Grammar for Middle Schoolers in 10 Minutes a Day

Let’s face it, grammar can be really boring – for you and your students. Not to mention, it feels like there is never enough time to teach it. Between your reading and writing units, where should you cram in daily grammar practice? I struggled with this, so I was committed to finding another way to teach grammar for middle schoolers. Luckily, I found a strategy that works and can be done in only a few minutes a day.

It’s Not Just You: Teaching Grammar is Hard

I’m going to guess one of the reasons you became an ELA teacher is because you love to engage in thoughtful discussions with students. Talking about the world and society through novels? It’s your dream. And, well, grammar just doesn’t have that same vibe.

Grammar is simply about knowing the rules and being able to apply them. And there are plenty of rules, that’s for sure. Because of that, it can be hard to make grammar fun and engaging for students. What I have found, though, is that teaching grammar in isolation is a big part of the problem.

When you integrate grammar into your units and daily routines, it’s less drill-and-kill. It’s just about taking a moment each day to practice and make progress.

How to Teach Grammar for Middle Schoolers

Have you ever seen The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt? In one episode, she says, “You can stand anything for 10 seconds at a time.” And that’s the kind of mindset I took into grammar.

What if instead of grammar being a 30-minute-long lesson, it was just an exit ticket? Or a warm-up? Or a quick mini-lesson during your writing unit? Because students can more easily tolerate grammar when it’s in small bites.

Which is why I created the Grammar Toolkit. This free resource has everything you need to implement daily grammar practice, without setting aside large chunks of time for teaching each skill. Actually, you can teach in 10 minutes or less each day.

Let’s talk about how you can teach grammar to middle schoolers using the Grammar Toolkit.

#1 Mentor Sentences

What is a mentor sentence? Only the best thing ever to be used for grammar. Mentor sentences are model sentences that are expertly written and formatted. Oftentimes, these sentences are taken from novels or texts, but you can also write them yourself.

When I started using mentor sentences with students, I noticed a huge difference. Not only did students improve their grammar skills, but their analysis and writing skills also improved. 

Inside the Grammar Toolkit, I’m giving you two complete mentor sentence sets, each with two weeks worth of material. Here’s how it works. Students get a new sentence each week. Then each day, they focus on a different task. For example, on Monday, they label the sentence. On Tuesday, you explicitly teach the focus grammar skill. On Wednesday, students practice that skill with the mentor sentence. And so on.

Personally, I liked to use these as warmups. It only takes about 5-10 minutes each day at the start of class.

#2 Grammar Exit Tickets

If you started and ended your class every day with a quick daily grammar practice, imagine how much that would add up to in a week. (Enough to ditch those drawn-out lessons!) Inside the Grammar Toolkit, I’ve included ten exit tickets for teaching grammar to middle schoolers.

This is an easy way to quickly check in on students’ skills, and it has some great classroom management benefits as well. Don’t feel the pressure to grade every single one of these exit tickets, though. You can do a quick over-the-shoulder check while students work or as you collect the slips. It doesn’t have to always be a grade.

#3 Grammar Booklet

Lastly, having a grammar reference booklet is a must-have for teaching grammar for middle schoolers. Like I mentioned, grammar is all about rules and being able to apply them. But it’s a lot of rules, and students will definitely forget them.

Instead of being the keeper of all the knowledge (and therefore getting asked a million questions during your grammar warm-up), have students create a grammar booklet. I included a free, low-prep booklet inside the Grammar Toolkit.

Students can refer to this booklet during their daily grammar practice, like the mentor sentences or exit tickets. It might seem like “cheating” for students to look up the answer, but it actually makes students responsible for their learning – and every time they look it up, they review the rule. Win-win.
I hope you grab the free Grammar Toolkit! It has tons of tools and resources to make your daily grammar practice a breeze. You can ditch the notion that teaching grammar to middle schoolers has to be tedious and boring. Instead, you’ll be slipping grammar into your classroom for just 10 minutes a day and making a big impact on your students’ learning.