1. WALKING THROUGH THE CURRICULUM GRAMMAR

2. CONTENT & LEARNING STANDARDS CONTENT STANDARDS 5.1 By the end of the 6- year primary schooling, pupils will be able to use different word classes correctly and appropriately. LEARNING STANDARDS 5.1.1 Able to use nouns correctly and appropriately: (a) common nouns (b) singular nouns (c) plural nouns (d) countable nouns (e) uncountable nouns 5.1.2 Able to use pronouns correctly and appropriately: (a) possessive (b) interrogative 5.1.3 Able to use verbs correctly and appropriately: (a) irregular verbs (b) verbs that do not change form (c) present continuous tense (d) past continuous tense 5.1.4 Able to use conjunctions correctly and appropriately: (a) because (b) so 5.1.5 Able to use prepositions correctly and appropriately: (a) above (b) below (c) beside (d) next to (e) between (f ) near

3. CONTENT & LEARNING STANDARDS CONTENT STANDARDS 5.1 By the end of the 6- year primary schooling, pupils will be able to use different word classes correctly and appropriately. 5.1.6 Able to use adjectives correctly and appropriately: (a) comparative (b) superlative 5.1.7 Able to use articles correctly and appropriately: (a) the (b) zero article (-) 5.1.8 Able to use adverbs correctly and appropriately: (a) manner (b) time (c) place 5.2 By the end of the 6 – year primary schooling, pupils will be able to construct various sentence types correctly. 5.2.1 Able to construct interrogative sentences correctly.

4. Issues and Challenges in Teaching Grammar To Young Pupils 1.When to move beyond the implicit teaching-learning of language to more explicit language awareness and analysis. 2.How to develop children’s understanding of aspects of grammar in order for them to begin to use their knowledge and potentially enrich and extend the creative ways in which they are able to use language. 3.Many school of thoughts regarding the teaching of grammar. Is there a single correct way / method / approach?

5. LET’S KEEP IN MIND!  For pupils to develop all four skills (reading, writing, listening and speaking) the teaching and learning of grammar and vocabulary is necessary.  Young pupils are often not able to think in abstract terms, and are still developing mental concepts. So, they may not be able to analyse language through a grammatical perspective. The teacher should avoid using grammar terms (e.g. passive verb, subject, object) and focus instead on what grammar can do to achieve communication.  Lesson plans should include tasks which use grammar to achieve a goal. Provide a context for the grammar item that is taught.  Keep in mind that pupils may learn easily but forget quickly. Recycle new grammar items frequently to help them remember.  Reference: http://www.englishonline.org.cn/en/teachers/teaching-articles/methodology/teach-grammar

6. Activity 1- How did I do it? 1.Ask a pupil to volunteer to leave the room. 2.The pupil is asked to think of an adverb of manner. Example: slowly, quickly, happily, sadly etc 3.The pupil comes back to the room. 4.Other pupils give him instructions. Eg: Walk around the room. Stand up. Scratch your head etc. 5.The pupil does as he is told according to the adverb of manner he has chosen. Eg: He scratches his head slowly, if that was the adverb that he had chosen earlier. 6.The pupil does this action three times and the other pupils guess the adverb of manner.

7. Activity 2 – Guess who am I? 1.Think of a person everyone in the class is likely to know. This could be a famous person (such as a celebrity), a book character, or even a pupil in the class. 2.Provide hints about the person using adjectives. 3.Pupils take turns to try and guess who the person is based on the clues provided. For example: Teacher: His eyes are brown. Pupil 1: Is it Tom? Teacher: No, it isn’t. His hair is curly. Pupil 2: Is it Steven? Teacher: No, it isn’t. He carries a big, red bag. Pupil 3: Is it Hamid? Teacher: Yes, it’s Hamid!

8. Activity 3 – Form Me a Sentence 1 Write down the name of a person, place, thing or idea on an index card with a particular colored marker. For example, write the subject "cat" in blue. 2 Look at the list of words that show action. With a different color marker, write a verb on another index card that can make sense with your subject. 3.Express a complete sentence by using the two words in a noun- verb sequence aloud. Trade "noun" cards with your friends if you like. 4Next, write an adjective in a third colour. Include articles a, an and the, which can be written with the same color as adjectives. Eg: The naughty

9. Activity 3 5. Now, think of an adverb and write down in a fourth colour on another index card. Eg: quickly. 6. Finally, string your final sentence together by punching a hole at each end of your index cards and pulling yarn through the holes until each word is on the string. Capitalize the first letter of the first word in your sentence. 7. Presto! You can now display your original complete sentence. Adapted from : : How to Teach Grammar in Primary School | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/how_6633202_teach-grammar-primary-school.html#ixzz2Pqlfy8vZHow to Teach Grammar in Primary School | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/how_6633202_teach-grammar-primary-school.html#ixzz2Pqlfy8vZ

10. Activity 4 –Sentence Boggle 1.Get into groups of 3 or 4 and appoint a group secretary. 2.You have three minute to make as many sentences as possible from the words in the box. 3.Every correct sentence gets 10 marks each. 4.The group with the most marks wins.

11. Activity 4 –Sentence Boggle cartoons films I or watch detective like great often never you science fiction watches always interesting are romantic funny He do sports does programmes Likes she How often is and boring sometimes

12. Activity 4 –Sentence Boggle cookies tea favourite supermarket enjoy often seldom I science fiction plays always fun are exciting fun friend do documentary movies songs Hates he careful dangerous hot she Why never is and boring sometimes

13. Some Suggested Ways To Teach Grammar  Language Games  Songs  Grammar songs  Poems  Stories.

14. Using activities to teach grammar WHY?  Provides a context for pupil’s learning.  Fun in learning  Interactive and hands-on  Help pupils to grasp grammatical concepts better.  Aid pupils to remember grammar learnt more efficiently.  Incidental learning takes place.

15. Conclusion At the end of the day, our aim in teaching grammar is to enable pupils to apply what they have learnt in their speech and writing. Therefore, let us not make the learning of grammar an end by itself through meaningless drills and endless memorisation. All teaching and learning of grammar must be done in a meaningful way so that pupils are able to grasp grammar rules and apply them correctly. Do not despair if your pupils find it hard to grasp grammar or take a long time to do so. Remember, English grammar rules can be logic defying as the English language has grammar rules and an almost equal number of exceptions to the rules!! That is why, sometimes, even adults find it hard to grasp grammar perfectly! So, what more with our children!!

16. Thank You Ewe Choy Choo, English Lang. Unit (Primary), CDD ewe.choychoo@moe.gov.my