Grammar

=**Steps for Teaching Grammar** =

//For those of you who choose to teach in English (or whose mentors require the explicit teaching of grammar in English), this is a process you can use to present new grammatical structures. Examples of what each step would look like if you were teaching students to distinguish between the preterit and the imperfect tenses in Spanish appear in italics.//

=Summary=

Activate Prior Knowledge Present New Concept Multiple Examples (at least 3) Check for Understanding Guided Practice Independent Practice
 * Rationale/Purpose: Why? When?
 * Principles/Process: How?

=Activate Prior Knowledge=

What do students already know that will help them to be successful with this new bit of information?


 * //What can you tell me about the preterite tense? The imperfect tense?// (Brainstorm on a concept map on the board.)
 * //Review endings for regular preterit tense verbs with the Three Blind Mice song.//
 * //Have students practice the endings by doing board races or some other game.//
 * //Review endings for imperfect tense verbs and have students practice with Around the World or some other quick game.//

=Present New Concept=

**Rationale/Purpose: WHY?/WHEN?**
Why is this particular concept important? What will it allow students to accomplish? When should students use the grammatical structure?


 * //Both of these tenses can be used to talk about things that happened in the past, so today we are going to learn when to use each one.//
 * //Use the preterit to talk about things that happened in the past and are "over and done with."//
 * //Use the imperfect to talk about things that happened repeatedly or habitually in the past--things that were "ongoing."//

//How should students accomplish the grammatical task? Is there a formula or process that will help them?//
I have found that guided notes when presenting grammar are EXTREMELY helpful. It gives the students who are poor note takers (as well as younger learners) the ability to focus on whats important and spend time PROCESSING the new information instead of scrambling to write down what is on the board. Here is an example. user:cartierm

Here are examples of how you might present and/or practice a variety of different grammatical concepts with students:

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 * ConjugationsBack** ([|Alternate TeacherTube link])

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 * Cry Me a Verb** ([|Alternate TeacherTube link])

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//The DUWITS can help you to distinguish whether you need to use the preterit or the imperfect.//




 * //D//**//escription: It was a dark and stormy night.// //The trees scratched against the windows and the wind blew fiercely.//
 * //U//**//sed to/ongoing past actions: We used to walk/always walked home from soccer practice at night.//
 * //W//**//as + -ing and// **//w//**//ere + -ing//: //That night, it was raining really hard and we were shivering from the cold.//
 * //I//**//nternal, mental processes//: //We just wanted to go home.//
 * //T//**//ime//: //It was 7 o'clock at night, but it was already dark.//
 * //S//**//pecial situations//: //My little brother refused to walk fast.// (These are situations where the verb changes meaning depending on the tense, so querer in the imperfect means wanted, but in the preterit, it can mean refused.)

**Multiple Examples: WHAT?**
What are some examples of what the formula or process looks like in action? In contrastive situations (such as preterit v. imperfect or por v. para), what would the sentence mean if a student used the wrong word?

Students need to see //at least// 3 examples in order to start to see a pattern.

Do students understand? Give them some tasks that allow you to quickly assess what might still be unclear to them.

//Okay, so now I'm going to read you a story. After each verb, I will pause. If the verb needs to be in the preterit, I want you to clap once to signify the action was completed at a particular point in time in the past. If you think the verb needs to be in the imperfect, I want you to stomp your feet (or roll your arms) to indicate that the action was habitual or ongoing in the past.

Okay, this time, I'm going to read you a story in Spanish. After each verb, I will pause. Your job will be to show me whether the verb was in the preterit or the imperfect by holding up the red card for preterit and the green card for imperfect. Then I'm going to call on one of you to explain why you think the speaker decided to use that tense.//

**Guided Practice:**
Give students some opportunities to try to apply the concept. You might wish to start with a simple worksheet or set of exercises (5 to 7 problems). Give students a few minutes to complete it, then go over the answers so they can check their work. Next, make sure that students who didn't get them right have the opportunity to ask questions to clarify what they still do not understand.

Now students are ready to practice in small groups. Games are good for this. Be sure to SHOW them what to do instead of telling them.


 * 1) The goal of this game is to . . . (get rid of all of your cards before everyone else does, make it to the end of the yellow brick road before the witch does, etc.).
 * 2) To play this game you will need . . . (SHOW students the materials they'll need, then have a procedure in place for making sure everyone gets the materials they need quickly and efficiently)
 * 3) Here is how we play the game . . . (MODEL the activity for students, one step at a time)
 * 4) Are there any questions? (WAIT for students to think about whether they have questions or not.)
 * 5) Who can explain what you're supposed to do? (ASK a student to paraphrase your instructions. This allows you to clarify misunderstandings and allows students who didn't understand your explanation to hear it again.)
 * 6) Okay, get into your groups . . . (TELL students how long they have to accomplish this.)
 * 7) You have --- minutes to play. (SET A TIME LIMIT!)
 * 8) CIRCULATE while students play, answering questions as necessary.

[|Tricks for Tricky Grammar] - A PDF of a handout from the Tennessee FL Teachers' Association Conference in 2005

Independent Practice:
Can students use the grammatical structure without assistance from others?

Give students an activity to complete on their own to help them practice and to give you the opportunity to assess which students need additional help.

[|Conjuguemos] - A free website that allows students to practicing conjugating verbs in French, German, Latin, & Spanish with "graded, customizable" exercises and printable student grade sheets.