Shurley English Centers for Your ELA Classroom

(This is part two of a two-part series on Language Arts Centers. If you missed part one, you can find it here.)

Now that you’ve decided to create Shurley English Centers in your classroom and have solidified the details of my  7 Must Dos, let’s brainstorm some topics and activities that you might decide to include in your Shurley Centers!

Here are some possible center/station ideas to get you started:

  1. Listening/Video/Jingles

-Have groups practice some of the Shurley English Jingles that stump them. (Preposition Flow, Transition Words, Eight Parts of Speech)

-Allow groups to record a video of themselves performing their favorite Shurley English Jingle.

-Have the group listen to and view different videos from YouTube that show other classrooms practicing their Shurley English Jingles; see if this helps your class gain some new ideas for “jazzing up” their current jingles.

2. Question & Answer Flow Practice

-Create a sheet with a set of Practice Sentences on it. Place the sheet in a plastic protector. Allow group members to partner up to lead each other through the Q&A Flow; one person uses a dry erase maker to label the sentences as the other person recites the Q&A Flow. (Be sure to create several Practice Sentence sheets for this center.)

3.  Practice & Revised Sentences/Sentence Blueprints

- Have a pre-written sentence or two prepared as the Original Sentence for students to work from.  Ask them to use different Sentence Structure Strategies to revise the Original Sentence.  Be sure to have dictionaries and thesauruses available at the center.  Students can draw a picture of their Revised Sentence and can be expected to share it during the Wrap-Up if they’d like. 

-Vocabulary and Spelling activities can be incorporated into this center, as well.  Have students create a fill-in-the-blank worksheet. Each student can write sentences that use words from the Power Words list.  Students can exchange papers with their group members to become familiar seeing and using these new words.

4.  Writing

–Have a fishbowl of different fun, quick writing prompts ready for students to individually choose and write about.  Include specific writing requirements such as including compound and complex sentences, incorporating Power Words, including inverted word order sentences, using colors to circle different parts of speech or types of sentences, and following the Three-Point Paragraph organizational format, etc.

-Pull in a part of the Writing Process for students to work on.

-Allow students to record themselves reading their rough draft to help them revise a short writing piece.

-Use a Writing Across the Curriculum activity here…just get the materials ready and you’re all set!

5.  Silent Station

-It’s nice to have a quiet group or two. If possible, a Chapter Check-Up or Classroom Practice worksheet can be assigned here to be completed independently and graded.

-Reading and Literature Time are incorporated into the Shurley English curriculum, so don’t hesitate to include a reading passage, poem, or research time into this type of Learning Center.

6.  Teacher Station/Float

-I often placed myself at a center where I reviewed a tricky concept with students to make sure they received more individualized attention and differentiated instruction. 

-Float around and monitor each center from a distance.  This allows the students to experience a sense of freedom that can build autonomy, independence, and self-confidence…you are showing them that you trust them to be active self-managers.             

Remember, all instructions should be typed out at each center in order for each group to follow them independently, along with all necessary materials/supplies for each activity.

The Bottom Line-BE CREATIVE & HAVE FUN!!

How to Gain Control of Your Classroom

Who’s in Control?

This is an important question…but, before I attempt to answer it, I should explain that I CAN’T answer this question for you. I can only answer it as it applies to me. As a former classroom teacher, it was a question I grappled with the first day I walked into my cooperating teacher’s classroom during my semester as a student teacher.

It was easy to see that I wasn’t the one in control. It was Mrs. Hall’s classroom. She was my incredible mentor teacher during my student teacher days, and since it was her classroom of third graders, she was in control. Not me. But, I did what I was told to do, going through the various aspects of learning how to teach children. I did well…but, I was never truly the teacher—just the helper, as far as the kids were concerned.

I awaited the time during my training when Mrs. Hall would leave me alone for a few hours on occasion while I tried to figure out how to solo. Man! I’d be lying if I said that I felt like I was in control even then. I wasn’t, and it was painfully obvious by the way the third graders reacted to my approach. They weren’t listening to me. I was trying all the strategies I was taught to use that, in theory, were supposed to work with kids. I reverted to yelling, as that was how control was gained in my growing-up years. Out it came. I found myself raising my voice to be heard above the din of noise my out-of-control students were making on a daily basis. Funny, the more out-of-control they became, the more control they had…over me.

Control.

If you were to ask me today what the definition of control is, I would tell you that it is an imaginary, self-centered perspective that we create in order to mask our fear. That’s what I was doing in my early days as a teacher. Thankfully, with the help of Mrs. Hall, Jim Fay, Foster Cline, and Betsy Geddes, I was able to reset my dysfunctional default and change the direction of my approach to dealing with kids. Let’s face it, if a teacher has classroom management problems, he or she is not truly able to get to the craft of teaching. Almost anyone can learn how to disseminate knowledge, but without exemplary management skills, it doesn’t matter how sharp you are with content, very few of your students will ever get to benefit from your expertise if you don’t know who’s in charge.

That brings me to the answer to my opening question—who’s in control? Wait. Before I answer it, I have to change something. I have to change the question. The question cannot be, “Who’s in control?”

As a classroom manager, the real question is, “WHAT can I control?”

Let me tell you folks, knowing the answer to this revised question is what saved my career. Here’s the answer…I can only control myself, and that is ONLY on a good day! The point is, I learned that I cannot actually control ANYONE who lives outside my skin. So, if it’s true that I cannot actually control anything, then what? How would I ever get anything done in my classroom? Simple. I quit thinking that I should have the control to make kids listen, to make kids behave, to make them learn.

I adopted a new philosophy. I would only try to control how I would react to situations that arose in the classroom. It was very freeing to learn that not only was I NOT in control over my kids, but also that I didn’t need to be. What I needed control over was how to handle myself and my attitude when things didn’t go the way I thought they should go. Cline, Fay, and Geddes somehow sprinkled magic fairy dust on me and I really began to fly as a classroom manager. I learned how to SHARE control with my students over matters that I was willing to let go of. For instance, I had to figure out what was really my problem as a teacher and what were really my students’ problems. I quit taking ownership over my kids’ problems. I figured out that there were only a few big issues to deal with in most of the behavioral issues my kids’ displayed.

In order to get buy-in with my students, I quit imposing my rules upon them. Instead, we had a nice long conversation about the kind of classroom THEY wanted to learn in. It was amazing! My students explained that they wanted to feel safe, they didn’t want to fight or be called names, and they wanted to be treated fairly. Some offered that they needed times to be able to talk and also times for quiet. Hmmmmm. Well, those became our rules for a happy classroom, and they applied to me as the teacher, as well.

Soon, when disagreements arose in the classroom, when noise became too loud for me to handle, or when I felt like they were making it impossible for me to teach, I was able to call a meeting of the minds and discuss how we needed to realign ourselves with what we all had agreed would be our classroom rules.  I told them that I can only be the best teacher they have ever had if they let me teach. So, if I begin to feel that they are preventing me from being the best teacher they have ever had, I cannot allow whatever is happening to continue.

This new approach was startlingly successful. It was as if a cloak of darkness had been yanked off of all of us. I remember saying to my students when they were getting noisy that I was more than happy to let them make all the noise they wanted during recess time. That is their turn to make noise. When it is classroom time, that is my time to make noise, and since I would rather teach than make noise, I should be allowed to use my share of my time the way I want, just like they get to do. It made sense to them. It made sense to me. So, when I said, “Whose turn is it to make noise?” they all agreed that it was my time when we are in the classroom. I didn’t have to say anything more about noise except, “Is it my time or your time for noise?” I said it with a smile on my face—no anger, just an air of logic that allowed them to take hold of their own self-control.

I have many ordinary classroom experiences that became extraordinary simply because I had figured out whose problems belonged to whom and whose responsibility it was to fix the issues when they arose. By having a very general set of logical rules for all of us to abide by in the classroom, management or need for it became minimal. And, best of all, no more yelling to get what I wanted. I only needed to ask if we were all adhering to the decisions we had made about our rules. The rest of the issues truly took care of themselves. As my experience and wisdom grew over time, I became even more aware of what I needed to control and what I could let go. Parents were absolutely stunned that their kids behaved as well as they did in my classroom. All I could say is, “We have a very democratic method of class behavior that we use in the classroom, and it makes sense to all of us.” The secret was shared control, and it is a game changer.

Adverb or Adjective?

When my third graders were first learning the parts of speech, some of them would mix-up adverbs and adjectives.  I found a great process that would move my students from definitions, through Bloom's Taxonomy, and towards application. Let me show you...

Step 1: Definitions

Remember, an adverb modifies verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs. An adjective modifies nouns or pronouns. As you well know, definitions can be hard to remember. Why not introduce your students to language arts jingles? (There is plenty of research on this subject, that you can read about here and here.) Below are two jingles to help you with adverbs and adjectives.

Step 2: Questioning Strategies

Next, move towards application with questioning strategies. By asking the right questions, students can identify the word as an adjective or an adverb.

If the word answers, “HOW? WHEN? WHERE?” it is an adverb.

If the word answers, “WHAT KIND? WHICH ONE? HOW MANY?" it is an adjective.

By using this two-step process, students can move from simple quoting of definitions to application of facts.

Do you want more language arts jingles? Check this out!

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.

How to Implement Successful Language Arts Centers

Anyone up for an out-of-the-box challenge?

When I was a classroom teacher in the 90’s some of us teachers were in the business of creating student-led learning centers or stations for Math, Science, or Language Arts.  I loved creating and hosting centers in my classroom because it gave my students the opportunity to collaborate in small groups, be a leader among their classmates, and learn subject material on a deeper level. 

You might be asking, “What is a Learning Center?” 

A Learning Center is typically a designated area in the classroom that provides students with experiences to practice, reteach, and enhance their learning.  Most Learning Centers are filled with creative, hands-on activities and the necessary materials to carry out those activities independently or in small groups.  Participating in Learning Centers requires students to take responsibility and accountability for their own learning.  Learning Centers give teachers the chance to truly teach to the different learning styles of their students-to differentiate instruction.

Creating centers was a bit time consuming, yes, but if you had all your ducks in a row the payoff felt very satisfying! If you are a multi-tasker with good time management skills, can be organized and prepared in advance, and are an effective classroom manager…you can pull it off!  As far as the classroom expectations or rules go, they don’t change and each center may have additional rules; your students are essentially responsible for themselves. You are the guide-by-the-side in this scenario!

WARNING: If you tend to get frustrated with a little bit of chaos or teach from a more scattered, fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants approach, centers could end up being a stressful nightmare and may not be for you.

Characteristics of Effective Centers:

Remember, each center should be purposeful to the growth and academic progress of the student, not just busy work.  And, centers give YOU the opportunity to place yourself at one center to teach a small group, or you may choose to monitor your students by weaving your way through each center. Here are some important characteristics of effective centers, also known as, "M.E.A.P.S."

Multisensory-Create activities that appeal to all learning styles! See It, Hear It, Say It, Do It!

Engaging-Strive for 100% student participation!

Aligned-Content must support your current classroom instruction.

Purposeful-This should not be just a bunch of busy work; see your students in action & assess what you need to assess!

Student directed-Students should be able to follow the given directions without teacher assistance and be responsible and accountable for their own learning.

Let's Create a Center...the logistics!

Now, you're ready to begin creating centers, right?!? Let's consider these seven MUST DOs as you get started. 

1. Decide on which subject material to focus.
2. Decide how many Learning Centers to create. (Computer stations can count as one.)
3. Where will the centers be located?
4. Determine what you want your students to learn or be able to do through the activities.
5. Calculate how much time is allowed at each center and decide if you’d like to keep the centers open on a weekly basis on a specific day for a certain number of weeks.
6. Name each Learning Center.  Write a description of the center, instructions on what to do, and the task to complete.
7. Be sure to review the expectations with your class before the centers officially open and close your Learning Centers with a Wrap-up Session or Take-Away Time.

I found it doable to have 4-6 students per group, depending on the number of centers I had created.  I was also able to devote up to two hours during my instructional time for centers, so my students would be in each center for 20 minutes.  Before the rotation began, I would give the group guidelines and expectations for each center so they could be totally engaged for the full 20 minutes.  At the end of the final rotation, I would bring the whole group back together for a “Wrap-Up” in order to bring the experience to a close.  It also worked to take two days to complete all the rotations in the Learning Center, but as you can imagine, it didn’t flow as well as taking a longer block in one day.  Opening up your Learning Centers on a weekly basis, on a specific day, works too…it will require a bit more organization and prep, but once students understand the process, it works nicely.

So, I invite you to think about it and decide if this, out-of-the-box challenge, is for you? If so, tune in to Part 2 where I’ll share some possible Shurley Learning Centers with you!

Jazz up your narrative writing with effective word choice.

Are your students ready for some ideas to jazz up their narrative writing pieces? With simple word-choice strategies during the revision process, the entire story can take a different shape. So, let's get started with some strategies and techniques you can use in the classroom to promote effective word choice.

Step 1: Modeling Revisions

First, show your students how word choice can change a story. In this example, we added a more descriptive setting and imaginative sound words. Take a look:

Original: Lying under my bed, I heard a sound in the kitchen.

Revised: Cowering in the dark under my massive bed, I noticed an unusual sound as if something were being dragged across the kitchen floor. As I peeked out, I discovered the “thud-screech-thud” I was hearing was…

Here is another example:

Original: Sitting by some bushes, I heard someone walking on leaves nearby.

Revised: As I crouched down in the bushes, I hoped the rustling noise growing louder behind me was just my dog on the hunt to find me. However, …

Step 2: Add to the Revision Toolbox

Now, it is time to give your students tools to add to their toolbox. Since we are discussing word choice strategies, why not provide your students with the Verbs of Action and Verbs of Sound chart? (We've provided it for you below!)  Encourage your students to refer to this chart as they go through the revision step of the writing process.

Step 3: Keep adding to the Revision Toolbox

Of course, you don't want to stop there. As teachers, we need to constantly introduce new resources for revision to our students. Be on the lookout for more ideas in future blog posts!

Remember, as you model revision strategies for your students and give them resources to refer to, you are giving them the tools to become better communicators! These tools will prove beneficial not only during their school years, but also in their future careers.

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.

Being Smart, Getting Smarter

Did you know that there is more than one way to be smart? According to theorists, educational psychologists, and professors, such as Howard Gardner, Carol Dweck, and Thomas Armstrong, evidence suggests they’re right.

Howard Gardner developed the Multiple Intelligences (MI) theory about 35 years ago. I stumbled upon his theory when I was earning my graduate degree. I was immediately entranced by it because I had been teaching to my students’ intelligences for some time prior to knowing what such pedagogy was actually called. I had not received formal training in MI theory, but I had learned how to teach Shurley English, using the Shurley Method. When I began to realize the potential of what MI could do in my classroom, it delighted me to realize that I was already half-way there because I was teaching Shurley English daily to my first and second graders. Almost every new concept I taught in the Shurley Method began with a jingle. The jingles became a one-stop shop for my kids’ multiple intelligences. Gardner described the various intelligences with some fairly lofty terms that Dr. Thomas Armstrong has simplified. Here’s a quick run-down of the intelligences. I thought you might like to see a side-by-side chart of Gardner’s original titles and Armstrong’s simpler version:

I won’t go into all the particulars about the intelligences at this time, but I encourage you to research them. For now, let it suffice to say that I am unabashedly biased when it comes to teaching the language arts with Shurley English, but the excellent research available about MI makes me appreciate it even more.

Take the Shurley English Reading Jingles for example…say you want to teach your kids about their multiple intelligences and then to help them discover their unique combinations of smarts. Shurley jingles bring Word Smarts, Picture Smarts, Body Smarts, and People Smarts to the table every time. Using the brightly illustrated, text-rich Jingle Posters, I point out the one-to-one correspondence of the text to the words I am teaching students in the jingle. The illustrations help create a memory marker for the students to associate with the particular jingle. That’s the Picture Smart and Word Part component. As the jingles are learned to a rhythm or a tune, students tap into their Music Smarts. To help them lock down the memorization of the jingle, I have my students make specific choreographic movements to jingles, bringing in their Body Smarts. It’s amazing to watch how students’ coordination improves simply by rehearsing the same movements every day in the jingles! Finally, my students’ interpersonal skills get a workout as the jingles are mastered. Since the jingles are recited or sung aloud chorally, a sense of community saturates the classroom. When someone bobbles up a jingles, everyone can giggle freely without risk of feeling “called out.” Jingle Time generates a perfect opportunity to help kids develop risk-taking skills under the careful community support of their peers. Of course, this gave me the opportunity to help students learn HOW to support, self-correct, and peer-correct without creating a sense of shame for making a mistake.

This is where the work of Dr. Carol Dweck comes in. Her Growth Mindset theory is all abuzz right now, and for good reason. I love how her research defines the possibilities for every learner. Basically, her theory posits that our smarts are not necessarily a fixed quantity of intelligence, talent, or aptitude—we are not just a bundle of inherited genetic traits that spell out fame and fortune for our future. Simply stated, her theory explains how we can help students (and people, in general) to perceive themselves as potential learners of anything new they would like to know. Unfortunately, empty praise for a child’s looks, smarts, or athletic ability can promote a lack of motivation. Whereas, a systematic mindset of “My smarts are not fixed—I can become smarter if I apply myself” seems to have a remarkable impact upon student learning.

As I taught systematically the structures behind the Shurley Method, I was doing just what Dweck prescribes in her research…more time on task learning the tougher parts, practicing systematically every day the various aspects of the lessons—it all makes sense. I was “accidentally” stretching my students’ self-awareness and their self-esteem by teaching them to have fun while learning the hallmark concepts of our language. This daily practice had a profound influence on my students, and now that they are grown and pioneering their own careers, I still hear from them. They tell me how they believed they were smart when they were in my class. Their underlying beliefs, as Dweck puts it, were directly influenced in a remarkable way because they actually believed they could get smarter with hard work.

My hat’s off to these gifted researchers, whom I consider mentors, for making public such important, evidence-based theories that helped me achieve success in my teaching. And a special thanks to Brenda Shurley for developing a curriculum for teaching English that enabled me to apply these theories naturally!

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!

Analyzing Adverbs with Language Arts Jingles

Do you have some primary students who still have difficulty identifying adverbs? Not to worry! Our Adverb Jingle helps students learn not only the definition of an adverb, but also the three initial questions to ask when finding adverbs: 

How?  When?  Where?

(Don't have our ELA jingles? Here's where you can find them.)

Have students work in small groups to make lists of adverbs, according to which adverb question they answer. This helps students understand the difference between the three adverb questions.

Here is how one teacher displayed the results of her students’ group work on a chart when they came together as a class to discuss the activity.

Remember, categorization is a great way to help the brain in retaining information as well as granting your students practice with analyzation of the idea. Happy writing!