“Oh, yay, grammar!” said no student ever. And yet, grammar helps students convey their ideas in writing and speech.
How do you overcome this hurdle to get kids interested in grammar? You need really engaging grammar instruction to pull students in. The bonus is that engaging grammar instruction can lead to better retention of grammar rules and usage in writing and speaking.
It’s time to gamify grammar!
3 ways to gamify grammar
When you are teaching nouns and verbs (and other grammatical structures), you can use a variety of types of challenges and competitions to engage students. And a lot of ways to do this help students problem solve or get active too!
Looking for some gamification in education examples? Try:
- Using a points and reward system for grammar activities — vary the points for different activities to get students doing a variety of things
- Holding competitive challenges — who can find the most nouns, speed verb search
- Enticing students with level up challenges — have different levels (bronze, silver, gold for example) and allow students to level up when they have mastered certain skills or completed a particular number of activities
- Creating a quest — use storytelling with built in activities to help students progress in grammar
Students can compete against others or themselves, and some students will respond better to one method than the other.
You can use these gamification strategies with a number of engaging activities and games.
Teach nouns and verbs with grammar games
Some grammar games and activities have built in gamification. For example, grammar escape rooms use quests and storytelling as students work with grammar. They usually involve a time frame, which boosts the challenge. You could have students competing against each other too. (Learn about creating classroom escape rooms.)
Want to try it in your classroom (without the effort of making it up)? Try a Noun adventure with the Noun Task Card Escape Room or a Verb Quest with Verb Game Escape Room Task Cards.
Other grammar games could include:
- Adjective Scavenger Hunt — Have students seek out adjectives in their reading, on signs around school, or elsewhere. Bonus points if students identify the noun the adjective modifies!
- Adverb Races — Give students two words to pair with an adverb. The race is on to match it to a verb or adjective.
- Punctuation Obstacle Course — Create a physical obstacle course. At various points, have students match the name of a punctuation mark with the mark or use the correct punctuation mark in a sentence.
You can extend Gamification to other language areas as well! For example, give badges for improvement on fluency boards or give bonus points for winners in phonics games.
Or bring more attention and engagement to spelling by using a variety of spelling games! Try a new game each day with the Spelling Game Challenge.
Get a new spelling game every day for 5 days (it’s free!)
The Grammar Gamification Challenge is on. Your play!
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