Basic grammar skills are strengthened with short, daily reviews of previously learned material. Write three to five sentences on the board and allow students to take turns correcting the errors you have included. Each sentence should address a specific skill. Throughout the year, make the sentences more complicated as new skills are learned. Younger students should work on capitalization, abbreviations and spelling, while older ones can handle more advanced punctuation and word usage.
Create a spin-off of a classic and hold a proofreading bee. Divide the class into two teams. Using an overhead or PowerPoint presentation, have students take turns finding the errors in sentences. If a student cannot correct the mistake, he is out. Keep playing until a single winner remains, or set a time limit and give bragging rights to the team with the most students. Keep the competition going with a running tally of which team has the most wins.
If your classroom has computer learning stations, take advantage of the numerous educational websites that feature games and activities to practice proofreading. Many textbook publishers and education companies sponsor free, grade-level games that focus on specific skills. Also, some sites easily generate proofreading worksheets based on your original paragraph and the type of errors you want the program to create.
Students love to be in charge. In this activity, they take on the role of teacher, or editor, and use red pencils to correct errors in a paragraph loaded with common mistakes. Writing samples can come from student work or be created for the assignment. Include a variety of errors or focus on specific skills such as capitalization, punctuation, homonyms or spelling.
Encourage students to look for mistakes in written materials they encounter every day. Dedicate a space in your classroom to build a Mistake Museum where students bring in examples of misspelled words or grammar mistakes they find in advertisements, magazines or newspapers. Give a prize or extra credit points to the students who contribute the most examples.