answer. Teach your students to identify the how, where and when of adverbs by breaking the class into teams. Put an adverb on the board, such as "slowly," "outside" or "never." Give teams alternating turns to state whether the adverb answers "how," "where" or "when." Keep track of points. For older students, put an entire sentence on the board and have them identify which question the adverb answers.

Worksheets
Worksheets can help students learn to use adverbs properly, especially if you favor quiet, independent work in your classroom. Make a worksheet with a variety of sentences, each with a blank space where an adverb should go. In parentheses next to each blank space, put the words "how," "where" or "when." Students must come up with an appropriate adverb to put in the blank space and specify whether it answers "how," "where" or "when."

Phrase Building
Eventually, students need to be able to use their knowledge of adverbs to build sentences. Make flashcards with all kinds of words on them, including adverbs, nouns, verbs, adjectives, articles and conjunctions. Give students some free time to build sentences by arranging the cards on their desks. Stipulate that each student must make three sentences, each containing an adverb. One sentence's adverb must answer "how," another must answer "where" and the third must answer "when."

Reading
Students who learn adverbs must be able to apply their knowledge when reading texts. Assign a story or book for your students to read. Vary the level of difficulty according to grade level. Have students choose a paragraph and find all the adverbs in it. Ask students to identify whether each adverb tells us the how, the where or the when of the verb in question.