How I Improved My Grammar Lessons By Not Teaching!

February 19, 2018Leave a comment

when students talk, i listen

A few weeks ago, in the midst of coming in from recess, I was given the word by several students that my English lessons ~~were boring~~ less engaging than some of my other subject lessons. Now I could have gotten angry, or bent out of shape, or any other teacher emotion that comes to mind when told a lesson was not all that it could be. Truth be told, my lessons had gotten stale…that after holidays, after January, waiting for Presidents’ Day time of year. I won’t lie, grammar often got the short end of the stick in the day as I tried to fit everything in, as I am a self-contained fifth grade teacher!

Students step up!

While I’ve been teaching for more than 20 years, I’m pretty open to new ideas to improve the learning in my classroom. Trust me, I’ve known a few “done it this way for years so why change?.” teachers. That’s not me, so I tuned in with all ears as I entered the conversation. “How could I fix the lessons?, ” was what I asked. Imagine my surprise when one of my best students asked if she could teach the next lesson! We were both surprised when the words, “Sure, let’s do this!,” came out of my mouth. Next thing I knew, several more students volunteered to teach lessons.

How do I do this, Teacher?

I sat down with my first volunteer and together we chose the lesson…Object Pronouns! We chose a date…three days in the future and I gave her my teacher edition. “I’ve got this, Mrs. Mescall” was what I heard until the day of the lesson.

D-Day or should I say T-Day (teach)! My student did an amazing job…she taught us with a fun game using large dice. The students rolled the two dice of different colors. Each number on one of the dice corresponded to a specific object pronoun. The second dice numbers corresponded to a specific subject pronoun. Students then took those two pronouns and created a sentence with both pronouns used correctly. The students loved the game and my teacher student then walked around checking sentences and having the class read their sentences! SCORE!! It was a good lesson and I will totally be stealing her game for another time!!!

Lining Up!

Our second student-led lesson was about possessive pronouns. I again shared my teacher edition and that Brainpop had a good videos and activities. My second student-led class was also a success! My second student’s lesson was more digital and the class really enjoyed it. We did so well as a class that we were rewarded with “thin mints” as we were “smart cookies”!

Have I totally given up teaching grammar and English…not really. I do still teach them both, but I have continued to offer the opportunity to teach the class. Several more students are eager to teach and I will certainly be letting them try out their teaching skills!

Thanks,

I do have some games and activities you might want to try to add some fun and spice to your English lessons! Check out the links below!

A fun game with verb tenses!

Here are activities to help master there, their, and they’re!

Here are 3 levels of antonyms to meet the needs of all!

Do You Really Know George & Abraham?

January 28, 2018Leave a comment

Fact or Fib?

George Washington never told a lie. Abraham Lincoln walked ten miles to return a nickel. Theses are some of the “facts” I was taught about these two most beloved and celebrated presidents. What’s the truth?

I went on a hunt for facts about both of these presidents, each of whom have wonderful, but not necessarily true stories about their lives.

sharing is caring!

As I accumulated the facts about George and Abraham, I began to think about how to share these facts with my students. It was an easy decision to make a game of it all. Part of why I create products is to make learning fun for my students while also making life easier for my teacher friends. Here was a perfect opportunity to share what I had learned with both my students AND friends!

Celebrate With George and Abraham

I created a “FACT” or “FIB” sort to have students read statements about each of the presidents, and after discussion, decide whether it’s a fact or a fib. I have included the answers for teachers. I also thought it would be fun for students to then take their newly acquired facts and create an acrostic about either president or both! I’ve included a short assessment or pre/post worksheet and also a Venn diagram to compare the two presidents.

Celebrate Presidents’ Day with George and Abraham!

What are some and engaging ways you celebrate Presidents’ Day? Let me know!

Thanks!

The Free Dictionary Game Students Will Beg For!

November 11, 2015September 23, 2018Leave a comment

Here’s the dictionary dilemma, teachers! We want our students to increase their knowledge of vocabulary in all subjects, but too often our go-to assignment has students looking up the words in a dictionary and copy the meaning into a notebook. For myself, even I used to shudder at the idea of looking up unknown words in the dictionary!

Engage students are learning students and the best is when they don’t even realize they are learning!!! I was racking my brain for a new way to introduce the vocabulary in a novel I wanted the class to read. It came to me like a flash!!!! I find that most students get very competitive in a game situation and that is what led to, TA DAH!!! DICTIONARY DASH!! Even better, the game is free AND easy to implement!!!

Here’s how it works in my room. I have my students get themselves into groups of three. Each group gets a dictionary. Because my students are so competitive, I have the students put their hands on the closed dictionary BEFORE I write the word to be looked up on the board. On the board I have drawn a chart. Word/Part of Speech/Definition. After the word is written on the whiteboard, they can’t start their search until I say “Go!”

The first group to find the word yells “We got it!’ and they send one of the students to the board. The chosen student writes the part of speech and the definition on the whiteboard. I will check the student’s choice of definition to make sure it is the one needed for the day’s reading.

The other students are reading the meaning of the word as it is written on the board. After that, the groups put their hands on the closed dictionary and the game continues until all vocabulary words needed for that day have been defined.

That being said, let me add a few pointers about the game:

DO NOT use this game every day in all subjects! Anything done a lot gets boring and that’s what you’re trying to avoid!!!
DO NOT use this game to look up EVERY vocabulary word in the lesson. Why? See #1!
DO use it in subjects other than just Reading. Students need to see the need for increased vocabulary in all subjects.

I have the students put the vocabulary words and meanings into their subject journal and glossary. We then jump into the lesson.

That’s it…that’s all it took to get my kids excited about using the dictionary!! What’s the worst? You lose a bit of time…What’s the best? A new game that takes little to no prep and excites students!

If you try the game, let me know how it worked. If you have some fun ideas for vocabulary, share those too!!!! Thanks!

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