WALKING

THROUGH THE
CURRICULUM

GRAMMAR
 CONTENT & LEARNING STANDARDS

CONTENT STANDARDS LEARNING STANDARDS

5.1 By the end of the 6- 5.1.1 Able to use nouns correctly and appropriately:
year primary schooling, (a) common nouns
pupils will be able to use (b) singular nouns
different word classes (c) plural nouns
correctly and (d) countable nouns
appropriately. (e) uncountable nouns
5.1.2 Able to use pronouns correctly and appropriately:
(a) possessive
(b) interrogative
5.1.3 Able to use verbs correctly and appropriately:
(a) irregular verbs
(b) verbs that do not change form
(c) present continuous tense
(d) past continuous tense
5.1.4 Able to use conjunctions correctly and appropriately:
(a) because
(b) so
5.1.5 Able to use prepositions correctly and appropriately:
(a) above
(b) below
(c) beside
(d) next to
(e) between
(f ) near
 CONTENT & LEARNING STANDARDS

CONTENT STANDARDS

5.1 By the end of the 6- 5.1.6 Able to use adjectives correctly and appropriately:
year primary (a) comparative
schooling, pupils (b) superlative
will be able to use 5.1.7 Able to use articles correctly and appropriately:
different word (a) the
classes correctly (b) zero article (-)
and 5.1.8 Able to use adverbs correctly and appropriately:
appropriately. (a) manner
(b) time
(c) place
5.2 By the end of the 6
year primary 5.2.1 Able to construct interrogative sentences correctly.
schooling, pupils
will be able to
construct various
sentence types
correctly.
 Issues and Challenges in Teaching
Grammar To Young Pupils

1. When to move beyond the implicit teaching-learning

of language to more explicit language awareness
and analysis.

2. How to develop childrens understanding of aspects

of grammar in order for them to begin to use their
knowledge and potentially enrich and extend the
creative ways in which they are able to use
language.

3. Many school of thoughts regarding the teaching of

grammar . Is there a single correct way / method /
approach?
 LETS KEEP IN MIND!
For pupils to develop all four skills (reading, writing, listening
and speaking) the teaching and learning of grammar and
vocabulary is necessary.

Young pupils are often not able to think in abstract terms, and are
still developing mental concepts. So, they may not be able to
analyse language through a grammatical perspective. The
teacher should avoid using grammar terms (e.g. passive verb,
subject, object) and focus instead on what grammar can do to
achieve communication.

Lesson plans should include tasks which use grammar to achieve

a goal. Provide a context for the grammar item that is taught.

Keep in mind that pupils may learn easily but forget quickly.
Recycle new grammar items frequently to help them remember.
Reference: http://www.englishonline.org.cn/en/teachers/teaching-articles/methodology/teach-grammar
 Activity 1- How did I do it?

1. Ask a pupil to volunteer to leave the room.

2. The pupil is asked to think of an adverb of manner.
Example: slowly, quickly, happily, sadly etc
3. The pupil comes back to the room.
4. Other pupils give him instructions. Eg: Walk around
the room. Stand up. Scratch your head etc.
5. The pupil does as he is told according to the
adverb of manner he has chosen. Eg: He
scratches his head slowly, if that was the adverb
that he had chosen earlier.
6. The pupil does this action three times and the other
pupils guess the adverb of manner.
 Activity 2 Guess who am I?

1. Think of a person everyone in the class is likely to

know. This could be a famous person (such as a
celebrity), a book character, or even a pupil in the
class.
2. Provide hints about the person using adjectives.
3. Pupils take turns to try and guess who the person is
based on the clues provided.
For example:
Teacher: His eyes are brown.
Pupil 1: Is it Tom?
Teacher: No, it isnt. His hair is curly.
Pupil 2: Is it Steven?
Teacher: No, it isnt. He carries a big, red bag.
Pupil 3: Is it Hamid?
Teacher: Yes, its Hamid!
 Activity 3 Form Me a Sentence

1 Write down the name of a person, place, thing or idea on an

index card with a particular colored marker. For example, write
the subject "cat" in blue.

2 Look at the list of words that show action. With a different color
marker, write a verb on another index card that can make
sense with your subject.

3. Express a complete sentence by using the two words in a

noun- verb sequence aloud. Trade "noun" cards with your
friends if you like.

4 Next, write an adjective in a third colour. Include articles a, an

and the, which can be written with the same color as
adjectives.
Eg: The naughty
 Activity 3

5. Now, think of an adverb and write down in a fourth colour on

another index card.
Eg: quickly.

6. Finally, string your final sentence together by punching a hole

at each end of your index cards and pulling yarn through the
holes until each word is on the string. Capitalize the first letter
of the first word in your sentence.

7. Presto! You can now display your original complete sentence.

Adapted from:: How to Teach Grammar in Primary School | eHow.com

http://www.ehow.com/how_6633202_teach-grammar-primary-school.html#ixzz2Pqlfy8vZ
 Activity 4 Sentence Boggle

1. Get into groups of 3 or 4 and appoint a group

secretary .

2. You have three minute to make as many sentences

as possible from the words in the box.

3. Every correct sentence gets 10 marks each.

4. The group with the most marks wins.

 Activity 4 Sentence Boggle

cartoons films I or watch detective

like great often never you science fiction

watches always interesting are romantic

funny

He do sports does programmes

Likes

she How often is and boring sometimes

 Activity 4 Sentence Boggle

cookies tea favourite supermarket

enjoy often seldom I science fiction

plays always fun are exciting fun

friend do documentary movies songs

Hates he careful dangerous hot

she Why never is and boring

sometimes
Some Suggested Ways To Teach Grammar

Language Games

Songs

Grammar songs

Poems

Stories.
 Using activities to teach grammar

WHY?

Provides a context for pupils learning.

Fun in learning

Interactive and hands-on

Help pupils to grasp grammatical concepts better.

Aid pupils to remember grammar learnt more efficiently.

Incidental learning takes place.

 Conclusion

At the end of the day, our aim in teaching grammar is to enable

pupils to apply what they have learnt in their speech and writing.
Therefore, let us not make the learning of grammar an end by
itself through meaningless drills and endless memorisation. All
teaching and learning of grammar must be done in a meaningful
way so that pupils are able to grasp grammar rules and apply
them correctly. Do not despair if your pupils find it hard to grasp
grammar or take a long time to do so. Remember , English
grammar rules can be logic defying as the English language has
grammar rules and an almost equal number of exceptions to the
rules!! That is why , sometimes, even adults find it hard to grasp
grammar perfectly! So, what more with our children!!
 Thank You

Ewe Choy Choo, English Lang. Unit (Primary),

CDD
ewe.choychoo@moe.gov.my