Knowledge of grammar is the foundation for learning any language. Children often do not enjoy studying grammar as it has a structured approach and has its own set of rules. To make grammar classes interesting, the teachers design interactive lesson plans. At GIIS, as a part of sharing best practices a session on grammar was taken up in the month’s Micro-teaching session.

Ms. Preeti, the English teacher of GIIS Surat, presented her lesson plan on ‘learning adjectives’ in a factual and objective manner; an overview of the material, activities, goals and objectives planned for class III to the teachers of other GIIS campuses like Indore, Noida, Bangalore and Ahmedabad.

She introduced the adjectives through an innovative method by listing 32 to 35 words alphabetically and further substantiated with audio-visual cues. She asked them to identify objects and use pairing words for adjectives and nouns. Then she further delved into usage of comparisons in adjectives with real objects and mock situations. Recapitulation in following classes, backed with class activity and worksheets further ensures that there is continuous recall and recognition.

Her lesson plan was very well received by the teachers. Some more approaches that evolved from the interaction with the staff from other campuses were equally interesting. An innovative idea was to take the children for a nature-walk and ask them to identify each object and use adjectives at an introductory level. The next tip was that various types and kinds of adjectives are given to the students in advance and teachers get them to describe picture in which the adjectives can be identified. Another helpful tip was the concept of Daily Grammar which would help kids to understand the pattern of sentence construction. Everyday a new sentence is written on the board and they are made to identify the parts of speech. The basic idea was to use a layered approach in primary grades.

Ms. Nandita Dasgupta, Principal GIIS Noida, who has a Master’s degree in English literature concluded that while learning grammar freedom of thought will help the students discover the connect between adjectives and nouns better and the lessons should be planned in such a way that they do not condition the children to responses. Grammar must have a contextual approach based on daily routine and the immediate surroundings.

Ms. Sunita Jaisingh, National Scholastic Head GIIS India said, “micro-teaching helps the teachers return to the drawing board and evaluate their lesson plans. There is a healthy feedback process that evolves from the sessions and all teachers go back enriched. It is always good to use the expertise of many to build a superior learning module which can be easily replicated across campuses.”