Ways to Teach Grammar to Students

Grammar is the study of rules governing the use of language, and is part of the general study of language called linguistics. Grammar includes the study of phonology, phonetics, morphology, semantics, syntax, and pragmatics. Understanding the rules and function of grammar is an integral part of good writing, but many students find the study of it to be boring and difficult. There are many ways to teach grammar to students that can fun and interesting, and they all have to do with the presentation.

Grammar Game

This involves using several sheets of construction paper marked with the parts of speech. It is important for each part of speech to have its own color.

For example:

• Nouns = dark green
• Pronouns = light green
• Action verbs = dark blue
• Linking verbs = light blue
• Adjectives = white
• Adverbs = pink
• Conjunctions = orange
• Interjections = yellow

This game can also be played with punctuation signs.

Divide the class first into two teams, then decide which team goes first. Write a sentence up on the board, then assign a student from one team to each word. Each student needs to figure out that word's part of speech and choose its correct laminated card. Then they should write the word on that card using an erasable marker. Have all students hold up their cards in front of them, then line up in the correct order. Have some other students fill in the correct punctuation.

If the team has labeled all of the words correctly, they score ten points. If they have made any mistakes, the other team gets to check for correctness. If someone sees a mistake, that student raises his or her hand and announces which word he or she thinks has been incorrectly labeled. The teacher will answer yes or no. If no is the answer, that student is out for the round and the other team scores a point. If yes is the answer, that student makes the correction and his team scores two points. The round continues until all of the mistakes have been corrected. If none of the players are left to make corrections, or they don't detect all of them, the teacher will call the end of the round. Any remaining mistakes are pointed out before moving on to the next round, when the teams will switch places and a new sentence will be assigned.

Game suggested by www.kimskorner4teachertalk.com.

Other Ways to Make Grammar Fun

Schoolhouse Rock is another valuable tool for teachers, as students often enjoy the music videos and can learn the songs to remember parts of grammar. Have students choose a song to reenact, and develop moves to the song, or their own verse.

Another valuable tool may be found at Pocket Basics.com, www.pocketbasics.com. The website uses a downloadable Parts of Speech Screensaver to teach children parts of speech using repetitive learning. This screensaver is free and features a mnemonic device, as well as all nine parts of speech, including: prepositions, articles, interjections, adverbs, conjunctions, verbs, adjectives, pronouns and nouns.