How to Help Kids Learn Grammar Without Shame with Patty McGee
About this episode
Peyten Williams and Patty McGee discuss innovative approaches to teaching grammar that foster creativity and confidence in young writers.
In this episode of What Great Teachers Know That All Parents Can Use, Peyten Williams talks with Patty McGee, traveling teacher and author of Not Your Granny’s Grammar , about how parents and teachers can rethink the way children learn grammar. For many adults, grammar brings up memories of worksheets, red pens, and feeling corrected or left behind. Patty offers a different vision: grammar as a creative tool writers use to build meaning, shape sentences, and communicate clearly. Peyten and Patty discuss why shame-based grammar instruction often does not work, how children develop as writers, and why grammar play can be more effective than grammar drills. Patty shares simple, low-pressure ways parents can support writing at home through sentence games, word cards, magnetic poetry, Mad Libs, and everyday conversation. They also explore early writing development, including invented spelling and “scribble writing,” and how parents can respond in ways that build confidence instead of discouragement. One of Patty’s most helpful strategies is to notice a strength, then offer the next step: “Because you can do this, you are ready to try this next.” That small shift helps children see…
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