Hey friends! I’ve talked about introducing different grammar topics, but how do you review grammar and keep it current? Also, how do you keep all the knowledge in the brain?
I wanted to take some time to tell you about what I call a true spiral review. I call it that because I couldn’t think of anything better to call it! So what is it? It’s my creation to help solve your grammar woes. Check out the detail below.
It Starts with One
The number one problem I had with grammar morning work was that it started with all the topics or standards at once. There was no way I could explain to my students what nonrestrictive elements, vague pronouns, affixes, and all the other grammar standards were all in one week.
I thought it was INSANE to start reviewing all of the standards from the beginning. There was no way they would remember it all at once! So, I created a grammar morning work that started with a single standard. That’s it, one grammar skill to review.
Enter Grammar Review
So you’re probably thinking to yourself, okay, that’s good and great, but where does the spiral come in? Well, friend, the beautiful thing about the true spiral review is that it builds.
Week one is one single standard, then week two rolls around. A new standard is introduced in week two, BUT it is spiraled or mixed with the previous standard.
By doing this, both standards are front of mind and in daily practice. Week three reviews the previous two standards and adds in the third standard. Take a look at the 6th-grade grammar review layout:
- Week 1: Synonyms and Antonyms
- Week 2: Spelling Guidelines + Week 1
- Week 3: Nonrestrictive Elements + Weeks 1 & 2
- Week 4: Subjective, Objective, and Possessive Pronouns + Weeks 1-3
- Week 5: Context Clues + Weeks 1-4
- Week 6: Intensive Pronouns + Weeks 1- 5
- Week 7: Applying Vocabulary+ Weeks 1- 6
- Week 8: Greek and Latin Roots and Affixes + Weeks 1-7
- Week 9: Vague Pronouns + Weeks 1-8
- Week 10: Analogies + Weeks 1-9
- Week 11: Word Connotation + Weeks 1-10
- Week 12: Figurative Language + Weeks 1- 11
- Week 13: Pronoun Shifts + Weeks 1-12
- Week 14: Possessive Nouns+ Weeks 1- 13
- Week 15: Types of Sentences+ Weeks 1-14
- Week 16: Multiple Meaning Words + Weeks 1- 15
Grammar Review Daily
The true spiral grammar review is perfect because it keeps students from shutting down with information overwhelm, and it keeps the old grammar standards fresh in their brains. It takes 16 weeks to introduce to all of the standards, but guess what, weeks 17-36 help students strengthen the skills that they learned. This will help challenge them the entire school year.
A true spiral grammar review will also keep language standards current, so when state testing rolls around, you won’t have glazed over eyes asking you what pronoun shift is, well let’s be honest, I can’t promise that!
Since students are reviewing grammar daily, a grammar review will save you time during standardized testing crunch time because you have reviewed all the grammar standards the entire year! If you are looking for a 6th Grade Grammar Review for your students.
Remember, I’m rooting for your friend!
-Alisha- Mrs. A. Riley
P.S. Check out this FREE way to introduce the parts of speech to your middle schoolers.
P.S.S. Wondering how to incorporate grammar in your room in only minutes a day? After this quick read, you will have it down pat!
