Authentic Assessments: Breaking the Paper Test Cycle

Authentic Assessments: Breaking the Paper Test Cycle

When you think of testing, do any of these statements come to mind?

“I want to see what my students have learned at the end of each chapter.”

“I want to make sure I’m teaching effective lessons.”

“My administrator says I have to have a certain number of scores in my grade book.”

“I’d like to see the strengths and weaknesses of each student so I can know how to differentiate my instruction.”

We’re all familiar with national standardized testing, the numerous true/false or multiple-choice tests a teacher gives throughout a school year, along with the benefits these assessments can provide. One school of thought says that assessments are a key component of learning because it helps students see how well they understand subject-specific material. Others say assessments can help motivate students. Still, testing often feels like a necessary evil that all teachers must do to show evidence that students have learned the content teachers worked so hard to teach.

I’d like you to consider looking at

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Shurley English Centers for Your ELA Classroom

 Shurley English Centers for Your ELA Classroom

Last week, we talked about student-led learning centers. Personally, I found that learning centers gave my students the opportunity to collaborate in small groups, be a leader among their classmates, and learn subject material on a deeper level.

This week, we would like to provide you with some tips on how to create Shurley English Centers in your classroom. Here are some possible center/station ideas to get you started:

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FREE Language Arts Tools from Shurley English

FREE Language Arts Tools from Shurley English

At Shurley English, we are committed to helping you and your students experience language arts success. Whether you use the Shurley English curriculum or not, we want your language arts experience to be the best that it can be. Today, we are excited to share several FREE resources to help you in your quest for excellence:

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Language Arts Success: Top 10 List, 2021 Edition

Language Arts Success: Top 10 List, 2021 Edition

As the calendar year comes to a close, a teacher’s journey is still moving at full speed. (It’s true!) We are not quite to the halfway mark of our year, and we still have much to do! As 2021 comes to a close and before you begin the second semester, I would encourage you to take a moment, stop, and reflect. It is good for the mind and soul to take note of one’s progress. What successes are you seeing in the classroom? Are you on the track you had planned? Do you need to make adjustments?

To help you do so, we've assembled a list of the 10 most significant language arts stories we discussed in 2021. From cyclical spelling to jingles to language arts centers, these articles examine ways to ignite learning while building a solid foundation for #ELAsuccess.

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FREE Language Arts Tools from Shurley English

FREE Language Arts Tools from Shurley English

At Shurley English, we are committed to helping you and your students experience language arts success. Whether you use the Shurley English curriculum or not, we want your language arts experience to be the best that it can be. Today, we are excited to share several FREE resources to help you in your quest for excellence:

Read More

Authentic Assessments: Breaking the Paper Test Cycle

Authentic Assessments: Breaking the Paper Test Cycle

When you think of testing, do any of these statements come to mind?

“I want to see what my students have learned at the end of each chapter.”

“I want to make sure I’m teaching effective lessons.”

“My administrator says I have to have a certain number of scores in my grade book.”

“I’d like to see the strengths and weaknesses of each student so I can know how to differentiate my instruction.”

We’re all familiar with national standardized testing, the numerous true/false or multiple-choice tests a teacher gives throughout a school year, along with the benefits these assessments can provide. One school of thought says that assessments are a key component of learning because it helps students see how well they understand subject-specific material. Others say assessments can help motivate students. Still, testing often feels like a necessary evil that all teachers must do to show evidence that students have learned the content teachers worked so hard to teach.

I’d like you to consider looking at

Read More

Shurley English Centers for Your ELA Classroom

 Shurley English Centers for Your ELA Classroom

Last week, we talked about student-led learning centers. Personally, I found that learning centers gave my students the opportunity to collaborate in small groups, be a leader among their classmates, and learn subject material on a deeper level.

This week, we would like to provide you with some tips on how to create Shurley English Centers in your classroom. Here are some possible center/station ideas to get you started:

Read More

FREE Language Arts Professional Development

FREE Language Arts Professional Development

For the past thirty years, Brenda Shurley's mission for Shurley English has been simple. We will do all we can to help teachers, parents, and students experience grammar and writing success. With that mission in mind, we have published several of our Workshop Series training videos for you to view for FREE! The Workshop Series features relevant topics and teaching techniques designed to enhance your skills as an educator.

To access our Workshop Series on demand,

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Writing Toolbox: Let's get organized with Writing Maps!

Writing Toolbox: Let's get organized with Writing Maps!

Teaching kids to write can be easy if you have the right tools! Getting organized is the first step, and one of the best ways to accomplish this is with an excellent set of writing maps. Writing maps are the foundation for writing success and truly help your children start out focused and on topic. What could be better than that?


At Shurley English, we want to give you a great start to the new year. Right now, you can download our Shurley English writing maps for FREE! Below, you will find a

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Story Time: Making Read Alouds a Worthwhile Process

Story Time: Making Read Alouds a Worthwhile Process

Do you remember story time when you were little? I hope you have experienced story time at least at some point in your life. But even if you haven’t, it’s not too late to learn how to enrich the lives of children through this worthwhile process.

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