Ms. Docherty

Grammar strategies

Title: Pin the Punctuation on the Sentence 

 

Age and reading level: 2-5+

 

Brief Description: A twist on Pin the Tail on the Donkey. To do this game, students will not be blindfolded. Students will place the punctuation where it is needed on the sentence on the board. Students will pick punctuation from a bag, box, etc. They will then have to place that punctuation somewhere in the sentence. By picking from a bag, helps students not just rely on the punctuation that they are good at. 

 

Materials needed:

Box or bag to put the paper in, whiteboard or paper

Steps for instruction:

• Write a sentence on the board that is missing punctuation

• Have students pick punctuation from a bag (not looking at which ones are in the bag) 

• Students will then place the punctuation that they received into the sentence where it belongs.

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Title:

 Posters

Age and reading level:

2-5+

Brief Description:

Have students make posters for different grammar categories. Each week review a category and have students create posters in any way they want to describe the category. Student can refer to them around the room (especially their own).

Materials needed:

Poster or large construction paper, writing utensils, colors, stickers, glitter, glue, tape, area of the wall

Steps for instruction:

• Go over the categories of grammar 

• Have students pick a category they would like to do for their poster

• Students can create their very own posters to help them and their peers in the classroom with the category of grammar. 

 

Title: Partner Revising 

 

Age and reading level:  3-5+

 

Brief Description: Students will be with a partner and read their sentence or story aloud. The other partner and them will discuss if something sounds choppy or not right. Students will discuss if a comma is in the wrong spot or if their capitalization is not right in their writing. They can discuss each other's writing or pre-made sentences to help discuss grammar.

 

Materials needed:

Pre-made sentences, wiring utensils, partner, paper, story

Steps for instruction:

• Students pair up, you could use elbow partners or pair them up by skill

• Students switch their writings and read them aloud orally 

• Student discuss what sounded not right and what might not look right

• Work together to improve their grammar

• They can add or change grammar mistakes for each others writing with a different color pen color

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Title: Abbreviations: F.A.N.B.O.Y.S

 

Age and reading level: 2-5+

 

Brief Description:

Use this abbreviation to help students remember the conjunction. While teaching conjunctions make a poster that includes F.A.N.B.O.Y.S. Have them practice the new term by finding the fanboys in sentences.

 

Materials needed:

Sentences, writing utensils

Steps for instruction:

• Students will learn about the saying fanboys

• For, And, Nor, But, Or, Yes, and So 

• Students will find the conjunctions by saying this term in their head to remember 

• Teach students about specific rules of conjunctions alongside the fanboys

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Goal: 11.14

 

Title: Know the Word,  Use the Word

 

Age and reading level: M-Z+, 3rd-5th+

 

Brief Description: Learning a new word can be more than just figuring it out and moving on to the net word you don’t know. If you are truly learning it, you need to understand it and be able to use it in writing and speaking.

Skills used are being able to use the word in the correct context, word choice.

 

Materials needed: Writing utensils

 

Steps for instruction:

Find a word from a reading that you would like to learn.

Try to figure it out by using context or look it up in a dictionary or online resource.

Write down the word in your vocabulary journal.

Remember to practice creating your own sentences with the new word it in.

Later in the day use the new word in some of your sentences.