Engaging Activities for Teaching Grammar

Let's play a word game. When I say the word 'GRAMMAR' what do you think of?  There's a good chance you think of things like diagramming sentences or Schoolhouse Rock.  There's also a good chance that the word boring comes to mind too. As a first grade teacher, I want my students to love learning, even the less-than-exciting topics like grammar. If you can relate, I've got some solutions to help make teaching grammar fun!

Easy and Fun Grammar Activities

On my journey to make grammar something my students loved, I was able to learn that teaching and learning grammar can be fun! It doesn't have to be filled with dry sentences or practice that seems so inapplicable to life. Here are some of my favorite activities that my students have loved year after year.  

1. Low Prep Puzzles

If you want students focused, give them a puzzle! Kids love puzzles and the challenge of matching the pieces. As a teacher, I love that puzzle activities get students reading cards (often multiple times) and using higher-level thinking skills to make connections. And . . . for those students who are struggling with a concept, there is a built-in self-check with the puzzle pieces fitting together. This allows them to find success in the activity and provides reinforcement of correct answers to help them learn along the way too!

This engaging activity for teaching grammar can be used to cover a wide variety of topics from synonyms,  antonyms, homophones, and beyond!  

Simply create a two or more pieced puzzle that students can easily slide together. On one piece, put a word or image, and on the other piece(s), put a word or image that makes a match based on the skill or concept you are teaching. Puzzles are a great way to provide students with repetition and practice in a low-pressure, fun way.  

Puzzles are also perfect for centers! These make great independent work time activities for students. Students can grab the puzzle, find a spot to work, and get busy. Differentiation is also easy with puzzle activities because you can assign different puzzles to each student depending on the concepts they need to practice.

By using simple lines when cutting the pieces apart you can create a puzzle activity that doesn't take hours and hours of prep. Once you are done I recommend storing all the pieces together in a zip-lock bag.  This makes it easy for students to grab and easy to store when you aren't using the puzzle.  

2. Grammar Games

Whole class grammar practice is a breeze when you have some engaging games up your sleeve!  Here are some of the fun games that I used to teach grammar in my classroom:

Board Games

I've found that a good old-fashioned board game can be just as engaging as any other digital alternative. Students love being able to move their pieces and see their progress. Plus, using board games will not only help with grammar skills but also essential social skills like turn-taking. That's a win-win in my book!

I also love that board games can be used over and over again throughout the year. I like to laminate the boards for durability and then pull them out for quick (and fun) review activities. Students are always excited to revisit a past favorite game and I love being able to informally assess their retention of different topics! 

Scoot!

Scoot! is one of my favorite classroom games and I've played it for years.  Start by setting up one question or practice card for each student in your class. You can use things like task cards you already have, cut apart a worksheet into individual questions or even write your own on index cards.  The key is to have a question so that each student has one.  You can also do half the number and have students work in partners.

Once you have your questions spread them out around the room.  I like to lay some on desks and hang some around the room, giving students plenty of space between questions.  

To play, give each student a response sheet or paper to write their answers.  Then have them find a question and stand next to it.  When you say "go" students will read the question and write down the answer.  When you say "Scoot!" they must stop what they are doing and move on to the next question.  

The students love the challenge of trying to answer in the provided time.  This little challenge keeps them very focused throughout the game.  And . . . it is a great way to add some movement into the day.

You can also easily play Scoot! outside, in the hallway, or in a large space like the cafeteria or gym.  And if you need less movement, consider turning it into a carpet game where students sit in a circle and pass the question cards.

I Have, Who Has

I Have, Who Has is an engaging activity for teaching grammar that does not take a lot of time. It works well if you want to do some quick review right before a lesson or at the end of a work period. Each student gets a card. On their card, it says, "I have (insert word, concept, etc.), who has (insert word, concept, etc.)." 

When the student hears the concept they have on their card, they stand up and read out the answer and then ask the next "who has" question. All students get to participate, you can make any corrections in real time, and they all have to pay attention! 

Not to mention, there are very few games that can be played as a whole class out there. I love that this is an option we can all use together! 

3. Write the Room

I use Write the Room as a consistent center activity all.year.long! While the skill or concept that is the focus will change, you will always find a write the room activity in my center rotations. 

Write the Room is one of my favorite activities for teaching grammar. This activity gets students up out of their chairs and moving around the room, all while helping them review essential concepts!  

I set up the grammar activity by placing cards around the room. At the beginning of the year, the cards are obvious as students learn how to move from card to card. But as the year goes on I love to make finding the cards a little more challenging. This adds a scavenger hunt feel to the activity that students love! They are so proud when they have found all the cards. 

Students grab a clipboard and the recording sheet and move from card to card to answer all the questions. Similar to a game of Scoot, but without the timed aspect. In fact, you can use write the room cards to play Scoot as a class too! 

Don't Stress About Your Grammar Activities!

I have spent a lot of time putting together engaging activities for teaching grammar so that you don't have to! If you want to save time and use all of the fun activities from this post (plus more!), then check out all of the great grammar resources in my Teachers Pay Teachers store. 

Here are a few different skills and concepts that you likely teach.  Each of these resources is jam-packed with activities designed to make learning grammar fun for your students.

And . . . if you need grammar activities for the entire year then you can't go wrong with this Grammar Bundle!  Filled with 19 grammar units, it will cover all your teaching standards. Buying the bundle also saves you money over buying each unit individually.

Save these Engaging Grammar Activities!

Save these engaging activities for teaching grammar to your favorite classroom Pinterest board. Your students will love learning grammar skills and you'll never have to spend hours searching Google again!