Many elementary age students resist grammar because they feel overwhelmed by a flurry of unfamiliar words. Labels that they are expected to use – subjects, predicates, imperatives, and as if pronouns aren’t enough, we throw in complementary pronouns. It often seems like a bunch of unnecessary fluff when all they want to do is write down a simple thought. But I’ve found that when we give these fluffy words some substance or meaning, children are able to make a connection between these previously-misunderstood labels, and sentences that clearly express their thoughts. Kids inherently ask questions and want more information. So creating a link between the labels and life is much easier than you might think. 

I was recently tutoring a nine-year-old girl who attends private school and was struggling with grammar. Her hurdle -- those wearisome labels. Her goal was to indicate whether a sentence was interrogative, declarative, imperative or exclamatory. So first things first, we put the worksheet aside and started to talk. It took just a minute to realize that she had no idea what the labels meant. The teacher had given them the labels and explained what kinds of sentences they belonged to, but never explicitly discussed the words. For example, the word “interrogative” had no meaning to her – it was no more than a random word, chosen to label a sentence that ends with a question mark. So we talked some more. I asked, “Have you ever heard about how police interrogate a suspect?” Sure she had. I encouraged her to tell me what she knew about that and she happened to know quite a lot. All people, maybe kids even more so, love to express what they know. We so often have an opportunity to demonstrate what we don’t know, that it’s a welcome change to reveal the things we understand. So she explained to me in detail how the police interrogate a bad guy. They have him in a room with a single lamp and a metal table and ask question after question until they get to the truth. So, she not only knew what it meant to interrogate someone, but was able to conjure up a mental picture too! I eased back into the labels asking her if she noticed how “interrogative” sounds and even looks a whole lot like “interrogate.” I see her eyes light up and the lyrical light bulb go on.  “Oh, so interrogative sentences ask questions, like the police.” There you have it! There’s a back story to the word that she can relate to and mentally picture. The label is no longer just a label – it’s a word with meaning.

Similarly, I’ve noticed that when breaking down a sentence into a subject and a predicate, students don’t make the link between real life and the word “subject”. The subject suddenly becomes a hollow label and they’ve lost the definition or point of the actual word. Children will often understand that the subject is a noun and they know that a noun is a person, place or thing.  But when asked to identify the subject in the sentence they are confused. So, put the workbook away and simply start a discussion about their favorite T.V. show, computer game or book.  Then follow up with a question like, “If I ask you what the subject of the show is – what am I really asking?” They are likely to explain that you want to know what the point is -- what it’s about. So then you tip-toe back towards grammar. So the subject of the sentence is really what or who it’s about. Prepare yourself – you’ll probably get a big, “OOHHHHH” because now it seems so obvious. By pointing out what they already know, you’ve successfully translated a cumbersome label into a comprehensible word. Now when they look for the subject of the sentence they understand that they are looking for not only a noun, but what or who the sentence is talking about. 

As we introduce our children to the fundamentals of grammar, it is important to remember that most of the terminology is new and is probably used in unfamiliar contexts. So dedicating extra time to reveal what they already know and fostering connections between that and this new vocabulary is well worth the effort. It could very well inspire a confidence and acceptance of grammar that will benefit them for a lifetime. RM