Teaching Grammar
in
Primary Language Lessons
March 2015
Twilight Session
DfE/University of Reading
CPD in MFL
sue@cavelanguages.co.uk
Objectives
• Consider the grammar objectives of the
Programme of Study
• Discuss how grammatical knowledge could be
taught
• Demonstrate activities for teaching grammar
in the first two years of language learning
Word Class Actions
Try allocating an action for each type of word
class to aid understanding and recall of the
concept.
Noun
Adverb
Verb
Adjective
Conjunction
Pronoun
Preposition
Word Classes and Physical Punctuation
• Use the opportunity of teaching new
vocabulary to make references to its word
class. e.g. classroom actions = verbs
écoutez
regardez
• Create sentences with a simple connective
using physical actions for punctuation.
Voici un crayon, un stylo et une règle.
Consonants and Vowels
• Reinforce the meaning of vowels and
consonants by describing their sequence in a
familiar word. e.g. guess which colour
adjective
rouge – bleu – vert
• consonne, voyelle, voyelle, consonne, voyelle
• consonne, voyelle, consonne, consonne
Gender of Nouns
For speakers of English, this is a difficult concept
to grasp which needs much practice.
• Always use the terminology masculine and
feminine nouns
• Make comparisons with other languages
which also have this concept
• Try colour coding flashcards for each gender
• Teach masculine nouns together to highlight
the difference before teaching feminine nouns
• Always teach with an article in front of the
noun
Gender of Nouns
Activities
• Give out cards with words masculine and feminine on them.
Read out nouns and children lift up the correct gender card.
• Allocate a gender card to each group of children. Read out
nouns and each group tries to beat the other one to claim the
word for their group.
• Display nouns in the classroom grouped according to gender.
• Read out a story and every time the children hear and identify
a masculine or feminine noun, they hold up the correct
gender card.
Plural Nouns
• Discuss the meaning of the words singular and plural
• Ask the children stand alone if you say singular and stand with
someone else if you say plural
• Make a comparison with English or other languages spoken by
the class as how to make a French noun plural
• Hold flashcards of singular and plural nouns so the class
cannot see them. The children take turns to guess what is on
the card by naming either a singular or plural noun.
• Make sets of singular and plural image cards with matching
word cards and the children play a memory game
Plural Nouns and a Dictionary
• Make sure the children are familiar with using
a bi-lingual dictionary
French at the front – English at the end
• Practise looking up nouns in French in the
dictionary and making them plural
• Using a dictionary to find words, the children
create their own mini-book in the style of the
Hungry Caterpillar called ‘Le monstre a faim..’
each day it eats more and more unusual
things
Sentence building – the position of
adjectives
• Ask the children to recall the meanings of the
word classes using the actions.
• Invite children to hold word cards
representing the noun and adjective and
stand in the correct order.
Using a language scaffold
C’est
un chat
un chien
un cochon
un lion
un mouton
un papillon
bleu.
jaune.
vert.
rouge.
noir.
violet.
Ce + est = C’est – this an opportunity to explain elision
C’est un – this is an opportunity to explain liaison
Sentence building activities
using the language scaffold
• Children hold cards facing towards them with
images to represent elements of a sentence
using a noun and adjective and the class takes
turns to guess the correct words from a list.
When the correct word is guessed, the image
is displayed the guessing continues until the
complete sentence is discovered.
C’est un
Sentence building activities
using the language scaffold
• The children write a sentence on a mini white
board and you do likewise. Ask the children to
stand up and as you read out your sentence if
theirs is not the same as yours, they sit down.
Those left standing at the end win a point.
• Write sentences on card and cut up into
individual words. Distribute the cards and the
children have to find others in the room to
make a sentence.
est
un
C’
vert.
papillon
Sentence building activities
using the language scaffold
Unique sentence
• The children write down sentences using the
language scaffold, trying to make combinations
which they think no-one else will use. In groups,
each child reads out one of their sentences, if noone else in the room has the same one, they win
a point for their team.
This is a great activity to practise listening,
speaking, reading and writing skills as well as
demonstrate grammatical understanding.
More activity ideas
All these activities are from the resource book
More Fun Ideas for Advancing Modern Foreign
Languages in the Primary Classroom
Brilliant Publications
Which ones will you try?