How I Got Students Excited About Grammar Worksheets

“Worksheet time!” I call out, waving a small stack of freshly-copied papers.

Students begin smiling as they put away their phones and sit up, talking excitedly to each other. Yes, that really happens!

Now, I know what you’re thinking. Worksheets?! But here’s the thing…sometimes you just plain need them. You’re exhausted, you didn’t have time to plan something elaborate, or you just need students to practice a specific grammar point without reinventing the wheel. And you know what? There’s nothing wrong with that.

The problem isn’t the worksheets themselves. The problem is when they’re soul-crushingly boring for everyone involved.

I always include off-the-wall bits in my grammar worksheets because I love to hear my students laugh out loud while they’re working. I’ve seen their favorite sentences shared on social media! But sometimes you’re stuck with dry, publisher-created worksheets. And sometimes your class is just not awake on Monday morning.

So how do you transform worksheet time from ho-hum to something students get excited about?

Three ways to make worksheets FUN

These aren’t cute Pinterest activities that look good but fall apart in real classrooms. These are strategies I’ve used with actual adult ESL students who would normally rather stab themselves in the eye than fill in blanks on a grammar worksheet.

#1. Mystery Vocabulary Words: when cooperation beats competition

Here’s how this works.

Divide your class into teams or partners. For worksheets where answers will vary due to student creativity, choose 3-5 words from recently-studied vocabulary. Don’t share this list with your students.

Instead, tell students that if they happen to use any of the chosen mystery words correctly, they’ll get points for their team. This does two things. First, it ensures students don’t take the easy way out and write super simple sentences, and second, it motivates them to help each other because they want to use different words to increase their chances of winning the most points.

I’ve found that everyone has varying levels of understanding for any given vocabulary word. When they discuss how to use a word in a sentence best, they increase their understanding of that word. If possible, ban the use of any digital devices to “keep it fair” between the teams. My students are more likely to go along with a complete ban when it’s for a game.

The first time I tried this, I had a student named Hassan who barely participated in regular worksheet time. But when I announced the mystery words challenge? He was leaning over to his partner, debating whether “ambitious” fit better in sentence three or sentence seven. He cared, because suddenly it was a fun challenge.

#2. Vocabulary Point Power: turning sentences into strategy

This one’s similar but with a twist.

When having students do a worksheet where answers will vary due to student creativity, provide a list of vocabulary words you WANT them to incorporate into their sentences. Assign a point value for each word.

You can share the point values with your students or opt to keep that secret. I usually keep it secret because I’m sneaky like that. Pair up the students. The student pair with the MOST points wins.

The first time you do this activity, some pairs might turn in identical answers. But it will only take one team of students turning in papers with DIFFERENT answers (thus gaining far more points) to ensure that they up their game to remain competitive.

I’ve always liked to allow them to discover this themselves, but you could point this out to them at the beginning or halfway through the time limit if you’re feeling generous.

#3. Divide & Conquer: when you need volume and energy

This is my favorite for Monday mornings when everyone’s half-asleep or that class right after lunch break when we’re all fighting off food comas.

Divide the class into two teams and give everyone a worksheet. It’s best if you can use several different worksheets, but make sure that the people sitting directly across from one another is filling out the same worksheet. One team does all the even questions. The other team does all the odd questions. If possible, arrange the classroom so that there are two rows of chairs with one row facing the other with as MUCH space between them as possible. If this is not possible, simply have the students stand at opposite sides of the room. All the odds should be on one side and all the evens on the opposite side.

Up until now, they’ve all been thinking they are sitting with their team. Surprise! Now pair up students, one from each team. Have them stand or sit directly across from their partners.

Ready, get set, GO!

All students share their answers with their partners. The first pair to have all the answers written down wins! With this activity, even my soft-spoken students find their voices and speak up to be heard. Not only do they practice whatever concept is on the worksheet, but they work on listening comprehension, speaking clearly, and practicing asking each other to speak up, repeat, or spell words.

Fair warning: this can get REALLY loud. Check with those who share a wall with you to ensure they aren’t giving a test. When the weather is nice, I’ve taken my classes outside to do the partner part so that our noise doesn’t disturb anyone. If going outside, be sure to have some kind of line or other marker that students must stay behind when relaying information because they’ll either unconsciously keep taking steps closer or try to be sneaky about it.

The first time I did this with a particularly quiet intermediate class, the volume was so shocking that a colleague poked her head in to make sure everything was okay. Everything was MORE than okay. Students were laughing, shouting answers, and genuinely engaged with a grammar worksheet about present perfect progressive. Yes, really.

Why these work when other worksheet activities don’t

These strategies all have something in common…they make students care about getting the answers right, not because they’re afraid of a bad grade, but because they want to win, help their partner, or use the coolest vocabulary word correctly.

And they get students talking to each other, which is what we want in an ESL classroom anyway.

So the next time you’re stuck with a worksheet and zero energy to do anything fancy, try one of these. Your students might surprise you. They might even smile when you announce worksheet time.

If you try one of these, let me know how it goes!

Looking for worksheets to use with these strategies? Check out my TpT store for grammar activities that already include unexpected humor and real-world scenarios your students will remember.

Read more about making adult ESL fun!