5 Engaging Grammar Activities for First Grade

Grammar is one of those subjects that doesn't typically ignite excitement in the classroom naturally. While at first glance, it might seem like a humdrum topic, there are actually a lot of ways to make grammar lessons more fun on a daily basis. Come along to see how you can use these engaging grammar activities in your classroom with your firsties!

Criteria for Fun Grammar Activities

So, how do we get kiddos excited about grammar? By choosing engaging teaching methods! Teaching grammar rules to young students requires a fair bit of time to practice. As with anything that requires repetitive practice, the more fun we can make it, the better the outcome will be for our students. 

When it comes to choosing engaging grammar activities in my classroom, I'm always looking for things that I know my students will love. For example, hands-on games and interactive centers are always a winner. And when it comes to worksheets you'll want to opt for varieties that capture student interest in some way as well!

I also like to keep in mind that our grammar activities should help make it simple to weave our lessons into the daily routine. Finding activities that can be used daily is key! If you're not sure where to start, don't worry! Let's check out five of my favorite grammar activities for first grade and learn why they're effective. 

1. Daily Language Worksheets 

My number one, best tip for teaching grammar in the primary classroom is to practice every single day. By actively including grammar lessons in your schedule on a daily basis, you will increase opportunities to master important skills and standards. 

One of my favorite ways to make grammar part of the daily routine is with Daily Language Worksheets. I use these as part of our morning work routine to "wake up" our brains and revisit a previously taught standard. Each week focuses on one first-grade language standard, so if you complete one page per day, your students will be right on track! 

Aside from the practicality of these worksheets, they're also highly engaging for first graders because each day presents a new challenge. The activities vary daily to keep kiddos guessing and excited to see what's in store for each day. 

Some of the activities include correcting sentences, identifying types of words, and writing. For each standard, there are a minimum of 4 pages of practice, so you'll have lots of different ways to help your students master each requirement. 

If you want to test these out in your room, snag a free sample here. Use these for morning assignments, small group intervention, center activities, and extra practice. 

2. Grammar Notebooks

This next idea is easy to implement and will help encourage learning all year long. In my classroom, we always make a grammar notebook at the beginning of the year. The idea behind these is that they will become a record of everything we've learned throughout the year related to grammar and language. As we learn new terms, students will glue worksheets and reminders inside the notebooks, or write example words to help remind them throughout the year. 

I've found that the act of creating and working with a grammar notebook is such a wonderful way to encourage first graders to look back on information and apply it to learning. It's like their own grammar dictionary and encyclopedia right at their fingertips, ready to be used whenever they need it. 

To make grammar notebooks, each student gets an inexpensive composition notebook to start. I always grab a bunch of these on sale for super cheap at back-to-school time. I prefer the composition notebooks to spiral bound because they don't get stuck on other notebooks and items when shoved into a desk. 

Simply label the front "Grammar" or "My Grammar Notebook" and have students write their names on them. Then, as you learn new grammar rules and standards, have students add information on the topic each time. Most of my grammar units include black-and-white definition posters that are the perfect thing to add to our notebooks. You can also have students copy examples from the board or an anchor chart. The options are endless and it creates a reference tool for them to use all year long.

3. Fall Nouns and Verbs 

An important grammar standard in first grade is being able to understand and identify the difference between nouns and verbs in sentences. Students should also be able to use them in their writing correctly by the end of the year. This is a key component of proper sentence structure and warrants a good amount of practice to master.

While super important, this topic can be a little dry without the right types of activities. Avoid losing student engagement by choosing activities that will grab their interest like these Fall Nouns and Verbs activities. The fall theme in these grammar activities is sure to make students smile and there's plenty of variety in the resource to teach this topic using different types of activities. 

We always start this lesson out as a group, using definition posters and a sorting activity. I display the posters on the board and provide students with a black-and-white version to color and add to their grammar notebooks. After that, we play the sorting game as a class using a large pocket chart so that everyone can easily see. 

After the group introduction, I will often reuse the sorting activity as a center game so that students can practice again. This resource also comes with 10, no-prep practice worksheets to continue working with nouns and verbs. The best part of this unit though is the craftivity! Students get to create their own fox craft that gives them a final opportunity to sort out nouns and verbs. I love using crafts that double as a practice activity and this one is especially cute displayed on a fall bulletin board!

4. Use Music to Inspire Learning 

If you work with primary learners, you already know that they can be a rambunctious bunch. I honestly love this about first graders. Their excitement is contagious and I like to use this to my advantage with fun grammar songs and chants whenever we can. Not only does this make students more excited for a grammar lesson, but it helps shake out some wiggles too! 

If you're not particularly musically inclined, don't worry - YouTube will save the day! There are so many great videos, sing-alongs, and rhymes you can play for students on YouTube. Of course, be sure to preview videos to ensure they are appropriate for the classroom. I've learned that by adding the words "for kids" to the end of my YouTube search I can cut through a lot of search results that would not apply to the first grade classroom.

Jack Hartmann is my personal favorite for all things children's music. He is a total goofball and the kids absolutely love him. Plus, his songs actually help my students learn new things too! Try this Adjective Song with your students or this Noun Rap if you want to test this out in your classroom. Adding a 5-minute music break to your daily routine might just be what your kiddos need to gear up for more engaged learning!

5. Grammar Review Worksheets 

Last on my list are some tried and true grammar review worksheets. We all know that students need ongoing practice to master any skill. Worksheets are great for this because they're a way to sneak in some additional practice without adding a ton of extra prep to your plans. But, the key is to choose engaging worksheets that your students will actually want to do! 

That's why these color by code pages will be a total MVP! They cover 10 different first grade grammar topics and use a fun format that students love to work on. They're a bit different than your typical color by code, making them a great option to mix it up! The pages ask students to first write words to answer the questions, then use those words to color by code accordingly. Students will love revealing the fun camping pictures as they go! 

These worksheets come in really handy for extra center activities, fast-finishers, our sub tub, and homework assignments. Keeping a stack of them on hand ensures I'll always have ready-to-use grammar activities in my back pocket! 

Even More Grammar Activities

I hope you found something fun to try with your students! Grammar doesn't have to be boring and in fact, it can actually be a lot of fun! If you're looking for more options, be sure to check out all of the fun games, lessons, and activities in my TPT Shop! 

Save these Fun Grammar Activities for First Grade

Pin this post on Pinterest to keep these fun and engaging grammar activities handy!