The first grammar lesson in our reading program is titled “types of sentences.” Since nothing excites gifted 11-year-olds less than the difference between interrogative and declarative sentences, I knew I needed to spice this lesson up. Rather than use direct instruction, I used another model of instruction: concept attainment.
Concept Attainment
A Concept Attainment lesson builds on inductive thinking and encourages students to construct their own understanding. Used strategically, concept attainment causes student engagement to skyrocket.
The Steps
Begin with a chart with two columns, labeled “examples” and “non-examples.” Explain that you are thinking of a concept and the students’ job is to determine what this concept is.
1. Give Examples & Non-Examples
Under “examples” I put three sentences that exemplified my concept “imperative sentences.” I then wrote three declarative sentences under “non-examples.” During this time, students were copying my notes down and silently determining patterns, rules, and parallels.
Examples
- Go to lunch now.
- Get out your homework.
- Play soccer at recess.
Non–Examples
- We’re having hamburgers for lunch.
- Your homework is perfect.
- Soccer is the more enjoyable sport.
⚠️ No Blurting – Naturally, some students understood (or thought they understood) the concept already. I warned them to remain silent. No blurting allowed… yet!
2. Uncategorized Sentences
On post-it notes, I then wrote three more sentences on post-it notes but did not place any in the columns yet. Some of these sentences were examples and some were non-examples. Students individually determine which column each post-it should be in. They’d write it into their own copy of the chart.
I would walk around and check my classes’ understanding by glancing at their work. They also get a chance here to share their thinking with a partner/group.
Then, I call on students to help me place the post-its in the right categories. At this point, I put the post-its in the correct categories – hopefully confirming students’ predictions. There’s usually a chorus of “yessss!” from the class as they see the post-it go in the right place.
3. Determine Rules
Next, students determine the rules that the examples shared. I allowed them to collaborate. After calling on students, we wrote their rules under the respective columns. At this point, students attempted to create their own “example” sentence. I walked around and got an idea of their understanding.
4. Name The Concept
I then asked if anyone knew the name of the concept that the examples represented. Once the class named it, I wrote the concept in the cell at the bottom.
Examples
- Go to lunch now.
- Get out your homework.
- Play soccer at recess.
Non–Examples
- We’re having hamburgers for lunch.
- Your homework is perfect.
- Soccer is the more enjoyable sport.
Topic: Imperative sentences
Students then practiced using the concept on a good ol’ worksheet or some other method of practice.
Any Topic
Now, this is just one example using a grammar topic. Concept Attainment works any time you’re teaching a concept with two clear groups. You could have your two categories be:
- trapezoids vs parallelagrams
- prime vs composite number
- US Senators vs Representatives
- realistic fiction titles vs fantasy/sci-fi titles
- functions vs non-functions
Have fun trying the Concept Attainment model of instruction out!