What is an idiom?

If you understand every word in a text and still fail to understand what the text is all about, chances are you are having trouble with the idioms.  This has happened to me on occasion, so my guess is that you’ve been in the same boat.  Let’s attempt to conquer idioms together.

(Note: This blog contains several idioms.  They have been italicized and underlined for clarity.)

What is an idiom?

An idiom is an informal expression that cannot be understood simply by understanding its parts.  It is a figure of speech that has a separate meaning of its own, which is figurative and not literal.  When two or more words are expressed together to create a unique meaning that is different from the meaning of each of the individual words, an idiom is created.

One-word idioms can occur when a word is used in a surprisingly different way to express a different meaning from its original one.  For instance, the word lemon can be used to describe a car that has multiple manufacturing defects which affect the safety, value, and use of the vehicle.

American English is considerably idiomatic, and most Americans use these words, phrases, or expressions without much thought during every day conversation.  Idioms seem to make language more colorful, and can help people express something more vividly and sometimes more briefly.  They also help create imagery for the reader or listener. 

Here’s an example:

“When I think about days gone by, I can clearly see beyond a shadow of a doubt that my parents and grandparents used a lot of idiomatic phrases when they chewed the fat or shot the bull.  I was always all ears, so it should come as no surprise that they handed down some of the slang, regional, informal, cliché, and proverbial expressions they used day in and day out.  If the truth be told, it would be difficult for me to express myself without using those same idioms now!”

Shurley English teaches the Traits of Effective Writing, and during Trait 3: Word Choice, students learn to incorporate idioms:   

What are the different types of idioms?

It’s important to know that idioms are usually peculiar to a particular group of people (region, country, etc.), and they may be difficult for people from other parts of the world to comprehend.  Also, non-native speakers of English often have a hard time understanding them at all. 

Idioms can add real flair to students’ writing, so here is a Lexicon for different types of idioms to explore.  Encourage your young scholars to use them as a word choice strategy!

Slang Expression: a type of language that consists of words and phrases that are regarded as very informal, are more common in speech than writing, and are typically restricted to a particular context or group of people.

Regional Expression: of or relating to a particular region, district, area, or part, as of a country; sectional; local.

Informal Expression: suitable to or characteristic of casual and familiar, but educated, speech or writing.

Cliché Expression: a trite, stereotyped expression; a sentence or phrase, usually expressing a popular or common thought or idea, which has lost originality, ingenuity, and impact by long overuse, as sadder but wiser, or strong as an ox.

Proverbial Phrase or a Proverbial Expression:  a type of a conventional saying similar to proverbs and transmitted by oral tradition. The difference is that a proverb is a fixed expression, while a proverbial phrase permits alterations to fit the grammar of the context.

Extend the Lesson:

Did you know that William Shakespeare coined many of the idiomatic phrases we still use today?  Take a look at the following list of idioms Shakespeare used in his plays.  Look some of them up to understand their meaning.  Also, try to use some of them in a sentence.

Overcoming the Fear of Public Speaking

During the past 25 years, I have been presenting Shurley English to educators across the country.  So, as a seasoned presenter, I sometimes forget how uncomfortable some people feel about speaking in front of a crowd.  The very idea that someone would be that fearful of public speaking led me to this week’s topic:  “How to Prevent Glossophobia.”

Glossophobia is the fear of public speaking, and it’s a real thing!  Statistically, most people fear public speaking more than death!  So, what can you do if you’re not a natural born speaker, yet you have to rise to the occasion?” 

Here are a few tips I’ve learned over the years:

While content is always the most important factor in any presentation, the impact of your ability to effectively deliver the information is not to be underestimated.  Your job is to help the audience receive the message you want them to receive!  Your mind, face, body, and voice are tools that can be used to enhance your message.

1. Be prepared and know your content. 
2. Be genuine and sincere.
3. Organize your thoughts and tell the audience what they need to know.
4. Smile!  Your face is the first thing the audience sees!
5. Have good eye contact.
6. Use an open face that says, “I like you!”  This is the face you show your audience when you elevate your brows slightly and create the horizontal lines in your forehead.  It’s the face of warm, caring, animated conversation.
7. Don’t have a closed face.  This face has a frown and the brows are often drawn tightly together.  Sometimes we get this look when we are thinking or feeling strongly about the subject.  Remember that when the audience sees you like this, they are seeing a negative face.
8. Don’t have a neutral face.  This is the face you show when nothing moves but the mouth.  This face makes the audience feel as though you don’t really care whether they are interested in your topic or not.
9. Use good posture while standing erect.
10. Use your hands naturally; however, don’t over exaggerate your hand movements.
11. Don’t clutch one hand over the other wrist, put your hands in your pockets, stand with your hands behind your back, or fold your arms in front of the chest.
12. Speak in conversational voice.
13. Have good pitch in your voice.  This is the ability to use the highness and lowness of your voice in a pleasing way.
14. Don’t talk too fast or too slow.
15. On a scale of 1 to 10, your volume should be around 6 or 7.
16. Practice speaking without using words or sounds like:  “um,” “uh,” “like,” “kind of,” or “Do you know what I mean?”
17. Use simple, brief, clear, concise, and easy-to-understand words that support the content during your presentation.
18. Be positive and have a good attitude when delivering the content.  Avoid making negative inferences.
19. Avoid telling detailed experience stories.  They can be time consuming and misread by the audience.
20. Be comfortable and confident.  The greater your confidence, the stronger your impact will be!

The key to developing an effective delivery is to practice “a LOT.”  Have confidence that you know your content because you have put in the time.  Turn your focus towards conveying understanding about the subject and to allowing your passion for your subject to come out. 

Practice in front of a mirror.  Watch your facial expressions and your body movements.  Practice in the car.  Practice during every spare moment!  When the time comes, you will hopefully feel the confidence necessary to present your material.

Glassophobia Prevention requires all of these things and more.  Again, you can’t practice too much.  Take my suggestions and run with them because conquering the fear of public speaking will give you a great sense of accomplishment.

What is an appositive?

Appositives don’t have to be complicated.  You just need to know (a) what they are, (b) how to punctuate them properly, and (c) how to use them to your advantage.  When you understand these three things, you can use them any time they’re necessary in a competent and confident way.

First of all, an appositive is a noun or pronoun placed after another noun or pronoun to identify, rename, or explain it.  It’s always located in apposition because it’s placed next to the noun or certain pronouns that it serves to develop. 

In the first example, the appositive is set off by commas to indicate that the appositive is not essential to the basic meaning of the sentence.  If we drop the appositive, the meaning of the sentence will not change. 

In the second example, the appositive is not set off by commas because it is necessary to define the noun that came before it.  This appositive can’t be dropped from the sentence without taking away a huge part of the sentences’ meaning.

When an appositive has its own modifiers, it is called an appositive phrase.  Like other appositives, the appositive phrase acts as an adjective because it is describing a noun or certain pronouns in a sentence. 

Appositives can be used to your advantage when you’re writing.  Not only are they useful in identifying, renaming, and explaining other words, appositives make it possible for you to put more words into one sentence.

What is Shurley English?

When someone asks me to tell them about Shurley English in a nutshell, I still experience a nanosecond of wondering where to begin.  I mean, hey, it’s no easy task to capture the unique features of the curriculum and explain how they help students make the language arts connection using the fewest possible words!  Besides that, as the senior consultant, my preference is to take at least a full day to expound! 

The best way I can go about sharing Shurley English in a nutshell is to roll out three key points:  1) our purpose, 2) our goal, and 3) the methods we use to accomplish the goal. With that being said, here’s my spiel:

Our Purpose:

As a family-owned U.S.-based company, our mission is to empower ALL students to become competent, confident communicators. That’s our sole purpose, and we take it seriously! 

Our Goal:

The overall goal of our curriculum is to teach abstract language arts concepts in a clear and logical way, using concrete, multi-sensory strategies.  Our experts have organized the curriculum logically, sequentially, and systematically to support all types of learners. 

Our Methods:

The method used to accomplish the overall goal teaches a unique combination of features necessary to build a solid literacy foundation. (Check out our "Making the Connection" wheel.)   The Teacher’s Manual provides step-by-step instructions to teach the knowledge and skills necessary to make the connection.  It also provides ample opportunities for students to practice the knowledge and skills they learn.

When a student understands the eight parts of speech and how they work together to build sentences, they are more capable of writing a good sentence.  Once they can write a good sentence, they can be taught how to organize sentences together to write good paragraphs.  As they learn to write well-structured paragraphs, students can be shown to organize paragraphs into essays properly. The pinnacle of success is when a student can write for all purposes using sentences, paragraphs, and/or essays that exude language arts competence and confidence!

Whew!  That’s what I call Shurley English in a Nutshell! Want to see it in action? We invite you to visit our website at www.shurley.com.

Teaching Correct Subject-Verb Agreement

Subject-verb agreement refers to the special way in which a subject and verb work together to make a sentence correct.  Basically, the two must agree in number.  For example, if the subject is singular, the verb must be singular.  If the subject is plural, the verb must be plural.

Without correct subject-verb agreement, a reader or listener can become easily confused; therefore, students must be taught to apply three basic rules when speaking and writing.  Here’s what they need to know.

Teaching students the rules of subject-verb agreement can be less daunting if you use these easy-to-follow steps in order:

 Step 1:  Identify the subject of the sentence and underline it with one line. 

Step 2: Identify the subject as singular or plural because the answer will help identify the correct subject-verb agreement rule. 

Step 3:  Check the rule that applies to the subject located in the sentence. 

Step 4:  Write the rule number in the box provided. 

Step 5:  Following the rule, identify the correct verb choice with competence and confidence. 

The three basic rules of subject-verb agreement are important skills to understand and apply, but students must learn that there are some additional rules. They are known as the rules for subject-verb agreement in special cases, including:

1. Agreement Rules for Collective Nouns

2. Agreement Rules for Nouns Singular in Meaning but Plural in Form and Nouns Ending in –ics

3. Agreement Rules for Titles or Names of Countries

4. Agreement Rules for Words of Amount or Time

5. Agreement Rules for Compound Subjects

6. Agreement Rules for Subjects Following the Verb

7. Agreement Rules for Special Cases

I invite you to check out the Shurley English curriculum to learn about these rules because errors in subject-verb agreement are fairly common in the English language, and they are sometimes difficult to correct.  Knowing the rules and how to apply them will assist students in their quest to communicate more effectively!

Developing Students' Empathy Skills

Bullying remains a serious problem in schools across America even though anti-bullying laws and/or policies to prevent bullying and protect children are enacted in every state. Recent studies suggest that rates of bullying may be on the decline, but according to the National Center for Education Statistics, nearly a third of all students aged 12-18 reported being bullied at school.

Stopbullying.gov, a federal government website, lists four ways adults can help prevent bullying, including:

(1) helping kids understand bullying,

(2) teaching them how to keep the lines of communication open,

(3) encouraging kids to do what they love, and

(4) modeling how to treat others.

After staring at the list and reading the description beneath each heading, I came to the conclusion that a fifth goal should be considered:

(5) developing students’ empathy skills.

I truly believe that adults can help prevent bullying by developing students’ empathy skills.

Empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings of another.  Research states that people strong in the Empathy theme can sense the feelings of other people by imagining themselves in others' lives or others' situations. (Gallup’s Strengthfinder 2.0)  Gallup researchers report that while empathy is a natural behavior for some folks, it can be an area of lesser talent for others.

The good news is that there’s research available that shows (1) empathy can be learned, and (2) empathy can decrease bullying among school children.  In fact, studies conducted by Mary Gordon at Roots of Empathy, an evidence-based classroom program, have shown a significant reduction in levels of aggression and bullying occurred while raising social/emotional competence and increasing empathy. (Source: Gordon, Want to prevent your child from bullying others?, Dec. 15.)

Knowing that teaching empathy skills in the classroom will help students build and maintain healthy relationships and decrease bullying at the same time, I encourage teachers to initiate a plan of action today! A dash of empathy goes a long way!  

ELA Writing Connection

Here are a few writing related activities you can use in your classroom as you discuss empathy:

1. Write about a time when you felt empathy toward someone else, meaning that you felt the same way another person did because you could sense the way they were feeling.

2. Write about why you believe empathy is important.

3. Empathy is a skill that can be developed through practice.  Write about a few ways you might use empathy to show care and concern for others.

What is love?

My favorite thing about February is that it seems to be the designated month of love.  It’s the time of the year when people seem to make a conscious effort to show LOVE to their family and friends in one way or another.  Even people that find it hard to say “I love you” and secret admirers feel as though they have a free pass to do so on Valentine’s Day!

Love has many levels of implication, which makes it hard to define and sometimes even harder to understand.  Thankfully, the ancient Greeks tackled the subject long ago and devised terminology to clarify the 7-States of Love:

Storge: natural affection; the love you share with your family

Philio: the love that you have for friends

Eros: the romantic desire kind of love

Agape: this is the unconditional love, or divine love

Ludus: this is playful love, like childish love or flirting

Pragma: long standing love; the love in a married couple

Philautia: the love of the self

The 7-States of Love represent seven different feelings, yet the same word is used to name each one: LOVE.  That’s so confusing, but think of it like this:  Even though you might say ‘I love you' to two different people and mean it, the truth is that you don’t love your mother the same way that you love your significant other, and so on! 

So, how can you clearly communicate your feelings when you say ‘I love you’ without using the actual terminology used by the ancient Greeks?  (I don’t think I’ve ever heard someone say something like, “I have philio-love for you!”)   One way is to try using a simile to clarify.  For example:  I love you as a friend; or I love you like family. (There's your ELA connection!)

Love is one of the most important parts of our lives, so understanding the 7-States of Love and how to convey our feelings of LOVE will make a huge impact.    

Remember:  “Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.” 1 Corinthians 13:4-7