Above: BryanF and CharlotteY sorting countable and uncountable nouns during a hands-on grammar activity in one of our P2 classes.
Grammar tends to be perceived as somewhat of a dry subject – probably rightfully so. Nevertheless, a good grasp of English grammar is essential if one wants to understand and be understood. We liven the subject up with plenty of activities that get our students’ blood pumping – including challenges like that captured in the photo above (cutting two dozen words out of a sheet of paper and then gluing them onto another, sorted into columns of uncountable and countable nouns, with a time limit of just 3 minutes).
We also get everyone up to the whiteboard and writing as often as possible. It’s far better to catch any misunderstandings and nip them in the bud during class than to have a student go home and make the same error, repeatedly throughout their homework assignment.
Above: RachelL composing a question regarding bread, an uncountable noun.
Above: AudreyC crafting a question using the ‘is there’/’are there’ construction for countable/uncountable nouns.
Above: ClaireT writing a question that asks about the amount of cheese on hand.
Eventually we do turn to our grammar workbooks. Below, you can see HenryC working through some exercises that address singular/plural and possessive nouns.