270. Not Your Granny's Grammar with Patty McGee | Rethinking Grammar Instruction to Empower Student Writers

What if grammar wasn't about memorizing rules—but about helping students express themselves more powerfully?

In this episode with host Lindsay, literacy consultant and author Patty McGee shares the research behind her book Not Your Granny's Grammar and explains why traditional grammar instruction often fails to improve student writing. Instead, she offers an inquiry-based, student-centered approach that helps grammar become a meaningful tool for communication, creativity, and voice.

Together, we explore how teachers can move beyond worksheets and isolated grammar lessons toward joyful grammar experiences that foster curiosity, collaboration, and authentic writing across content areas.

Whether you're an elementary teacher, literacy coach, instructional leader, or secondary ELA educator, you'll leave with practical strategies you can implement immediately.

In this episode, we discuss:

• Why grammar should be viewed as a tool for expression—not simply a collection of rules.
• The difference between spoken grammar, book grammar, and standard grammar, and why each has value.
• How grammar can amplify student voice and strengthen meaning in writing.
• What decades of research reveal about why traditional grammar instruction doesn't improve writing quality.
• The three research-backed grammar practices that have the greatest impact:
  • Sentence construction
  • Sentence expansion
  • Sentence combining
• Why grammar instruction works best when taught through inquiry-based units rather than isolated lessons.
• Patty's grammar learning progression built around surface learning, deep learning, and transfer.
• The power of long-term student partnerships for collaborative grammar learning.
• Why teachers should ask more questions—and lecture less—during grammar experiences.
• How reflection builds curiosity and helps students naturally progress toward more sophisticated sentence structures.
• Common challenges teachers face when teaching grammar—and how to overcome them.
• Why it's okay (and powerful) for teachers to say, "I don't know—let's figure it out together."
• Easy-to-create grammar manipulatives that make grammar interactive, engaging, and fun.
• How reading, writing, and grammar naturally reinforce one another when taught together.

Get Your Episode Freebie & More Resources On My Website: https://www.lindsaybethlyons.com/blog/270

Connect with guest Patty McGee

• Website: https://pattymcgee.org