Why it works

This extensive resource focuses on the notion that grammar rules are not isolated entities but intricate building blocks, one supporting the next. When students grasp and master these foundations, they not only enhance their writing confidence but also gain the ability to artfully manipulate words, phrases, and grammatical structures to achieve desired effects. A strong understanding and skill in using punctuation will inevitably follow.

The resource is suited to a wide range of skill levels, moving from the basics of nouns, verbs and modifiers, all the way to using participle and prepositional phrases. The uniqueness of the approach however stems from the choice of sequence and the suggested teaching of it, carefully and incrementally building the capability of the learner regardless of their starting point, and moving them towards mastery before introducing the next grammar complexity.

Whilst the resource provides a clear strategy to teach the components, it does not provide an extensive list of activities. This is because the examples you give your students will very much depend on them, and their age or year level and their vocabulary. Gen-AI can be used here to quickly create the desired examples for each activity to suit your audience. In this way, the resource is not limited to a specific age group, and reinforces the notion that the teaching of grammar and the benefits gained from it can be achieved at any year level.

Strategy for embedding into a curriculum

The sequence is broken into distinct sections, and the teacher would incorporate a section into a scheme or unit of work so students can see its functionality in a real-world context. This resource is designed so you can introduce the grammatical rule and skill via the PPT, engage students in decontextualised activities that help reinforce the understanding of the rules, and then incorporate and demonstrate relevant literature or other texts that are strong examples of the grammar being used. Writing activities would then be included so students can apply the newly learned grammatical elements.

· Section A: begins by explaining the various types of nouns, and how determiners are used to introduce certain nouns. The subject of a sentence is then taught as this is essential for the understanding of what constitutes a clause.  

· Section B: introduces the concept of a verb. The 5 main forms of verb are discussed. The reason for going into depth here rather than simply encouraging students to say that all verb forms are merely ‘verbs’ is that each of the forms serves a particular purpose in our language, and so a secure knowledge of each assist them in being more precise with their language. The great bonus of this is that the teacher can then provide more precise feedback to students. 

· The distinction between finite and non-finite verb forms is made clear, which allows for a discussion about tense, and how and why we must use the correct tense. Auxiliary verbs, including modal verbs are presented to assist the understanding of tense. 

· Section C: introduces how nouns and verbs are used in combination to form sentences primarily via clauses. Main and subordinate explanations provide opportunities to discuss conjunctions, both coordinating and subordinating, and what rules we use to punctuate both compound and complex sentences.  

· Section D: introduces modifiers. The scheme begins by discussing adjectival and adverbial clauses. In terms of adjectival, the common use of relative clauses is explained and restricted and non-restricted clauses are explained; an important consideration for punctuation.  

· Section E: introduces how non-finite verbs are used to create phrases. The 4 main types of phrases are explained, and how they are used as modifiers. Prepositions are defined, and lots of attention is given to participles. Participle phrases are highly effective modifiers, and the adjectival nature of past and present participles is explored. As well as this, the adaptive nature of participles explains how they are used in the passive voice, as well as in combination with auxiliary verbs in 9 of the 12 tenses

Activity design

The absolute key is to ensure that the initial teaching of a new grammar component is done in isolation. This allows the learner to focus only on that element and also provides the teacher with the ability to understand where issues in learning occur. In this sense, it follows the methodology of a research project, where only the introduction of a single variable should be the focus of observation.

For example, in the teaching of the first type of noun, proper nouns, none of the other noun types should be used. And within that teaching, to secure understanding, the complexity of the grammatical use should increase. The examples used in the proper noun activity below demonstrate this principle which can be applied to the rest of the grammar teaching.

Here is the suggested design of activities:

- In each activity there should be at least 5 examples of the grammar element.

- The first activity should be single words only.

- The second activity should include multiple words, and these can be phrases.

- The third activity should include full sentences incorporating the element.

- A fourth activity may be optional and would include deliberate errors that students need to identify.

- Each activity should utilise a correct/incorrect ratio of 70% correct and 30% incorrect options.

Noun Type: Proper Nouns

Design of Activity: 70/30 correct/incorrect ratio

1. Single Words: Provide a list of single words, and the learner must identify which are proper nouns.

a. London

b. Paris

c. Sydney

d. river

e. ocean

f. Shakespeare

2. Multiple Words: Provide phrases containing multiple words, and the learner must identify the proper noun within the phrase.

a. The park in Paris

b. The group swam

c. The Sydney Opera House

d. Today is Sunday

e. The family went to Australia

f. Tomorrow is going to be fun

3. Multiple Words: Provide full sentences containing multiple words, and the learner must identify the proper noun/s within the sentence.

a. Last weekend the group went to Thebarton.

b. Last weekend the team played soccer.

c. Peter had a lovely swim.

d. Paul has always loved Joanne.

e. The bus company changed its name to Ronald’s.

f. Not many people liked the new company name.

4. Multiple Words: Provide full sentences containing multiple words, but ones with deliberate errors or omissions for the learner to identify. ‘Which sentences use proper nouns correctly, and adjust a sentence if you identify an error.’

a. Peter realised that london is super busy.

b. The player was very famous.

c. No one in New York could tell simon wasn’t from there.

d. The bakery had to change the website to include lennie’s family name.

e. Peter and paul were the best of friends.

f. John always loved travelling to paris.