Patty McGee: How to Teach Grammar Without Worksheets, Shame, or Boredom
Grammar doesn’t fail because students can’t learn it.
It fails because of how it’s taught.
In this episode of the Have a Life Teaching Podcast, I’m joined by literacy expert Patty McGee, co-author of Not Your Granny’s Grammar, to rethink grammar instruction from the ground up.
We explore how grammar can be:
taught through sentences, play, and inquiry
embedded across ELA, science, and social studies
accessible to multilingual learners
focused on growth over time, not mastery in a day
Patty shares concrete classroom strategies, including sentence manipulation, low-prep grammar play, and assessment approaches that honor language, culture, and audience.
If grammar feels like a compliance task instead of a thinking tool—this conversation shows a better way.
Not Your Granny's Grammar Book
Music by Aylex