Grammar Punk Blog

Since I’ve been talking about teachers, I’ll throw in an article about students and classrooms.

Engage your students by giving them a sense of accomplishment

There is nothing more compelling when it comes to a difficult or tedious task than having a goal at the end of it. As with pretty much all subjects, Language Arts has its share of less than scintillating aspects, the secret is to create something from the mundane.

Combine activities

Spelling words, another of those oh so necessary nemesis that go along with the perpetuation of our wonderfully complex language. Rote, practice, dissembling the words, familiarizing oneself with the parts of the words (prefix, root, suffix) will all strengthen spelling skills and enhancing the vocabulary. But then what? What to do with all those lovely but disconnected words? Connect them.

Assign the writing of a short story using all of those spelling words, an activity that will not only prepare students for the coming composition course but will serve to further ingrain the spelling and defining of those words. Of course this assignment will be enhanced (not to mention more fun) by using the myriad of cards available with the Grammar Punk™ Programs to offer a nearly limitless quantity of story ideas, writing tips, and brainstorming prompts.

Giving any assignment a purpose with clear parameters will make it much more palatable. Learning while creating is the best of both worlds.