The National Curriculum for English requires that pupils be taught about the grammar of their language - of their own dialect as well as of Standard English. Yet for many teachers this means learning a new set of skills, ideas and facts. Written specifically for teachers, and assuming no previous knowledge of the subject, this is a guide to the fundamentals of grammar as it is studied today. The book is built about ten suggested lessons graded accordingly to the attainment levels of the National Curriculum. Each one poses a problem to solve, encouraging children to learn about grammar by discovery. Among the topics explored in this way are the use of apostrophes and of tenses in writing; the characteristics of persuasive language and the features of pupils' dialects and of Standard English. Teaching grammar, Richard Hudson shows, can be a means both of improving children's knowledge of English and of building their respect for their own dialect. Including a helpful glossary of terms and concepts, his book explains the purpose, relevance and excitement of today's linguistics.