Grammar is an important skill necessary to everyday life. We use grammar skills in emails, when we send text messages, in conversations with our friends, and even when we order our morning coffee. Grammar is necessary for effective communication and helps us set the tone for our words. Therefore, teaching grammar in middle school is crucial.

Many resources are available for teaching grammar in middle school. I also have a blog post with real teachers discussing how they teach grammar effectively, how they avoid boring grammar lessons and their favourite ideas for teaching vocabulary.

In this blog post, we will go over ten crucial reasons you should teach grammar in middle school and how they will benefit your students.

Why Teach Grammar in Middle School?

Grammar Enhances Writing Skills

Whether writing or speaking, having good grammar matters. Understanding sentence structure, punctuation, and parts of speech not only makes communication easier to understand but it helps students to better convey the tone of what they are trying to say. In addition, writing is not just about putting words together; it’s being able to express thoughts and ideas in a clear and concise manner. Therefore, knowing how to write grammatically correct sentences is a crucial skill necessary for both our academic, professional, and personal lives. Learn about 4 ways to improve student writing engagement.

Grammar Creates Confident Communicators

The rules of language go beyond writing essays and letters. Practical communication skills help students to build relationships, resolve conflicts, and enhance professional growth. Knowing how to express ideas and thoughts clearly not only makes for effective communication but it helps students build critical thinking skills, making them more confident and successful communicators. Once students grasp grammar concepts, they can use their newfound confidence to work on their oral presentation skills. Check out Oral Presentations Bundle 1 or Bundle 2.

Grammar Helps Prepare Students for High School

When students reach high school, they must know the foundation of effective communication. By teaching grammar in middle school, teachers help students prepare for the more advanced language skills they will learn in high school. As students work through their academic careers, the grammar concepts they will encounter will become more and more advanced. Building that foundation in middle school will give them a head start and help them feel prepared once they reach the later levels of education.

Grammar Helps Students Build Vocabulary

Our knowledge of the English language continues to grow, even into adulthood. Grammar is very closely related to vocabulary skills. By learning the different parts of speech, students will slowly build on their vocabulary, thus increasing their knowledge of the English language. This is not only essential for when they reach high school and beyond, but it will also help students become even more effective communicators. Having a solid vocabulary – as well as strong grammar skills – will benefit them greatly in their everyday life. Check out this list of creative ways to teach vocabulary.

Grammar Increases Critical Thinking Skills

Critical thinking skills are continually expanding. Knowing the different parts of how sentences go together and being able to evaluate language will help students build on those essential skills of thinking. Grammar skills will not only help their communication, but they will help students with problem-solving and decision-making, and they will help them think more creatively.

Grammar Can Help Improve Reading Comprehension

If you want your students to be excited about reading, they need to understand grammar well. Grammar is essential for reading comprehension – especially in middle school. Good grammar skills can improve reading comprehension by helping students to understand sentence structure better, identify relationships between words and ideas, enhance their vocabulary, and analyze and evaluate arguments.

In addition, by improving their understanding of language and how they can use it in written communication, students can become more effective and critical readers. Have students work on their grammar in middle school and reading comprehension skills with this Article of the Week Mega Bundle. This Article of the Week Full Year Mega Bundle contains 43 high-interest non-fiction articles and 41 non-fiction-aligned graphic organizers. Each article contains 3 post-reading activities to assist with reading comprehension and standardized test prep.

Grammar Will Help Students Become More Efficient Writers

When you know the basics of grammar, writing becomes a lot easier. For example, if students don’t understand how sentences are structured, how punctuation works, or how words relate to one another, they will struggle with writing. But when they know the rules of grammar and how to form sentences correctly, writing will come easier, and students will be able to compose grammatically correct sentences the first time without struggling. This is important in middle school and beyond, especially when students must complete writing assignments, essays, and exams.

Grammar Can Help to Avoid Misunderstandings

Have you ever received a text or an email that needed better grammar? Most people have, and when we receive messages like this, it’s hard to read the tone of the message, which can sometimes lead to misunderstandings. Knowing how to convey messages clearly and precisely will help students avoid this mistake. By learning grammar in middle school, students will learn how to use language correctly and effectively, leading to better communication – free of misunderstandings.

Grammar Can Boost Confidence

Participation comes naturally to some and not so naturally to others in the classroom. Some students sometimes don’t participate because they don’t feel confident. When you teach grammar in middle school effectively, you will not only have better communicators, but you will also help students overcome their struggles in this area and boost their confidence in communicating. Students who feel confident with their communication and grammar skills will be more likely to participate in discussions, ask questions, and be more comfortable with writing tasks.

Grammar is Essential for Future Success

Have you ever heard students complain about math class and how specific skills aren’t necessary because they’ll just use a calculator anyway? Well, grammar is essential for future success. Regardless of the path students choose in their careers, they will still need to communicate effectively and concisely, leading them to more success in their professional careers. Also, grammar is essential for all areas of life and teaching grammar in middle school is an excellent place to start.

Teaching grammar in middle school is essential for academic and career success. It will help build confident and effective communicators, and by teaching your students the grammar skills necessary to communicate, you will instill a love of writing and communication.

Teaching Grammar in Middle School – Parts of Speech Grammar Unit

Now that you know why you should teach grammar in middle school, help your students develop a general understanding of essential parts of speech with this Parts of Speech Grammar Unit. In this resource, students will learn about nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, pronouns, conjunctions, prepositions, and interjections – all of the fundamentals for effective grammar skills.

Each topic comes with a teacher-directed lesson (Google Slides and Student Reference Sheets) and then a student practice follow-up activity (fill in the blanks, colouring or matching). This unit is geared toward middle school students.

What Teachers Are Saying:

“Very useful resource, helped by saving planning time.” – Stephanie H.
“This unit covered all of the parts of speech as a nice introduction for my students.” – Andrea M.
“Thank you for a great resource! My ESL students are reviewing parts of speech and this made it very accessible for them.” – Delaney’s International ESL
“This was an awesome resource for my intermediate students who needed some review/clarification on parts of speech.” – Diana B.
“One area where my students often need help is with Grammar Skills, particularly Parts of Speech. This resource is just what I need to help address the gaps and to be able to individualize as needed. Everything designed by 2PeasandaDog is solid, engaging, and easy to use. Love the variety of activities here!” – Terry J.

Lesson Overview:

Lesson 1: Types of Nouns
Lesson 2: Types of Verbs
Lesson 3: Adjectives
Lesson 4: Adverbs
Lesson 5: Pronouns
Lesson 6: Conjunctions
Lesson 7: Prepositions
Lesson 8: Interjections

The unit is differentiated to meet students’ needs at different proficiency levels. The worksheets and activities are scaffolded to support struggling learners while challenging more advanced students to apply their grammar skills more complexly.

Each lesson has a detailed lesson plan and is available in printable and digital formats. However, this unit is not editable, and reliable internet is required to access the videos.

The activities in this Parts of Speech Grammar Unit are interactive and engaging, making learning grammar enjoyable for all students. Learning grammar in middle school does not need to be intimidating – it can be an exciting experience for everyone. You can find this Parts of Speech Grammar Unit on Teachers Pay Teachers USD or Shopify CAD.

Teaching Grammar in Middle School – Punctuation Unit

Unlock the power of punctuation with this comprehensive Middle School Punctuation Unit. Are you ready to equip your middle school students with the essential skills they need to become punctuation experts? Look no further! This Middle School Punctuation Unit is designed to provide you with everything you need to teach punctuation effectively, ensuring that your students become confident writers with a strong grasp of punctuation rules.

Lesson Overview

Lesson 1: How to Use Periods
Lesson 2: Question Marks
Lesson 3: Using Exclamation Point
Lesson 4: Use of Apostrophes
Lesson 5: Commas Used in a List or Series
Lesson 6: Commas for Introductory Words or Phrases
Lesson 7: Commas for a Direct Address
Lesson 8: Commas for Interrupters/ Parenthetical/Non-Restrictive Elements
Lesson 9: Commas Between Coordinate Adjectives
Lesson 10: Quotation Marks in Dialogue
Lesson 11: Ellipses to Indicate Omission or Ambiguity/Hesitation
Lesson 12: Use of Parentheses
Lesson 13: Hyphens vs. Dashes
Lesson 14: Use of Brackets
Lesson 15: Use of Semicolons
Lesson 16: How to Use Colons

You can find this Middle School Punctuation Unit on Teachers Pay Teachers USD or Shopify CAD.

More Language Arts Resources:

10 Important Reasons to Teach Grammar in Middle School