Menu
When October rolls around, I like to take a moment to review the parts of speech students are (hopefully) naturally weaving into their sentences, paragraphs and narratives. A festive way to do just that is to engage students in a Ghoulish Grammar Sort.
Giving this activity two days is well worth the insight it can provide on students’ understanding of parts of speech. Begin by asking students to describe the parts of speech they have learned about. Record their ideas on an anchor chart titled “Ghoulish Grammar Sort”.
The following day, bring your class together on the carpet to review the anchor chart, have students pair share their definition and an example of each part of speech. This will warm up their brains for your official Ghoulish Grammar Sort. Here’s how the sort works:
Display all the words from the story Shivery Shades of Halloween on small sort cards at stations around the room. My sort cards are available here. I like to create five stations with two colors at each station. Students can work in pairs or groups of three to sort the words at each station by the various parts of speech. Students must also create headings for the categories in which they have sorted the words. You may choose to provide the parts of speech for students who need more support.
When your students have sorted all the words and created their headings, they should call you over to check the accuracy of their sort. This is a great time to take a moment to formatively assess their deeper understanding of the parts of speech. You can ask questions like:
Bringing the class together to reread the story and make additions to your anchor chart brings closure to the lesson.
This is one of those amazing books that can be used in so many ways. If you are loving this book but looking for another way to incorporate it into your curriculum, here are some other ideas to inspire your lesson planning:
Looking for more inspiring read aloud ideas? Visit the other Books Bloggers Love posts linked here.
I’ve been an elementary teacher for ten years, and love sharing tips and resources that make differentiated learning more manageable for you. Thank you for visiting.
Learn More
Dropping by with weekly tips, classroom strategies, and free content created with you in mind.
Join me and other 2nd through 4th grade educators in the Teaching with Core Inspiration Facebook Group. This is a place to collaborate, ask questions, and learn how teachers like you are using Core Inspiration resources in their classrooms. Hope to see you there!
© 2024 Core Inspiration ∙ Website by KristenDoyle.co
2 Responses
Wow! What an impressive post, Laura! I'm thrilled to discover my SHIVERY SHADES OF HALLOWEEN serving as the inspiration for your Ghoulish Grammar Sort, and all of your simply SPOOKtacular ideas for incorporating my book into the classroom! I look forward to adding the link to the teaching resources section on my website, and have posted about the giveaway on my SHIVERY SHADES OF HALLOWEEN Facebook page… where, coincidentally, we're currently also holding a giveaway, and welcome you to join us! Meanwhile, many FANGkS for shining such a generous spotlight on my book, Laura, and all the best to you and your students as you explore the many SHIVERY SHADES OF HALLOWEEN…
Mary, it is such an honor to know you found this post and read it! I am such a fan of your book and look forward to adding others to my classroom library in the future. I stopped by your Facebook page and am in awe of your talent. I think it is so adorable how you have found images and projects to coordinate with different colors and phrases from the book….so creative! Thank you for taking the time to read and comment. 🙂