3.2 Teaching Strategies for Grammar

• Word Function Sort: As students think about the categories that words can fit into, they can sort words into the roles they can play in a sentence. This strategy is best used with nouns and verbs.
• Sentence Unpacking: The purpose of this strategy is to help students improve their reading comprehension. They will break apart a sentence and — using the function questions you are currently teaching — identify the function of each word.
• Scooping for Meaning: Scooping for Meaning is designed to teach students to recognize meaningful groups of words in sentences and connected text. They'll need this skill to read fluently and with comprehension.
• Sentence Expansion: The purpose of this strategy is to help students build a more complex sentence. Starting with a basic sentence (noun + verb: The otter swam.), students will use function questions as a guide ("When?" – in the morning; "Where?" – in the river).

1. Picture Sort (easier)

A picture sort is best for students who may still be learning to decode words or may not be ready for the cognitive load of having to decode and make decisions about the function of the word. We've created a person, place, or thing sort using pictures that you can use with your students.

Here's what you'll do:

• Together with students, identify each picture on the cards. 
• Have students cut apart the pictures, or provide laminated pre-cut cards.
• Provide them with a page with three columns with the headings: Who or what (noun), Did what (verb), and Both.
• Students decide whether the word represented by the picture is a who or what (noun), did what (verb), or both.
• Students glue or place the picture in the correct column.

2. Word Sort (harder)

Word sorts are based on a phonics pattern that has been previously taught. You will provide students with a list of words that fit the phonics pattern and also function as a grammatical building block they are learning about. Our collection of words by phonics skill is a great place to start when selecting your words!

Here's what you'll do:

• Select a phonics skill (for example, magic 'e') and grammatical building blocks (for example, nouns and verbs) that your students have already practiced.
• Create a word bank of words that all follow the phonics skill and can be sorted into the grammatical building block(s) selected.
• Provide them with a page with columns for the categories that students will sort the words into — that is, the grammatical building blocks (like nouns and verbs). Don't forget to include a column labeled "Both" if there are words that can function in more than one way.
• Before sorting, have students read the words listed in the word bank that you provide to them. 
• Working in a small group or with a partner, students should discuss the category the word belongs to.
• Students write the word in the corresponding column.

You can create your own sorts using our blank template provided at the end of each activity. 

Sentence Unpacking helps students to understand the role of each word in a sentence. And that will help them better comprehend the meaning of the sentence! You'll use your grammar function questions to help them figure out what each word is doing. 

To prepare for this activity, you'll need to select a grammatical building block to focus on and a sentence to unpack (a sentence which contains that grammatical building block).

You can create sentences yourself, or you can pull them from decodables or authentic texts. Take a look at these examples:

Here's an activity that can help you try out this strategy.

Reading specialist Ashlea Edwards models how to unpack a sentence using function questions to help students read for meaning. 

The teaching strategy Scooping for Meaning is designed to teach students to recognize meaningful groups of words in sentences and connected text. They'll need this skill to read fluently and with comprehension. As they're learning the grammatical building blocks, they'll be building connections in their mind between types of building blocks; identifying meaningful phrases with your guidance will help them make those connections.

Here's an example of a scooped sentence:

You'll notice the function-first questions ("Who?", "What?", "Did what?", "Where?") under the scooped phrases. You'll use questions like those to help your students identify meaningful groups of words as they read. 

You can teach Scooping for Meaning with a decodable sentence, a sentence from a read-aloud, or a sentence related to a content area you're studying, like in these examples:

1. Once you've chosen a sentence, have your students read it chorally. For example, read aloud this sentence together:

The tiny staple fell on the ground.

2. Then you'll ask function questions about the sentence:

Show students the "Who or what?" card.

Say,

Who or what is this sentence about? 

The students reply,

A staple.

Show students the "What kind?" card. 

Say,

What kind of staple is it?

The students reply,

A tiny one.

Show students the "Did what?" card. 

Say,

And the staple did what?

The students reply,

It fell.

Show students the "Where?" card. 

Say,

Where did it fall? 

The students reply,

On the ground.

4. Repeat this process with other sentences in your lesson.

Watch reading specialist Carla Stanford demonstrate the Scooping for Meaning strategy.

You'll find examples in these free activity sheets. Feel free to download and use them!

Below you'll find a PowerPoint slide template that let's you create your own interactive lesson to project on your whiteboard. Modify the slides to insert your own example sentences and modify the provided question graphics to match your instruction.

The purpose of this strategy is to help students build an expanded sentence. You'll give them a simple sentence with just a who or what (subject) and a did what (verb), like this one: The dog runs. Prompted by your function question cards, students will ask and answer one function question at a time to expand the sentence. 

You can teach the Sentence Expansion strategy with a decodable sentence or a sentence related to a content area you're studying, like in these examples:

1. Display the simple sentence containing the who or what (subject) and the did what (verb).

2. Read the sentence aloud together. Use your function question cards to unpack the meaning. For example, say, "Who or what is this sentence about?" Read aloud the sentence parts until students locate the who or what (subject).

3. Then ask, "What is the who or what (subject) doing?" Read aloud the sentence parts until they locate the did what (verb). 

4. Next, use the function question cards to help build a longer, expanded sentence. Go through each function question you've selected ("When?" or "Why?"), asking the question, having students brainstorm answers, making decisions for sentence structure. And then record the answer on the board. Remember, you'll need to have a conversation to discuss how to place these parts in order, not the order in which the questions came.

5. Read the expanded sentence together.

We hope you'll download our free activity sheets below! 

Below you'll find a PowerPoint slide template that let's you create your own interactive lesson to project on your whiteboard. Modify the slides to insert your own example sentences and modify the provided question graphics to match your instruction.