Teaching Grammar by @whatonomy

Name: Whatonomy
Twitter name: @whatonomy
Sector: Primary and Secondary
Subject taught (if applicable): English and EAL
Position: Head of English
What is your advice about? Teaching Grammar

1: Take the terminology seriously. Understand that rules change and language evolves, but that we depend upon consensus for a single, crucial reason: mutual understanding.

2: Use the terminology in the glossary of your given curriculum. Giving your students terminology endows them with a metalanguage to reflect upon authorial choices.

3: Present grammatical concepts in context. Find purposeful examples in literature and allow students to reflect on the purpose of the structure BEFORE giving a name to it.

4: Give the students progressively less scaffolded practice and provide ready access to modelled writing during the early stages.

5: Read Steven Pinker’s ‘A Sense of Style’: it will set you on the right path between grammarian diktat and postmodern linguistic relativism. Words are negotiated gospel.

Teaching Grammar at KS2 by @Miss_RQT

Name: Miss RQT
Twitter: @Miss_RQT
Sector:  Primary
Subject: All subjects
Position: Teacher
5 Bits of Advice About: Teaching grammar at KS2

1. Teach all 8 word classes – not all at once, but let the children know that there are 8 altogether (a good place to start remembering these is PC V PANDA).
2. Do it daily – even if that means grammar games as starters in every English lesson. (Yes – games! Grammar is fun if you make it fun.)
3. You *can* teach discrete grammar lessons – it can’t all be taught through writing. Sometimes you’ll need a whole lesson to explain modal verbs and how to use them.
4. Subject knowledge – do *you* know the difference between a subordinating & coordinating conjunction? A comparative & superlative adjective? A possessive & relative pronoun?
5. You are allowed to think some of it ridiculous: 10 year olds having to know about the subjunctive mood? Ridiculous; but it *is* interesting – think of it that way, too.