Let’s Talk About Grammar: Subjects and Predicates

Isn’t grammar one of the hardest things to teach sometimes?

And let’s be honest. Sometimes, the grammar concepts we are charged with embedding in our student’s brains make us want to stab ourselves in the eye with a dirty stick. Does anyone really enjoy imparting their knowledge of direct objects? Really? Really??

When I teach any grammar lessons, I try to do one of two things: laugh or sing.


I totally understand how that might be hard to imagine. I mean, how comical can you make subjects and predicates? Well, in our room we try… a little. 🙂

When I’m researching for grammar lessons, I usually look to YouTube first. There are lots of engaging and short videos I can show to build background knowledge, reinforce the previous day’s material, or review before our state testing each spring. I thought I’d share a few of my kiddos’ favorites below.

The first video is a clip from a show called Twinkle Trails. It’s only about three and a half minutes long. I typically use this one first because it gives just enough information to lay the groundwork for my first big lesson.

I think we’ve all seen this gem. 🙂 Who doesn’t love sharing a little old school knowledge with their students? I end up humming this song for a few weeks afterwards, but I think that’s the point – right?!





One more song… I think this one may be my favorite! We love watching this in the weeks leading up to our state testing. It’s a great way to get kids moving and reviewing a key concept for our Language Arts test.




Seriously. Wouldn’t your kids LOVE that? And, I love that it has built-in captions! #teachernerd


I also love to practice identifying subjects and predicates using silly sentences. Sometimes when I’m making them up, I swear there is a 10-year-old boy that lives inside my brain. 

But you know what? It works! 🙂 I’ve also used funny anecdotes from our class as inspiration for sentences. Little things like this keep my kids engaged – and laughing – throughout our lessons! 

Maybe there isn’t a ten-year-old boy in your brain and this super easy anchor chart is more your style? 🙂 

I only teach one sentence part at a time – subjects first, and then predicates a day or two later. I do teach complete and simple parts at the same time. 

This is a sample page from our grammar notebook. This is exactly what I give them on Day 1. We go through the anchor chart together in a whole group and work through a few more sentences the students and I create together. Then I send them back to work on a short notebook page at their seats with a copy of the day’s anchor chart. This prevents a lot of getting up and down to go look at the class chart (read: students avoiding work). It also encourages them to be more independent. Our lesson is right in front of them. So, unless they bombed the group work on the carpet (and we know who those lovebugs are), they should be fine! 

I also have some interactive options for centers, early finishers, homework, or another lesson for reinforcement. 

They love these interactive pages! Both my inclusion and ESOL student groups really benefit from the visual supports these activities offer. 

To bring it all together, I almost always use poetry. It’s a great way to sneak in some fluency practice. I love to write poems for my lessons – again, it’s another way to keep them “hooked” on an otherwise boring topic. 

This is a great partner or small group activity. The students have to find the nouns and pronouns in the poem, then sort them into subject and non-subject noun groups. It’s an easy way to show them that not every noun or pronoun will be a subject! 

All of these gems are in one of my best sellers: Subjects and Predicates {A Wonderland of Resources}. It’s just gotten a HUGE makeover and is jam-packed full of brand-new interactive notebook pages, anchor charts, practice pages, and a small group game! 

I also have this game, which is a *sweeter* version of a game in my Wonderland pack. 

If you really love both of those packs as much as I do, and you’d like to save some money, take a look at my newest Bookworm Bundle! 

I also found some random subject and predicate odds and ends that I didn’t use with either of the smaller packs, so I made it into a quick FREEBIE! Enjoy!!

Use this image to PIN this post for later, and make sure you follow my Grammar Resources board on Pinterest as well!  

If you have any tips and tricks for grammar concepts, I’d love to hear them!