Teaching grammar can be difficult, especially when teaching the concepts to younger children, since the terminology can be confusing and difficult to grasp. A new teacher may want to spend a fair amount of time researching different strategies and trying each one out in the classroom; it is important for the teacher to remember that it is all right to alter a strategy if it is not working. Sticking with a strategy because it should work is never a good idea if the strategy is not effective.
It is important to note whether students are learning how to use grammar functionally. This is more important when teaching grammar than ensuring each student can label the concepts. If, for example, a student cannot label a noun or verb, it may not be too dire of a situation as long as that student can functionally use a noun and a verb properly in a sentence. If they can utilize the concepts, they will be more likely to understand the concept rather than simply knowing the definition. Practice is more important than rote memory when teaching grammar.
Motivating the students will go a long way toward improving retention and synthesis. Students can get bored quickly with apparently aimless repetition, so when teaching grammar, the teacher should try to give the students plenty of real applications for writing. Instead of assigning a random essay about any topic at all, try to have students write a letter to a congressman about a local issue, or have the students write a letter to their favorite musician. This will allow students to use the concepts they have learned while writing a topic in which they are interested.
Sentence expansion is a great technique, especially for younger children. This involves starting with a very short subject-verb sentence, such as, "I ran." This short sentence allows the teacher to explain the idea of subjects and verbs. The student can then add to the sentence: "I ran quickly." A third part of speech, the adverb, has been added, yet the sentence is still small and simple enough to introduce this new part of speech. The teacher can then talk about independent and dependent clauses by further adding to the sentence: "I ran quickly to the store." The independent clause and the dependent clause are both still short enough to be less intimidating to the student, but the concept is easily taught anyway.
