Step Three: New or Old Grammar!

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

What do Do:

• Present a new grammatical concept (such as a verbal tense), beginning with students chorally repeating each conjugation
• Helpful hint: Use mnemonic devices and "corny" tricks to help your students remember things like irregular past participles
• Have students work in groups of two, asking each other simple "yes" or "no" questions
• Then form new groups of two, asking students to form questions that incorporate interrogatives along with the new verbal tense
• Helpful hint: Make a large poster with a list of interrogative words and hang it up in your classroom
• Call on your students one at a time, asking them to answer some of these questions in front of their classmates.
• In tomorrow's "Warm-Up" exercise, plan to include the new grammatical concept that you have studied today!

Why it Works:

• Working in small groups at first builds confidence
• When a student successfully speaks in front of peers, the ideas stick and confidence soars
• "The Ice Cream Cone" method-starting with new material in a safe and simple way and working towards harder and more challenging applications - leads to a delicious result!

The Big Picture:

• Give your students some structure and then the freedom to bring language to life
• Give your students the confidence they need to succeed by setting them up to shine in front of their classmates
• Use corny and silly "tricks"-they are often the best way to get your students to remember difficult concepts