Teaching Grammar in the Primary Classroom

 If I had to describe the primary grades in one word it would be 'foundation.'  That one word really boils down everything we do in the primary classroom.  As primary teachers, we lay the foundation for the years of education to come.  Teaching grammar is no exception.  While we might not be diagramming sentences, we definitely lay the foundation.  Here are some fun and interactive ways to teach grammar in the primary classroom.

Like most things in the primary classroom, the grammar concepts that we teach will be new to the students.  Any time a new concept is introduced it is important to focus on one skill or concept and provide instruction and ample practice opportunities for students.  As students develop an understanding of a concept they can then be combined with other learned concepts.  Using this approach I introduce different grammar concepts one at a time.  

The Process

1.  Introduce the Concept

For each grammar concept, we follow a very similar lesson pattern.  First, I introduce the grammar concept with whole class instruction.  I love using posters and anchor charts so that my students can reference them as needed.  

Typically, I introduce new concepts with my whole class so that we can all work together to go over our poster and make an anchor chart. This is a great opportunity to dive into some examples and perhaps even call on some volunteers to help. I love using this teaching style when introducing new concepts to help build community and work together as a class. 

2. Fun and Interactive Practice

Next, we do lots of practice together.  One of the first things we do is a sorting activity as a class.  As we sort we talk about the grammar rule and why we choose to put each card in a certain place.  This is a key part of the process because by talking about our decisions we are repeating and applying the grammar rules.  

We might do this sorting activity a couple of times on different days depending on how the class is doing with the concept.  Once done, the sorting activity moves into our center rotation for students to do independently.  

We also complete some worksheet activities together.  During this part of the learning process, we may complete the entire page together or we start together and then students finish on their own.  

Don't underestimate the power of students repeating whole class activities independently in the next step of the process.  Students are able to use guided learning to guide their actions as they begin working independently. This is such a great way to cement the grammar rules we're learning!

3. Continued Practice with Grammar Concepts

The next step is to give students lots of opportunities to practice the grammar concept on their own.  The goal is that all that talking we did in the first two steps becomes their own self-talk as they work independently.  Student practice happens in a variety of ways.  Students will practice the grammar concepts using hands-on activities during our center rotations.  Games are a class favorite and a fun way to learn, so I always include at least a few in our lessons! 

For example, when we're learning about possessive nouns, I love to use this "Four in a Row" game during center time. Students will use a paperclip spinner to determine what type of noun they'll look for on the game board. They use BINGO chips to cover nouns one by one until one player gets 4 in a row. Students love this game and it's a great way to make centers feel more fun! 

In addition to our games, we also use hands-on center activities like these Common and Proper Nouns Clip Cards. These are great activities for center time since students can be independent with them by using the pictures to help decode the sentences. I love that these task cards help to work on common and proper nouns, practice reading sentences, and target fine motor skills with the clothespins!

Students will also do continued practice using worksheets. As I review student work I am able to do an informal assessment and determine if any re-teaching needs to be done.  If most of the class is struggling with the concept then I do whole class re-teaching.  If only a few students are struggling then I do small group re-teaching.  

4. Review

Even after we have completed a skill or concept, we don't just move on.  Instead, we continue to review the skill or concept through center activities, morning work, and homework.  This allows the concept to remain fresh in students' minds even.  When we first finish a concept there will likely be multiple activities done to review.  

Over time the number of activities will decrease, however, I try to add in an occasional review activity throughout the remainder of the year.  While not a true spiral review, I know the concept of repeated exposure helps with mastery so I am intentional about reviewing previously taught skills and concepts.

The Grammar Resources

I've taken my classroom-tested procedures and activities and put them into resource packs for a variety of grammar skills and concepts.  All of these resources provide you with instructional posters, hands-on activities, and no prep printable worksheets. These versatile activities can be used in one or more steps of the process to help your students master grammar!

I've put 18 Grammar Units together in one Grammar Bundle. The resources in this unit will fill your lesson plans for the entire year!

By purchasing the Grammar Bundle you save 30% over the cost of the individual resources, however, you can purchase each of these resources individually too!

• Nouns
• Singular and Plural Nouns
• Plural Nouns ES & IES
• Proper Nouns
• Pronouns
• Possessive Nouns
• Verbs
• Verbs with Inflectional Endings
• Adjectives
• Comparative Adjectives
• Prefixes (un-, re-, pre-)
• Suffixes (-ful, -less, -ly, -y)
• Prepositions
• Types of Sentences
• Simple and Compound Sentences
• Synonyms
• Antonyms
• Homonyms and Homophones

I've also put together a first-grade language resource that covers ALL.THE.STANDARDS in one place!  This first-grade grammar pack has no prep printables for the entire year.  This resource provides a simple, no prep way for you to provide your students with the practice they need to master these important language concepts.

Try It Out!

Want to give these grammar activities a try in your classroom? I've put together some fun and FREE grammar printables and activities for you and your students.  Grab them today and test them out in your room!

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