If you were to poll 100 elementary students and ask them their favorite subject in school, I’m willing to bet 0% will say grammar! Grammar has long had a bad rap for being boring, but it doesn’t have to be that way! With just a little bit of planning, you can find ways to make grammar fun all year round. Whether teaching about commas, apostrophes, or singular and plural nouns, I’ve got 3 fun ways to bring the fun to your grammar instruction!
Up Your Grammar Task Card Game
Don’t get me wrong, task cards can be engaging on their own, but you’ll definitely get your students’ attention with some of these variations!
- SCOOT– Get your students up and moving to get them excited about grammar! Print out your task cards and place one on each desk. Make sure each student has a recording sheet and something to write on/with. They will start at their own desk and answer the task card that is there (so if the student has #12, they will answer #12 on their recording sheet). After a designated amount of time (depending on the task- 30-45 seconds is plenty!), yell “SCOOT!” and have each student move to the card next to them. Repeat until students have completed all the cards. Once your students get the hang of it, they will be able to complete the game in a flash!
- Scavenger Hunts– This is similar to SCOOT, but instead of moving through the cards in an orderly fashion, the cards are placed around the room beforehand, and students move around the room to try to find them all. Make it extra fun by hiding the cards in unusual places!
- Go Digital– Boom Cards are a fun, interactive way for students to practice skills. While on Boom, they complete the same activities they would with print task cards, but it will feel like they are playing a game. Bonus: Boom Cards are self-checking! Learn more about Boom Cards in this blog post.
Practice skills all year round with the Singular and Plural Nouns Seasonal Task Card Bundle. Each set of task cards features fun seasonal vocabulary and comes with print and digital options. Click the picture below to check out the bundle on TpT!
Let the Grammar Fun Flow with Flocabulary
If you aren’t using Flocabulary yet, what are you waiting for? My students loved learning about different grammar skills while singing and dancing to the catchy raps. Flocabulary has dozens of videos on grammar topics, and they all come with lesson plans and handouts. Your students can even create their own raps using the Lyric Lab! I was amazed at what my students came up with- and I couldn’t believe how engaged they were with grammar. Flocabulary is a subscription-based program, but for me it was well worth it! (note: this is not sponsored by Flocabulary, I just love the website!)
Inspire Creativity with a Choice Board
My favorite way to keep students engaged is to let them take ownership of their own learning. One way to do that is with choice boards. Choice boards are a great way for students to demonstrate their knowledge of a topic, often in fun and unique ways. I have no doubt that you will be surprised (and pleased!) with what your students come up with while working on their choice boards.
Here is a choice board example for irregular plural nouns:
For this choice board, students take on different roles (for example, “Puzzle Pro”), and create content related to irregular plural nouns. Choice boards are great for centers or independent work!
You can grab this choice board for FREE by entering your email address below! The text is editable so that you can adjust the directions to meet the needs of your particular class.
Do you have any fun ways to teach grammar? Let me know below!
~Marianna