3 Best Strategies for Teaching Grammar in Elementary School

Even as a young lover of literature, grammar was never my favorite subject. I know most of my students feel exactly the same way. Learning the rules of punctuation and structure can be less appealing to kids than the more obviously creative and fun aspects of writing. That’s why the best strategies for teaching grammar in elementary school all focus on the same things: piquing your students’ curiosity and bringing language to life in creative, engaging ways. The following strategies are sure to give your grammar lessons that extra edge they need to be truly effective—and enjoyable.

Strategy #1: Get Visual

As much as I love reading and writing, even I have to admit that sometimes, words just aren’t enough. A picture, after all, is worth a thousand—or so they say. Sometimes visual aids are necessary for helping your elementary students grasp something as conceptual as grammar in concrete terms.

• Educational videos can be a great way to grab younger students’ attention and help them see how different parts of speech and rules of punctuation work together to create meaningful sentences. (And yes, believe it or not, Schoolhouse Rock is still a thing!)
• Graphic organizers, like this “Spice Up Your Writing” worksheet, can help students understand how different words are classified, as well as keeping them on task and on topic when formulating sentences and paragraphs of their own.
• Posters and other classroom decorations, whether bought at an educational goods store or hand-drawn by your students, help remind them of basic rules and provide a quick and easy guide to refer to when practicing writing.

PROJECT IDEA

For a more in-depth visual lesson in grammar, have your students form groups and assign each group a different part of speech. Ask each group to then generate a list of words that fall under their assigned category. After checking their lists for accuracy, ask each student to choose one word on their group’s list. Have them draw an illustration of that word first, then define and describe it (or, for more advanced writers, write a story using it). Finally, publish their art and writing in a classbook that clearly illustrates the different parts of speech.

Strategy #2: Get Playful

Grammar is surprisingly easy to turn into a game—and doing so makes it so much simpler to both teach and learn! To gamify your elementary students’ next grammar lesson, try one of the following:

• Grammatical Go Fish. Go Fish vocabulary cards are widely available for purchase, but it’s also a breeze (not to mention inexpensive) to have your students make their own using index cards and markers. Instead of asking for threes or aces, they’ll be fishing for parts of speech.
• Fill-in-the-Blanks. Create your own Mad Libs-inspired word game by asking your students to create framed sentences with only certain types of words missing—adjectives, or perhaps adverbs ending in “ly”. Ask them to create a list on a separate piece of paper of just the types of words needed to fill in the blanks. Have them partner up and swap lists, filling in the blanks without seeing the original framed sentences. Finally, ask them to swap back and fill in the blanks with their partner’s words. Be sure to have them read these aloud at the end!
• Pin the Punctuation on the Sentence. A literary twist on Pin the Tail on the Donkey, there are no blindfolds involved in this version of the game. Instead, create (or buy) a few oversized punctuation marks and write a sentence on the board at the front of the classroom. Have your students draw the marks blindly from a hat or bag and see if they can pin it to the board in a spot that makes grammatical sense.

PROJECT IDEA

Of all of these word games, the one which lends itself most readily to a more involved project is the fill-in-the-blanks game. Before beginning, choose an overarching theme or subject for all of their framed sentences or paragraphs to adhere to. Once your students have completed a first draft, have them edit and revise their work as needed to ensure that everything makes sense, both logically and grammatically. Then, ask them to draw illustrations to accompany their writing. Finally, be sure to publish their work in a professionally printed and bound classbook!

Strategy #3: Get Creative

Working with examples is especially important when it comes to teaching grammar in elementary school. Seeing the rules of writing in action helps illustrate the purpose and importance of those rules. However, as tempting as it is to simply use cut-and-dried examples straight from a textbook or other basic resource, a far more engaging lesson plan will involve thinking a bit farther outside the box.

• Try asking your students to bring in their favorite books to use as reference material. Ask them to copy a sentence, a paragraph or even a page from the book and identify different grammatical elements and how they affect the meaning of the text. Reading something they enjoy will motivate your students both to pay more attention and dig a little deeper when completing the assignment.
• Alternatively, you can hand-pick a few clips from popular age-appropriate movies or TV shows to use as examples. Transcribing the dialogue might be a bit difficult for your students, so you can use these clips in other ways—for instance, asking your students to raise their hands whenever someone uses a pronoun, or pausing after each sentence to ask what sort of punctuation mark should go at the end of it.
• To practice what they’ve learned in real-time, try having your students write a page-long short story. After completing the first draft, ask them to proofread each other’s work and revise it accordingly, making sure to check for grammar and punctuation.

Ms. Baker’s #proudauthors put their grammar skills to good use when writing and publishing their own classbook!

PROJECT IDEA

Grammar lessons are always better in context! After having your students write and revise a short story, you can take the lesson one step further by asking them to work together to create a collection of stories. Once their stories are complete, ask them to illustrate each other’s work. Last but not least, publish their stories in a beautiful classbook they’ll be proud to show off to their friends and family.

Teaching Elementary School Grammar

Your students may never learn to love pronouns and particles as passionately as a linguist might, but that doesn’t mean they won’t walk out of your classroom knowing how to use them, why they matter, and even how to have a little fun with them. By using visual aids, educational games and a little creative thinking, you can rest easy knowing your kids learning something—and liking it!

Plus, if you choose to publish their writing in a real book, you’ll be able to demonstrate to them not only the importance of grammar, but the impact of thoroughly understanding the rules of language and applying them effectively to get their own original thoughts and ideas out in the world.

For more teaching strategies and other classroom resources, take a peek at our online teacher’s lounge, and sign up for your free publishing kit today!

Image sources: Lead image via Shutterstock; Image 1 via Studentreasures, 2 via OpenClipart.org, 3 via Twitter