Not Your Granny’s Grammar

An Innovative Approach to Meaningful and Engaging Grammar Instruction
First Edition
Patricia Grawehr McGee
Timothy J Donohue
Not Your Granny’s Grammar
May 2025 | 328 pages | Corwin
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eBook
ISBN: 9781071989678
Available from January 0001
Paperback
ISBN: 9781071941676
Available from January 0001

Description

Let's make grammar instruction exciting, relevant, and accessible for all learners!

Grammar is the forgotten foundational skill! It plays a critical role in helping students become skilled readers and writers. Yet, traditional approaches to teaching grammar, through drills and memorization, no longer resonate with students.

In today's fast-paced world, students need a more engaging and meaningful way to learn grammar that connects to their real-world experiences. That's where Not Your Granny's Grammar comes in—offering an innovative approach to teaching grammar that is both efficient and effective.

In this book, authors Patty McGee and Tim Donohue introduce Grammar Study, their classroom-tested approach that blends explicit instruction and inquiry to address the challenges and gaps in traditional grammar lessons. The book includes 40+ engaging and innovative, research-based lessons that are organized in flexible lesson progressions to provide teachers with easy-to-implement, fun, and learning-rich experiences for students in Grades 2-8.

Guiding educators step-by-step in nurturing grammar knowledge and usage for both themselves and their students, this book

  • Offers lessons and strategies that allow students to study grammar in the context of everyday reading and writing
  • Emphasizes that grammar is not a static set of rules but an ever-evolving system that differs from community to community
  • Provides time management principles for teachers to creatively integrate meaningful grammar instruction into their literacy or ELA block
  • Highlights the importance of grammar in writing and clarifies the difference between spoken and written grammar
  • Includes a robust grammar refresher to help teachers feel more confident in their grammar knowledge as well as an appendix showing alignment with Common Core Standards

Drawing from the science of writing, Not Your Granny's Grammar revolutionizes grammar instruction so teachers can help students build actionable and detailed grammar knowledge and skills that enrich their academic writing for years to come.

Contents

Part 1: Grammar Remodel

  • Chapter 1: Not Your Granny’s Grammar
  • Chapter 2: Setting Up the Classroom for Grammar Study

Part 2: Lessons to Begin

  • Chapter 3: A Unit on Sentences

Part 3: Lessons for the Journey: Immersion, Exploration, Transfer

  • Chapter 4: Immersion Lessons: Mentor Texts and Tips
  • Chapter 5: Explore Lessons: Hypothesize and Play
  • Chapter 6: Explicit Lessons: Anchor Charts and How-to’s
  • Chapter 7: Transfer Lessons: Tools and Schedules
  • Chapter 8: Assessment: For Learning and Of Learning

Part 4: Your Grammar Refresher: All You Need to Know About Grammar and Standards

Part 4: Your Grammar Refresher: All You Need to Know About Grammar and Standards

Description

Let's make grammar instruction exciting, relevant, and accessible for all learners!

Grammar is the forgotten foundational skill! It plays a critical role in helping students become skilled readers and writers. Yet, traditional approaches to teaching grammar, through drills and memorization, no longer resonate with students.

In today's fast-paced world, students need a more engaging and meaningful way to learn grammar that connects to their real-world experiences. That's where Not Your Granny's Grammar comes in—offering an innovative approach to teaching grammar that is both efficient and effective.

In this book, authors Patty McGee and Tim Donohue introduce Grammar Study, their classroom-tested approach that blends explicit instruction and inquiry to address the challenges and gaps in traditional grammar lessons. The book includes 40+ engaging and innovative, research-based lessons that are organized in flexible lesson progressions to provide teachers with easy-to-implement, fun, and learning-rich experiences for students in Grades 2-8.

Guiding educators step-by-step in nurturing grammar knowledge and usage for both themselves and their students, this book

  • Offers lessons and strategies that allow students to study grammar in the context of everyday reading and writing
  • Emphasizes that grammar is not a static set of rules but an ever-evolving system that differs from community to community
  • Provides time management principles for teachers to creatively integrate meaningful grammar instruction into their literacy or ELA block
  • Highlights the importance of grammar in writing and clarifies the difference between spoken and written grammar
  • Includes a robust grammar refresher to help teachers feel more confident in their grammar knowledge as well as an appendix showing alignment with Common Core Standards

Drawing from the science of writing, Not Your Granny's Grammar revolutionizes grammar instruction so teachers can help students build actionable and detailed grammar knowledge and skills that enrich their academic writing for years to come.

Contents

Part 1: Grammar Remodel

  • Chapter 1: Not Your Granny’s Grammar
  • Chapter 2: Setting Up the Classroom for Grammar Study

Part 2: Lessons to Begin

  • Chapter 3: A Unit on Sentences

Part 3: Lessons for the Journey: Immersion, Exploration, Transfer

  • Chapter 4: Immersion Lessons: Mentor Texts and Tips
  • Chapter 5: Explore Lessons: Hypothesize and Play
  • Chapter 6: Explicit Lessons: Anchor Charts and How-to’s
  • Chapter 7: Transfer Lessons: Tools and Schedules
  • Chapter 8: Assessment: For Learning and Of Learning

Part 4: Your Grammar Refresher: All You Need to Know About Grammar and Standards

Part 4: Your Grammar Refresher: All You Need to Know About Grammar and Standards

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Not Your Granny’s Grammar

An Innovative Approach to Meaningful and Engaging Grammar Instruction

Patricia Grawehr McGee , Timothy J Donohue
Cancel Print

May 2025 | 328 pages | Corwin

Format Published Date ISBN Price
Paperback 01/02/2026 9781071941676 $40.95
Lifetime 01/02/2026 9781071989678 $37.00

Let's make grammar instruction exciting, relevant, and accessible for all learners!

Grammar is the forgotten foundational skill! It plays a critical role in helping students become skilled readers and writers. Yet, traditional approaches to teaching grammar, through drills and memorization, no longer resonate with students.

In today's fast-paced world, students need a more engaging and meaningful way to learn grammar that connects to their real-world experiences. That's where Not Your Granny's Grammar comes in—offering an innovative approach to teaching grammar that is both efficient and effective.

In this book, authors Patty McGee and Tim Donohue introduce Grammar Study, their classroom-tested approach that blends explicit instruction and inquiry to address the challenges and gaps in traditional grammar lessons. The book includes 40+ engaging and innovative, research-based lessons that are organized in flexible lesson progressions to provide teachers with easy-to-implement, fun, and learning-rich experiences for students in Grades 2-8.

Guiding educators step-by-step in nurturing grammar knowledge and usage for both themselves and their students, this book

  • Offers lessons and strategies that allow students to study grammar in the context of everyday reading and writing
  • Emphasizes that grammar is not a static set of rules but an ever-evolving system that differs from community to community
  • Provides time management principles for teachers to creatively integrate meaningful grammar instruction into their literacy or ELA block
  • Highlights the importance of grammar in writing and clarifies the difference between spoken and written grammar
  • Includes a robust grammar refresher to help teachers feel more confident in their grammar knowledge as well as an appendix showing alignment with Common Core Standards

Drawing from the science of writing, Not Your Granny's Grammar revolutionizes grammar instruction so teachers can help students build actionable and detailed grammar knowledge and skills that enrich their academic writing for years to come.


Table Of Contents:

  • Part 1: Grammar Remodel
  • Chapter 1: Not Your Granny’s Grammar
  • Chapter 2: Setting Up the Classroom for Grammar Study
  • Part 2: Lessons to Begin
  • Chapter 3: A Unit on Sentences
  • Part 3: Lessons for the Journey: Immersion, Exploration, Transfer
  • Chapter 4: Immersion Lessons: Mentor Texts and Tips
  • Chapter 5: Explore Lessons: Hypothesize and Play
  • Chapter 6: Explicit Lessons: Anchor Charts and How-to’s
  • Chapter 7: Transfer Lessons: Tools and Schedules
  • Chapter 8: Assessment: For Learning and Of Learning
  • Part 4: Your Grammar Refresher: All You Need to Know About Grammar and Standards

Recent Product Reviews:

For teachers who are grammar nerds—or who are searching for engaging ways to study grammar with their children—Patty McGee and Timothy Donahue’s Not Your Granny’s Grammar supports grammar instruction in a fresh, inquiry-based way that will help students become fascinated by a subject that has traditionally been dry and yawn-producing. I think even my granny would have enjoyed their approach!
Carl Anderson, Educator and author of Teaching Fantasy Writing: Lessons that Inspire Student Engagement and Creativity K-6
Grammar matters! Readers judge your written ideas more harshly when grammar miscues are evident. Not Your Granny’s Grammar provides an antidote to this problem by presenting powerful ideas for effectively teaching grammar.
Steve Graham, EdD, Regents Professor, Arizona State University
Patty and Tim’s approach to teaching grammar is a game-changer! Flexible and adaptable, it seamlessly integrates into any subject, transforming grammar instruction into an engaging and effective experience. Teachers in our district have seen firsthand how it boosts student engagement, deepens understanding, and streamlines instruction into a dynamic process that fosters curiosity, creativity, and a love for language.
Grace Chun, Supervisor of Curriculum & Instruction
FANBOYS, sentence destroyers, and dangling modifiers, oh my! If teaching grammar conjures up images of worksheets, perplexing rules, and sleepy students seated at their desks, renew or discover your love of language with this book that unlocks the treasure everyday grammarians possess. Get everything you need to solve the mysteries of grammar. Ready to meet each teacher where they are now on their grammar journey with humility and ease, Not Your Granny’s Grammar is a rich tapestry of critical research, suggested curricular and lesson sequence, and approachable hands-on authentic grammar immersion, promising gains as you interact with your students in discovery and play. Patty and Tim partner up to warmly welcome each of us into a very real, practical, and sustainable relationship with grammar. Easily work grammar into instruction with minimal time commitment and a reverence for teaching as an art, and marvel with students as their playful grammarian moves emerge in their writing.
Kara B. Douma, EdD, Supervisor of English Language Arts in New Jersey
McGee and Donohue's approach to grammar study cultivates deep engagement with language. It invites us to reimagine grammar instruction—punctuated with playfulness and inquiry. Grounded in research and designed for real classrooms, Not Your Granny’s Grammar is the essential playbook for instructional transformation.
Allison O’Brien, K-5 literacy coach, Parsippany-Troy Hills School

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