Grammar
Grammar is the study of language which deals with the form and structure of words (i.e, morphology), with their customary arrangement in phrases and sentences (i.e, syntax), and with language sounds (i.e, phonology) and word meanings (i.e, semantics). Depending on approach, grammar can be prescriptive (i.e., provide rules for correct usage), descriptive (i.e., describe how a language is actually used), or generative (i.e., provide instructions for the production of an infinite number of sentences in a language).
Method of Teaching
A 6th grade language arts teacher starts a lesson on subject-verb agreement by asking students to write one paragraph about something that happened to them yesterday. After students finish writing their paragraph, the teacher instructs them to underline each complete sentence. Then, students are instructed to underline whatever they think the subject and the verb is for each sentence.
Next, the teacher instructs students to give their paper to another student and to take that student's paper in exchange. Once students have traded papers, the teacher conducts a mini-lesson for the whole class using example sentences on how the subject and the verb of a sentence must agree in number and tense (i.e, past, present, future). Finally, the teacher instructs each student to correct the paper of the person they traded with and see if the subject and the verb for each sentence of their classmate's paragraph agrees in number and tense and then give it back to them.
