Brilliant Activities for Grammar and Punctuation, Year 1

Brilliant Activities for Grammar and Punctuation, Year 1, is part of a 6-book photocopiable series to teach basic grammatical and punctuation concepts in a fun and memorable way, which will challenge and stimulate the whole class. Pupils are motivated to think logically about the activities and to share their knowledge and understanding with their peers through working individually, in pairs, groups or, sometimes, in whole class contexts.

The rules of grammar and punctuation are not always easy to access and absorb - or even to teach. It is difficult for children to make the leap from speaking and writing to talking about speaking and writing and to think in the abstract about the words of the language. The ability or readiness to do this requires a certain way of thinking and, for the most part, repetition is the key.

The sheets for this series are all written to add to the children's understanding of these fairly abstract ideas. They aim to improve children's ability to use English effectively and accurately in their own writing and speaking.

The sheets contain oral as well as written contexts because grammar and punctuation are not just about writing. Sometimes the way children have learned to speak is not always grammatically correct, but it is the way of speaking that they own. We always have to be aware of instances of regional or familial language and make the point that what we are teaching is what is known universally as 'correct' speech without deprecating the children's own patterns of speech.

The children should always be encouraged to discuss what it is they are learning, to ask questions and to make observations. All of this discussion will help them to understand how the English language works.

The sheets are designed to be structured, but flexible so that they can be used to introduce a concept, as stand-alones or as follow-ons. The activities on the sheets can be used as templates to create lots more for practice and reinforcement purposes.

Each book aims to offer:

• groundwork for the introduction of new concepts
• a range of relevant activities
• ideas for continuation
• opportunity for reinforcement
• simple and clear definition of concepts and terms
• opportunities for assessing learning
• clear information to teachers.

The...read more...