TIPS FOR TEACHING McGraw Hill wonders grammar

Do you ever open up your thick McGraw Hill Wonders teacher’s guide and wonder how on earth you are going to get your students to sufficiently practice and master all of the 30 grammar skills you are supposed to be teaching this year?

Would you rather use your writing block for your students to actually write than practice grammar?

ME TOO! I had to find a more efficient way to teach grammar so that my writing block could mostly be used for writing. 

How to Teach Grammar Effectively in Elementary

Research repeatedly confirms that grammar should be effectively integrated into the writing process because students need to see the relevance of grammar in writing. This means that we should be incorporating grammar into the writing process rather than teaching it in isolation. Read more about that on this blog post.

How might this look practically when you have 30 grammar skills you are supposed to be covering this year in your Wonders curriculum?

Here are a few tips.

5 Easy Tips for Teaching McGraw Hill Wonders Grammar

1. Figure out what your students already know about grammar.

Many grammar topics in the Wonders curriculum are repeated in each grade level and build upon what students learned during the year prior. Before teaching a new grammar topic, try to find a quick way to assess what your students already know about the topic. Don’t spend too much time on the topic if most of your students have a good understanding of it already. 

2. Connect grammar skills to writing genres.

Remember that you can re-work your curriculum to teach grammar more effectively. For example, perhaps you might consider teaching adjectives in a descriptive writing unit. Your students will develop a deeper understanding of adjectives when they are using them to make their writing more descriptive. 

3. Teach grammar in the revising & editing stages of the writing process.

Teach a mini-lesson that targets specific grammatical errors in student writing. Project one of your student’s drafts and identify with your class some mistakes that you see. In this process, you can cover multiple grammar skills. For example, in one short mini-lesson you could discuss proper nouns that need to be capitalized, subject-verb agreement problems, and sentences that need question marks. When you do this, you are covering multiple grammar skills while helping your students make the connection between grammar and writing!

4. Hold students accountable for 1 or 2 grammar skills in their writing.

For example, if you have recently taught adjectives and proper nouns, include only these topics on your revising checklist for their current writing piece. Don’t expect your students to correct all grammar mistakes in their writing as this will be too difficult for them. Instead, have them revise for grammar skills that you’ve been working on as a class. Then, assess students for these skills in the rubric.

5. Give students extra grammar practice for independent or center work.

Do not use your precious writing block time for students to work on grammar worksheets and activities. Rather, assign extra practice for centers or homework.

Now go back to your curriculum guide and take a deep breath! Think about what your students already know, and don’t use too much instructional time for those topics. For other topics, do short, instructional mini-lessons and hold your students accountable for applying these grammar skills in their writing.  Finally, assign extra grammar practice to students for center work or homework. 

Free Grammar Boom Cards for McGraw Hill Wonders

Are you looking for an engaging way for your students to practice the grammar skills in your Wonders curriculum? 

Boom Cards are a perfect way for your students to practice grammar independently. Boom Cards are interactive, self-checking, digital task cards. They are engaging for your students, and they will save YOU time!
Check out this blog post to read 10 reasons to use Boom Cards in your classroom.

Want to try a Boom Card deck for FREE? Check out the sidebar on the right of this blog post to get a free grammar Boom deck for Unit 1 Week 1 of 1st, 2nd, 3rd, & 4th grade. ➔

Grammar Boom Card Bundles for Wonders

Are you looking for grammar practice that covers all of the grammar skills in your Wonders curriculum?

Check out these Boom Card bundles. Each bundle includes 30 Boom Card decks, one for each grammar lesson of Wonders. These bundles will give your students the practice they need to master the grammar skills in the Wonders curriculum. These Boom Card decks can be used for centers, at-home practice, or guided instruction.

1st Grade Grammar Boom Bundle
2nd Grade Grammar Boom Bundle
3rd Grade Grammar Boom Bundle
4th Grade Grammar Boom Bundle

Grades 1-4 Grammar Boom Bundle

Not sure how to assign Boom Cards? Here is a helpful video by Learning at the Primary Pond  This video provides a clear explanation of how you can assign Boom Cards to your students.

More Grammar Blog Posts

• McGraw Hill Wonders 1st Grade Grammar Boom Cards
• McGraw Hill Wonders 2nd Grade Grammar Boom Cards
• McGraw Hill Wonders 3rd Grade Grammar Boom Cards
• McGraw Hill Wonders 4th Grade Grammar Boom Cards
• Best Practices for Teaching Elementary Grammar
• 10 Reasons to Use Boom Cards in the Classroom