6 Ways to Make Grammar Memorable for Your Students

Making a grammar lesson stand out to students can be challenging, but here are some easy ways to make your lessons more engaging and memorable:

Use Real-Life Examples: Use examples from everyday life or from popular culture to show students how grammar is used (…or not used) properly to reinforce your lessons.  Ever had a conversation with a friend where she used improper grammar?  Ever seen a grammar mistake in an article you’ve read?  Share these experiences with your students to help them see grammar in their own everyday lives.

Create Interactive Dialogue or Skits: Pair students up and have them create their own humorous dialogues or skits where they employ specific grammar usage lessons.  Getting students out of their seats and making grammar more of an active experience will keep your lessons memorable.  (Remember that time when Maria said, “Her and Tasha went to the movies,” and Oscar fell out of his chair because of her terrible grammar?)   Keep it fun; keep it active. This will help students feel more invested in the lesson, and it will keep the lessons memorable.

Reward Their Efforts: Offering rewards can help motivate students to pay attention and participate in the lesson.  These prizes do not have to be fancy.  Not many students have a coveted “paperclip bracelet,” handmade by their teacher or the cone-shaped “Grammar Wizard” hat, carefully rolled, decorated, and constructed by their teacher.  Keep it simple – the sillier, the better.

Make it Fun: Incorporating games and other fun activities into your lesson can help keep students engaged and make the experience enjoyable.  Make up your own games, or better yet – have them create some games themselves.  Grammar Jeopardy?  Wheel of Grammar?  The more creative the better! 

Use Visuals (and Grammar Fails!): Incorporating visuals like infographics can help students understand complex grammar concepts and make the lesson more memorable.  They’re easy to create, or better yet – have students create their own to share with each other.  Real-life examples of grammar errors and mistakes can be entertaining as well.  A quick search for “grammar fails” will provide you with a plethora of examples.  Just be sure to remind your students that we’re all human and that no one’s perfect. 

Incorporate Technology: Using technology, such as videos, online quizzes, and interactive activities, can make a grammar lesson more engaging and help students retain information.  Meet the students where they already are – online.  Check out GrammarFlip’s comprehensive, online grammar curriculum with instructional video lessons, practice exercises with instant feedback, writing application activities, review games, and more!

By incorporating these strategies, you can make what would have been a boring grammar lesson more engaging, memorable, and effective for your students.