The Secret to Teaching Middle School Grammar

I hear it over and over from middle school teachers: I don’t have time to teach grammar. And when you do, the lessons feel dull and boring. Students aren’t engaged, and even you are debating a midday nap. Maybe I sound crazy, but middle school grammar doesn’t have to be boring. Actually, you can implement daily grammar lessons that only take 10 minutes a day, keep students engaged, and get the job done. 

The Problem with Middle School Grammar Lessons

Growing up, my grammar instruction was pretty textbook (literally). My teacher would do a quick lesson, and then direct us to the textbook for a practice exercise. Or we’d work through our vocabulary and grammar workbooks for homework. It’s not that these lessons were terrible, but I doubt if most students in the class could apply what the workbook taught about commas to their writing.

There’s a reason the “traditional” way of teaching grammar isn’t working for most teachers –

#1 The Information Doesn’t Stick

You could give students a hundred practice worksheets or teach the lesson ten times over, but the information doesn’t seem to land. It’s like teaching from scratch each time. This has to do with students’ engagement, but also how the information is presented. (And it’s not your fault – no one’s told you how to teach middle school grammar differently.)

#2 Students Can’t Apply Grammar to Their Writing

This goes along with the first item. If the information doesn’t stick, students are going to have a really hard time using grammar concepts in their writing. This leads to essays that are hard to read (why are there SO many commas) and makes it harder for you to grade (since you’re weeding through errors).

#3 There’s Limited Time

You have enough to teach. Daily grammar lessons can feel impossible with your already packed schedule. So, grammar typically falls to the wayside, gets tossed in as homework, or is rushed through so you can check it off the list. No judgment. I’ve been there.

The Secret to Middle School Grammar

Great, we know why traditional grammar isn’t working. But how do you successfully teach middle school grammar? Is it possible to teach daily grammar lessons?

The secret to getting grammar in each day is mentor sentences. Mentor sentences are examples of grammar in action that are taken from a text. You can take them from a random text, or you can pull them from your class novel. You can also write your own mentor sentences, but I personally like to use sentences from a text because they tend to be a bit more challenging.

Mentor sentences show students the grammar skill in action. They can see what it actually looks like to use commas in a series or quotation marks. And let’s be honest, it’s much easier to replicate something if you know what it should look like. (It’s like referring to the image on a puzzle box vs. going in blind.) I want to talk about why this is the secret to middle school grammar and how you can implement mentor sentences in just 10 minutes a day.

#1 They Are Easy to Prep

You don’t need a long, drawn-out daily grammar lesson. You need something that helps you be efficient with your time, both during class and while planning. Mentor sentences are simple because you only need one sentence a week (yep, you read that right), and you can follow the same flow each week to reinforce a grammar skill. I’ll share more about the weekly flow below.

#2 They Help Students Apply Skills to Their Writing

Part of what makes building IKEA furniture so terrible is that the directions are vague and unclear. The same goes for middle school grammar. Mentor sentences add clarity and concrete examples to the rules. Students can see what it means to use commas in a series. It also gives them a guide for their own writing. They can mimic mentor sentences in the beginning, or use the mentor sentences are examples before trying it on their own.

#3 You Can Repeat the Same Process Each Week

No more reinventing the wheel or scrambling to put together a middle school grammar lesson. With my repeatable mentor sentence flow, you can implement daily grammar lessons in just 10 minutes a day. Here’s what that might look like –

• Monday Musings: Each Monday, introduce a new mentor sentence. Students will label the sentence and write down what they notice about the mentor sentence. 
• Teacher Tuesday: Explicitly teach the grammar focus of that sentence. For instance, a 5-minute lesson on commas in a list using the mentor sentence as an example.
• Wednesday Work-It: Students will practice working with the grammar skill. Students will change the sentence in some way that focuses on the new grammar skill.
• Thinking Thursday: Students will think of their own sentence that uses the grammar skill of the week. They can model their sentence after the mentor sentence.
• Final Friday: Students are assessed on the grammar skill. This can be a more formal quiz or an extension of their knowledge, like having them write a paragraph that uses the new skill.

The moment I began implementing mentor sentences with students, their grammar skills took off. It wasn’t overnight, but their essays became easier to read. They were able to use the skills they learned when writing. And middle school grammar stopped being a hair-pulling, scream-into-your-pillow experience. It was simple, easy, and didn’t take too much time.

Your Guide to Mentor Sentences

If you want to implement mentor sentences in your classroom, start with my Mentor Sentence Magic workshop! I’ll take you step-by-step through introducing mentor sentences, establishing a routine, troubleshooting issues, and more. Plus, you’ll get nine weeks of grammar sentences, so you can begin using this strategy right away.

If you’re ready to dive into mentor sentences, grab my Mentor Sentences Bundle! This includes everything you need to implement mentor sentences for the entire school year. I’ve collected the sentences for you (from grade-level texts), designed your teaching slides, created self-grading weekly assessments, and more. Grammar has never been easier.