"The teaching of grammar has changed completely in a generation. While formal teaching of spelling and punctuation have been a mainstay of the classroom, just a few decades ago there was very little teaching of grammar. Many pupils formally encountered grammar through the study of other languages.
Now SPaG takes up a large part of the primary curriculum, but have secondary colleagues noticed a difference? In this session we are discussion how to improve SPaG skills and usage at all levels of schooling and beyond."
"This idea has been developed from an idea in Talk-Less Teaching by Isabella Wallace and Leah Kirkman.
I used it in the context of a SPAG lesson where Y6 pupils were answering test questions in preparation for the SATs test."
"你知道这是什么意思吗?No? Languages can both be barriers and be bridges. They can block access to learning and more, but knowing a little of 'the lingo' can open previously impenetrable doors. This doesn't have to be a language from overseas, but a certain way of speaking which includes speakers or potenticially excludes non-speakers from a group. Teaching, with it's SPaGs, NPQHs and RQTs can make us want to LOL or even go AWOL!"
"Building a rich vocabulary, across the curriculum, is one of the main aims for most teachers. Not only does a rich vocabulary help to create strong writing skills, but also can help with improving access to all areas of the curriculum.
In his book, Andrew Jennings explains why vocabulary should be a focus in your classroom, providing resources and inspiration to help optimise vocabulary learning. Resources include a focus on SPaG facts, key vocab words that support various popular primary topics, an etymology section to inspire pupils, and looking at various grammatical features that can help build a repertoire of rich vocabulary. Throughout, the book provides other resources that can be copied for classroom use, or be used to take home to help build vocabulary skills away from the school setting."