Grammar Lessons Don't Have to Be Boring

Grammar is probably one of the most difficult concepts for English teachers to teach, not because the information is complex, but because grammar can sometimes be just plain boring. As an English teacher, my job is to make grammar fun and effective. There are a few things you should keep in mind when you plan your lessons. Sometimes you won't be able to get away from using textbooks and worksheets. On the other hand, there will be times when you have the opportunity to swap out the old plans and try some new techniques. My suggestion is this: Make your lesson interactive!

It is a commonly known fact that the more you involve your students in the lesson, the greater the chance for retention and application. Here are a few things that I have tried and had success with. Each activity can be adapted to various grade levels.

Student Designed Instruction

Have students work individually or in pairs. Give them a specific element of grammar (part of speech, prepositional phrase, dangling modifier, etc . . . ) then have them create an instructional aid that can effectively teach this concept to the rest of the class. This activity allows students to create in any medium they wish — PowerPoint, music, or collage. I give them a rubric, as well as a guide for their concept. Don’t provide all the answers: the guide should merely point them in the right direction. During group work, and prior to presenting, check with each student just to be sure that the information is correct and comprehensive.

Music Adaptations

Give pupils a song, and then have them translate that song into grammatically correct sentences. In this activity, it is important that you go through some basic grammar review, especially if you require sentence diagrams. Choose a song that contains a lot of unique phrasing and lyrics. Start with a whole-group translation. Then divide the song into stanzas and have them practice. Once they get the idea, either provide lyrics, or have them choose a song of their own. One major caveat—many popular songs contain questionable lyrics. Be sure that you give clear parameters. Prior to this activity, you might also want to issue a warning to parents/administration that outlines your learning goal and objectives, just in case questions arise.

Text Translation

As with the music adaptation activity above, try using text messaging as a way to analyze grammar. Go through a “dictionary of text” words so that everyone has a basic understanding of phone text translations. For example, LOL means laugh out loud. Then give the class some simple text messages to translate. As a whole class, construct a grammatically correct sentence. The next step would be to provide some examples to work on in class. Once they have mastered the process, give them messages to translate on their own. Like with the previous activity, be sure that you outline your expectations, as well as what kind of sentences are inappropriate for the classroom setting. For more lessons to help make grammar more exciting, see below.

Grammar Lesson Plans:

Learning Grammar Through Wordplay

This is a complicated, but interactive lesson. Pupils use newspaper articles to create sentences focusing on one or two specific words. I like this lesson because it requires learners incorporate the words into classroom vocabulary and into individual writing.

You Be The Editor

This is a great lesson that can be adapted to any grade level. If you need an activity that focuses on repetition and practice, this is the lesson for you. You give pupils articles, stories, essays, etc . . . that contain various errors. They identify the errors, explain why it is an error, and then fix it.

Sentence Auction

This resource can work as a warm up or as a main class activity. Pupils "bid" on the correct sentences. One way to adapt the lesson, if you don't want to do the game format, is to give learners a list of sentences, some that are correct and some that aren't. The objective is for them to be able to identify, explain, and correct mistakes. Sentences can be adapted to suit beginning grammar learners to high school pros. It would work well as a final assessment too.