Teaching Grammar Just Got Easy!

Hey Friends!

I have had grammar on my mind a lot the past few weeks as I struggle to get my kiddos geared up for our state testing that starts next month (GULP! Did I just type that for real????)

As the writing teacher for over 60 students, I have had a lot of time to think about  grammar resources. I have found that my students LOVE YouTube videos, and I love using them! One of my newest favorites are songs by the Bazillions!

I have printed the lyrics and my kiddos and have gone to town singing away! It is such a fun video AND I will catch them humming or singing the song in the lunch room or on the playground. TOTAL SCORE!

They also have others that they have just released:

They are super catchy and I love how they illustrate each one! Check them out today!

But if you really want good resources than you are going to love this amazing deal over at Educents!  I have teamed up with 4 other amazing sellers to load your classroom with 10 resources to help kids work on grammar!  (Click on ANY picture to check out the deal!)

I have selected two popular and student-loved resources for this great bundle!

First, is one of my 60+ Order UP! sets!

Order Up! sets have been come very popular in my classroom! My students LOVE to complete them and I copy them 1/2 sheet size so that the students can glue them into their writing journals! They are easy to use for assessments and I find myself using these frequently to test student's knowledge! AND, because these are like "I have, Who Has" for one person students can work at their own pace. All this and these are self checking to boot- BONUS!

(Remember-Click on ANY picture to check out the deal!)

My second resource is my hugely popular Mystery Pictures!

           You will get my April Parts of Speech Mystery Picture Set! Mystery pictures have been around for ages, but mystery pictures that use parts of speech are here and I LOVE these. The format is such that the kiddos are told that a given part of speech is a give color and then the students must search the grid finding words that fit the rule. I love that some words (not many as I tried to create these using words that don't have 'double' meanings) create a great conversation about some words playing multiple roles! 

With testing coming up- fun review and creative assessments are a must- and I think these activities will be something you will use year after year! Go ahead- check'em out!!

The Details:

For a limited time you get a great bundle (my two resources above plus EIGHT, yup, 8 more- see below) for only $10.99 from Educents which is about 70% off!  That makes each resource $1.10!!! WOW!

(And if you have never purchased from Educents before NEVER FEAR! Signing up is easy AND they always have a great deal for your first purchase.  Click HERE if you are a first time purchaser to get signed up and ready to go! WAHOO!)

You can also take peek at some of the other products included in the bundle at any of the links below!
Have fun teaching grammar everyone!

The SUBJECT is what the sentence is about...

I have said this everyday to my language arts classes for the last three weeks and several of the students STILL don't have a clue what it means. We also practiced "...and the PREDICATE is what it does".

We have chanted, written sentences, used our silent reading books, completed worksheets, and the reteaching sheets. 

I decided to take matters into my own hands and create a game. I mean, after all, they loved my Four Types of sentences that I had previously created, and those center activities seemed to stick with them better than anything else we had done. Maybe I would get lucky again...

So, I set to work designing a game that would require the students to identify both the complete and simple subject and predicate of a sentence. I wanted it to be simple, fast, and engaging. That was a tall order for 4th, 5th, AND 6th graders (I teach all three grades Language Arts each day).

I think the final product is easy to use, efficient, and engaging for the students. I also knew that students may not know the answer to the question, so I even created an answer key that included every sentences' answer.

I must admit, I was a bit apprehensive when I was introducing it to my students. After all, I am my own worst critic. However, it seemed to go over really well. The kids were using all the vocabulary that I was working so hard to get them to use. They were talking together, discussing, and explaining. It was exhilarating.

I did learn of one major problem with the current edition, and that was that the number of spaces they got to move. I had most cards at 1 space, and after 15 minutes most groups were only 1/2 around the board.   So I came home and updated the cards to have mostly 2 and 3 spaces on the cards. I think this will make game play much more exciting.

Below are more pictures of my classes playing the game.

If you are interested in using this fun and engaging game in your classroom, you can check out the details by clicking on the picture below.

Or click HERE. :)

Finally, most of my students can now tell me what the subject and predicate of a sentence is, and THAT is total victory!

Cheers and Happy Racing-
MrHughes