Grammar Teaching: Why, What, When, How

It would be rare if a class teacher within a Waldorf school allotted the full, 28-day main-lesson rhythm to the teaching of grammar, in any one class in the Lower School. The ‘family’ of main-lessons each year, other than grammar of the mother tongue, clamors to claim the precious time available and is so colorfully attractive that, by comparison, it can make grammar appear like a so-called country cousin: manners a bit gauche, dress decidedly out of fashion and the spectrum of conversation rather limited. Looked at from Rudolf Steiner’s standpoint of child development, however, that country cousin has some of the family’s noblest blood to offer the incarnating Self.

In this concise booklet, Dr Brien Masters, with his lifetime’s experience of teaching, teacher training, and teacher education, presents the rationale behind Waldorf grammar teaching. Along the way, he offers numerous practical examples for teachers to follow or use as springboards for their own creativity.

Impelled by such an approach and taught in a lively fashion, the nearly month-long grammar main lesson can then make its way through the main lessons and extra main lessons that make up the enticing constellation of each year. Moreover, it will have important implications for foreign language teaching and for the foundations of literacy, on which work in the upper grades can be securely built.