Interrogative sentences, pronouns, prepositional phrases, predicate nominatives … grammar can sometimes feel a bit daunting. However, a recent project proved to be a creative (and fun) way for Middle School students to learn grammar concepts and rules.  

Middle/Upper School Librarian Crystal Hamlin and Middle School English Teacher Mary Hopkins teamed up on the lesson, tasking seventh graders to create grammar zines (pronounced “zeens” and short for “fanzines”): hand-drawn booklets that can be photocopied and traded. Made with simple materials (paper, pens, and markers), the students’ zines use real-world examples to illustrate parts of speech. 

Ms. Hamlin began by introducing the students to the concept of zines and the trading culture that exists around them.

“I learned about zines at a Virginia Association of School Librarians conference,” she shared. “I loved the idea of bringing this to Steward by blending a modern trend — zines — with a classic subject.” 

Reuben Browning ’31 chose predicate nominatives as his zine topic. 

“A predicate nominative is the noun or pronoun in a sentence that follows a linking verb such as is, was, or are,” explained Reuben in his zine. “For example, in the sentence ‘Movies are great entertainment,’ the word ‘entertainment’ is the predicate nominative.”

Arwen Wolmuth ’31 titled her zine, which highlighted interjections, “A Tiny Book of Big Explosions.” Arwen filled her zine with lots of illustrations, including bubble-letter words such as “boom” and “woah!” 

She said, “As someone who’s a visual learner, seeing things, rather than reading chunks of text, makes it easier to learn. Some of the pictures I drew were comic-book style.” 

Thumb through the zine that Cora Sandine ’31 crafted and you’ll find a cartoon drawing of a smiling puppy accompanied by a prompt: “Fill in a preposition to make the sentence sound good,” it reads. “The dog is sleeping ____ the table.”

Cora said, “I enjoyed assembling the zines into small booklets and trading them with classmates. It was interesting to see what my classmates designed! Hands-on projects like this one help me learn because they are interactive and creative.”

After making enough copies to share, the students each had a stack of zines to reference for their end-of-year English exam. Arwen said the zines she and her classmates exchanged “will help me prepare because there is a lot of info in each small booklet.”

This personalized assignment aligns with Steward’s core values of academic achievement, individuality, innovation, and inspiration.

“This was a hands-on way for students to grasp grammar concepts and rules,” said Ms. Hopkins. “Projects such as this one deepen students’ learning, provide an artistic outlet, and encourage self-empowerment. Seeing students’ faces as they excitedly traded their zines made me realize once again that there is no limit to Spartans’ ingenuity!”