ABSTRACT
The approach to grammar teaching outlined in this chapter is functionally oriented and so foregrounds the dialectic relationship between a language system and an act of meaning. The chapter explains the rationale of this approach that explicitly highlights the effect of linguistic choices, thus foregrounding grammar as a meaning making resource rather than a rule bound system dictating assumptions of ‘correctness’. The chapter outlines four key principles showing how they are informed by the theoretical literature but also illustrating how they are realised in primary classrooms. These principles are: explicitly linking grammar with effect; using authentic texts; playing with language possibilities and examples; and a classroom emphasis on talk. The chapter outlines key research projects that have demonstrated the efficacy of this approach through the use of a series of randomised control trials, but have also explored the nature of metalinguistic development, utilising a longitudinal design following young writers over three school years. One finding of this research is that both teachers and children struggle to articulate the grammar–meaning relationship and, in light of this, pedagogic resources have been developed that place an emphasis on modelling this kind of talk.
