Planning a grammar lesson

Without grammar, words hang together without any real meaning or sense. In
order to be able to speak a language to some degree of proficiency and to be
able to say what we really want to say, we need to have some grammatical
knowledge.
By teaching grammar we not only give our students the means to express
themselves, but we also fulfil their expectations of what learning a foreign
language involves. Fortunately, nowadays with the emphasis on a
communicative approach and a wealth of stimulating resources, teaching
grammar does not necessarily mean endless conjugation of verbs or grammar
translation.

 Which approach?

 Presentation, practice and production (PPP) Presentation

o Presentation
o Practice
o Production

 Conclusion

Which approach?

There are two main approaches to teaching grammar. These are the
deductive and the inductive approach.

 A deductive approach is when the rule is presented and the language is

produced based on the rule. (The teacher gives the rule.)

 An inductive approach is when the rule is inferred through some form of

guided discovery. (The teacher gives the students a means to discover
the rule for themselves.)

In other words, the former is more teacher centred and the latter more learner
centred. Both approaches have their advantages and disadvantages. In my
own experience, the deductive approach is undoubtedly time saving and
allows more time for practising the language items thus making it an effective
approach with lower level students. The inductive approach, on the other
hand, is often more beneficial to students who already have a base in the
language as it encourages them to work things out for themselves based on
their existing knowledge.

Presentation, practice and production (PPP)

A deductive approach often fits into a lesson structure known as PPP

(Presentation, Practice, Production). The teacher presents the target
language and then gives students the opportunity to practise it through very
controlled activities. The final stage of the lesson gives the students the
opportunity to practise the target language in freer activities which bring in
other language elements.

In a 60-minute lesson each stage would last approximately 20 minutes. This

model works well as it can be used for most isolated grammatical items. It
also allows the teacher to time each stage of the lesson fairly accurately and
to anticipate and be prepared for the problems students may encounter. It is
less workable at higher levels when students need to compare and contrast
several grammatical items at the same time and when their linguistic abilities
are far less uniform.

Presentation

In this stage the teacher presents the new language in a meaningful context. I
find that building up stories on the board, using realia or flashcards and
miming are fun ways to present the language.

For example, when presenting the 2nd conditional, I often draw a picture of
myself with thought bubbles of lots of money, a sports car, a big house and a
world map.

 I ask my students what I'm thinking about and then introduce the target
language.
"If I had a lot of money, I would buy a sports car and a big house."

 I practise and drill the sentence orally before writing it on the board
(positive, negative, question and short answer).

 I then focus on form by asking the students questions. E.g."What do we

use after 'if'?" and on meaning by asking the students questions to
 check that they have understood the concept (E.g."Do I have lots of
money?" No. "What am I doing?" Imagining.)

 When I am satisfied that my students understand the form and the

meaning, I move on to the practice stage of the lesson. During this
stage of the lesson it is important to correct phonological and
grammatical mistakes.

Practice

There are numerous activities which can be used for this stage including gap
fill exercises, substitution drills, sentence transformations, split sentences,
picture dictations, class questionnaires, reordering sentences and matching
sentences to pictures.

 It is important that the activities are fairly controlled at this stage as

students have only just met the new language. Many students' books
and workbooks have exercises and activities which can be used at this
stage.

 When teaching the 2nd conditional, I would use split sentences as a

controlled practice activity. I give students lots of sentence halves and in
pairs they try and match the beginnings and ends of the sentences.
Example: "If I won the lottery," …. "I'd travel around the world."

 I would then do a communicative follow up game like pelmanism or

snap using the same sentence halves.

Production

Again there are numerous activities for this stage and what you choose will
depend on the language you are teaching and on the level of your students.
However, information gaps, role plays, interviews, simulations, find someone
who, spot the differences between two pictures, picture cues, problem solving,
personalisation activities and board games are all meaningful activities which
give students the opportunity to practise the language more freely.

 When teaching the 2nd conditional, I would try to personalise the lesson
at this stage by giving students a list of question prompts to ask others
in the class.
Example: do / if / win the lottery?
  Although the questions are controlled the students are given the
opportunity to answer more spontaneously using other language items
and thus the activity becomes much less predictable.

 It is important to monitor and make a note of any errors so that you can
build in class feedback and error analysis at the end of the lesson.

Conclusion

When teaching grammar, there are several factors we need to take into
consideration and the following are some of the questions we should ask
ourselves:

 How useful and relevant is the language?

 What other language do my students need to know in order to learn the

new structure effectively?

 What problems might my students face when learning the new

language?

 How can I make the lesson fun, meaningful and memorable?

Although I try to only use English when teaching a grammar lesson, it is

sometimes beneficial to the students to make a comparison to L1 in the
presentation stage. This is particularly true in the case of more problematic
grammatical structures which students are not able to transfer to their own
language.

It is also important to note that using the PPP model does not necessarily
exclude using a more inductive approach since some form of learner-centred
guided discovery could be built into the presentation stage. When presenting
the 2nd conditional I sometimes present the language in context and then give
the students a worksheet with a series of analysis questions to do in pairs.

Inductive VS Deductive Teaching

The deductive and the inductive are two nearly opposite methods when it comes to
teaching. For making it easier to lay down the differences and how they are
contrasting in nature, this article will focus on a classroom setting where grammar is
being taught to strike up fathomable examples. The basic nature of the two methods
in discussion must be first described in definitions before diving into the differences.

What is Inductive Method:

The inductive method is where the examples are served first and the learner has the
responsibility to figure the rules out. The teacher acts as the guide where the learners
are at the very center of the teaching-learning process. They start figuring out the
structure or the rule from the examples and find the answers all by themselves.

What is Deductive Method:

The deductive method is a traditional method of teaching language and/or grammar
where rules are given by the teacher up front followed by corresponding examples.
That learners get the terminology at first, then move on to understanding them with
reference to the examples served. That means the learners do not have much to do as
the teacher does it all from dropping the rules, giving examples and then explaining
the rules with reference to the examples.

The Major Differences Inductive and

Deductive Teaching:
The major differences separating these two methods are quite a few and they are -

1. Role of the Teacher

In the Deductive Teaching Method, the teacher's role is front and center in class. S/he
does all the work here. S/he plans the lessons, serves the rules and examples in
sequence before explaining the whole thing. S/he would also have to be ready to
answer questions with a view to clearing any doubts there may be.

In the Inductive Teaching Method, the teacher's role shifts to that of a guide. S/he is
there to serve the examples and guide the learners' thoughts into the right direction.
As the magic happens inside the learners' brains, s/he is the silent spectator or rather
an apt conductor leading their thoughts home.

2. Participation of the Learners

The participation of the learners in the Deductive Teaching Method is rather limited.
They are mostly the silent listeners that ask a few questions here and there when
they do not understand portions of the things explained. Listening and taking notes
are the two big responsibilities they shoulder in class.

In the Inductive Teaching Method, learners are given the center stage in the hopes of
making the learning process more interactive and effective. The learners are tasked
with a treasure hunt to figure the rules out themselves. It changes the class chemistry
and allows the learners to put in some work so that they feel part of it.
3. Rules and Examples
Staying in the situation of a grammar class, in the Deductive Teaching scenario, the
rules or the structures come first and later followed by an explanation and a few
examples to get a clear sense of it. In a more digestible sense, the solution comes
before any problem ever arises so less scope to agitate the learners’ brains.

On the contrary, the Inductive Method summons the resourcefulness of the learners
by presenting the examples first then asking them to figure out the rules or structures
from the examples. Since the examples are provided first, the learners’ are active
and alert as soon as the examples hit the mark.

4. Discovery v/s Explanatory

The deductive model of teaching is more explanatory than based on discovery.
Teachers have the responsibility of explaining the rules before the learners can dig
into the whole thing. It may be the case that the learners find it hard to retain the
focus throughout the class time.

On the other hand, the inductive one is based firmly on discovery and figuring things
out. Something to do individually or in a group should spike their interest a fair bit.
Teachers can set the treasure hunt in motion and be the most silent spectator
throughout the process.

5. How it Sticks in Mind

The deductive method tends to be less effective since it lacks full participation on the
learners’ part. But it cannot universally be the case with all types of classrooms. For
example, a classroom composed of adult learners who used the deductive method
from the beginning of their learning career may surprise you.

In general, learners should find it easier to memorize and understand things taught in
the inductive method. Things tend to stick well in mind and for longer when taught in
this method. Though it is more time-consuming in type, the classroom reaps greater
rewards in the long run.

6. When is it Effective?
The deductive teaching method is the most effective when used with learners that
are already well adapted to this method of teaching for years on end. Since they have
always been known to be involved with deductive teaching, they are most receptive
to this very method.

When introduced to the fresh set of learners mostly to children barely starting their
education, the inductive method tends to be the most effective and learners grow up
to appreciate and enjoy the interactive nature of the teaching process.
7. The Speed of Learning Procedure
The Deductive Teaching Method is comparatively less time-consuming as the teachers
can soar through the checklist of things they have to discuss in the classroom in the
allotted time.

The Inductive Teaching Method takes far longer in comparison to the deductive one
since the elaborate participation of the learners is the priority here. It takes time to
bring a set of learners up to speed.

With the aforementioned differences listed upfront, it must be easier to pick out the
better method for your classroom depending on what your learners are used to and
what will be well received by them. The effectiveness of the teaching method will
reflect on the aptitude of the learners going forward.

Let’s be real…Grammar is important, but it can also be very dry.

Since boredom is one of the easiest ways to make our students check out, it’s up to us
to find ways to make grammar interesting and possibly even entertaining (imagine
that)!
I’m always on the lookout for ways to spice it up and to make it more fun for my
students. Do you feel the same way?
We know that understanding grammar is important for good writing, and the more
engagement students have with grammar lessons, the more likely they are to retain the
information!
Ideas to help make grammar something you’ll enjoy teaching and will make it a
subject your students will enjoy learning!

1. Mad Libs
I love using Mad Libs as a whole class warm-up or review activity! These simple
books are a great way to have kids practice different parts of speech while making it
fun! After using these often, your students will start to master the difference between
an adjective and an adverb, or a common and a proper noun!

2. Movement
I am a huge advocate of adding movement wherever I can into my lessons. Kids need
movement, it breaks things up, and reinforces learning in a different way. Lots of
grammar lessons can be done using movement.
Here are a few ideas to get you started:
 For punctuation practice, read a sentence and students stomp once for a period,
clap for an exclamation point, and do a big shrug for a question mark.

 To help kids identify different parts of speech, kids stand and you read a short
list of words. Using their arms (or whole bodies) they make a “V” if it’s a verb,
make a “C” if it’s a conjunction, make an “I” for an interjection, touch their
nose if it’s a noun…

 When working on quotation marks, make quote signs using two fingers to start
and end quotes. Make a comma swish in the air to add commas where needed

3. Whole-Class Games
I also love doing whole-class games for some of the parts of speech and it creates
instant engagement.
For example, you could choose a part of speech and have the class play Hot Potato.
Kids stand in a circle and pass a bean bag or small ball from one person to the next as
they say a word that fits the category (like dog for noun or strong for adjectives).
4. Personalized or Funny Examples
I always try to get to know my students and make real connections with them. One
side benefit to this is that you can use some of that information when teaching,
whether it’s in math for word problems, or for grammar examples!
I do make sure to ask for volunteers to be featured since some kids don’t like to be
highlighted. I’m always surprised by how many do, though! I use the volunteer’s
names and some tidbit I know about him/her.
For example, maybe he has a love for soccer, she has an obsession with sloths or a
favorite musical group. I use this information to craft sentences to make grammar
more relevant and definitely more entertaining.
Funny examples are another way to make grammar more interesting. Instead of plain
sentences like I saw a dog at the park, you might spice it up and change it to
something like I saw a dog with a mohawk at the park. If you have a hard time
making the sentences more entertaining, ask your students! Kids who love to be silly
will think of all kinds of sentences
5. Grammar Videos
One of my must-haves, technology-wise, is a BRAINPOP subscription! Brainpop
has so many videos for just about anything you can think of and while some of the
content is free, much of the website is a paid subscription. Our principal actually
bought a subscription for the entire school with a little convincing!
For grammar, you’ll find lots of topics in the English section you can use on
Brainpop. One thing I like is that the videos are short (usually 2 – 3 minutes), and
there’s a quiz you can do at the end.
I put the class into two teams based on where they’re seated and we play a game with
the whole class. The answers are multiple choice so I just have the kids on the team
raise their hands to vote for the team’s answer.
An oldie but a goodie is Schoolhouse Rock! You can access it on TeacherTube or
YouTube and kids will quickly learn songs like Conjunction Junction, Unpack Your
Adjectives, or Lolly, Lolly, Lolly Get Your Adverbs Here.
6. Mentor Text
There are so many good mentor texts you can use to teach grammar. Kids can do a
silent signal as they hear the parts of speech featured or they could tell you a word or
two after each page is read.
7. Art
Kids need art and benefit from being able to use their creative thinking to make
something unique. I try to INCORPORATE ART wherever I can fit it in.
You can add a bit of art to reinforce grammar concepts.
For example, For adjectives, students could use oil pastels to draw a person or an
animal (or even a made-up animal) and then label the drawing using the adjectives
which describe it.
8.Hands-On Grammar Games
One of my favorite ways to reinforce grammar concepts is to have kids play a
grammar game that targets that skill.
For a long time, I wished I had a whole set of games for the year, and recently, I
finally created them! I made a grammar game for EVERY LANGUAGE
STANDARD for 3rd – 5th grades! The games have a variety of formats like tic-
tac-toe, Four in a Row, BUMP, Clip and Flip Cards, matching puzzles, sorting,
and task cards with a game board.
Bonus… All of my Grammar Games now include print AND digital formats!!! I think
Grammar Games really help make grammar fun.