Making Grammar Fun

Grammar.  Many teenagers wince when they hear the word.  Visions of prepositions dance through their heads, and they see no reason for its importance in their lives.  These kids need to understand why grammar matters before they can get excited about learning it, and that is my goal--finding relevance for my students every day. When teaching grammar, I especially love using humor to show why bad grammar just doesn't work!  

Below I have attached a YouTube video that I made with my colleagues, and it presents an example of how grammar can become simple, relevant, and even fun. 

Check out my education store for some more relevant ELA ideas for the classroom:  

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Creative-English-Classroom

DIY Dry-erase Boards for Classy Teachers

Hey there, resourceful teachers.  This past school year, I decided to experiment with individual dry-erase board ideas for my students, and I came up with an inexpensive solution: 67-cent picture frames from Wal-Mart.  I inserted decorative scrap-booking paper and dabbed a few layers of magnetic paint on the pack, and I was able to store the attractive frames with markers magnetized to the backs.  I loved the unique aesthetic value, as well as the financial bargain!  Take a look through the pictures below, and let me know about any other DIY classroom hacks that have worked for you!

The Smaller Desk

Some days I miss the smaller desk 

Where I sat and I listened and learned.

I answered when called upon -- that was enough--

And my teachers' approval I'd earned.

Some days I miss the smaller desk

Where I read when they told me to read.

I wrote when they told me to write.  That was all

That I needed for me to succeed.

Some days I miss the smaller desk

Where I kept just a notebook and pen.

I'd write a few lines that I thought sounded smart,

But if not, I could just try again.

Some days I miss the smaller desk

Where I counted down days 'til I'd leave.

The end was in sight, and my thoughts flew beyond

To the dreams that I knew I'd achieve.

Some days I miss the smaller desk,

For now twenty such desks point at me.

But the bigger desk gives me the chance to become

Who the smaller desk taught me to be.

What New Teachers Are Told vs. What a New Teacher Learned

What new teachers are told:

Don’t let your students know your age.  If they know you are in your twenties, they won’t respect you.

What I have learned:

Teenagers have plenty of middle-aged Christians to admire and emulate, but many twenty-something siblings and friends have shown them bad examples of a moral life.  New teachers should emphasize their young age and prove to teenagers that young people can be responsible, intelligent Christians.

What new teachers are told:

Be strict. Don’t compromise.  Don’t ever bend your rules.  Students will think you are inconsistent and will refuse to listen to you.

What I have learned:

New teachers, especially, need to be understanding.  Teenagers have incredibly hard lives, and many of their circumstances are still out of their control.  Yes, we should try to act consistently.  Yes, students will have to deal with the uncompromising world outside of high school.  But right now your students need someone to listen to them and take them seriously.  Your classroom may be the only haven they have in this messed-up, chaotic world.

What new teachers are told:

The first year will be the hardest.

What I have learned:

Every year will be harder than the first.  Each year you will have to set aside your perceptions from the year before to rebuild a new curriculum for new students.  Much of what you learned your first year will be turned upside-down in the second, and so on.  The students you learned to love will leave you, and you will be tempted to compare each year to the year before.  The longer you teach, the more you will feel that you have not improved, prepared, or learned as much as you could have—and it will always be true.

What new teachers are told:

Find a respected veteran teacher, and model your teaching style and curriculum after that person.

What I learned:

Sure, you can (and should) take advice from older teachers.  You might even adopt some of their strategies.  But of the many teachers your students have had, you are the only you to have ever taught them.  Don’t compare yourself to another teacher.  Unique teaching styles make content more memorable than seven teachers teaching the same thing in the same way.  Your students need you to be the best you you can be.