April 23, 2019

Spring Bulletin Board: See How We've Grown!

April 23, 2019/ Contributing Blogger

It’s not always easy to see how much we’ve grown in one year, especially for a child. Physical growth might be the most noticeable because we can feel it in several ways. For instance, we can tell when our clothes are too big or too small; they don’t fit right. We know when our feet have grown because our shoes are too tight, and our feet hurt. Also, we can tell when our hair has grown when it starts covering our eyes and ears. Intellectual growth, on the other hand, is much more difficult to notice.

April 16, 2019

How to Increase Emotional Intelligence with Controversy and Introspection

April 16, 2019/ Contributing Blogger

If you have been following my posts about guiding kids to connect emotionally with their learning…thanks! I hope it has been interesting and helpful. I am wrapping up my series with another combo from Jensen’s work: controversy and introspection.

The mere mention of the word controversy is controversial. But what I mean is not going to usher in a strike of some kind and make you want to walk in a picket line. Controversy and introspection in the classroom are a dynamic duo because of the kind of thinking they inspire in your students.

April 11, 2019

ELA Success: Patience is key!

April 11, 2019/ Contributing Blogger

Most of my blog content comes from questions I’ve answered at one time or another from teachers and administrators who use Shurley English. I often hear the urgency in their voices, and they seem to be looking for a quick fix to the problems their students are experiencing. Sure, we all want quick results, but usually, by the time you manage to find just the right curriculum or just the right supplement to your teaching, the students have moved on. Then, you get a new batch of students with similar but unique struggles, and you’re back at it again, trying to find what works and what works fast.

Even though we, as a society, rely on instant gratification, immediate feedback, and quick results, the outcome of an exemplary education won’t happen that way. Honestly, we all know there are NO quick fixes that produce the quality results we’re seeking, not in life or in curriculum.

April 09, 2019

The Playbook of Literary Success: Composition

April 09, 2019/ Contributing Blogger

The Playbook of Literacy Success highlights the necessary knowledge, skills, and practice required to win the game of literacy development. Great players gain confidence when they own and use a broad vocabulary and a strong grammar foundation. These two core concepts serve to prepare all players for one of the greatest plays of all: composition! If you missed Part I and Part II of the Playbook of Literacy Success, you might want to go back to the starting line to catch up with some calisthenics we call Shurley English Jingles and then move into our version of the wishbone formation, which we call the Question and Answer Flow. Today, our focus is on composition and the writing process.

April 03, 2019

Writing Folder: New Tools for Writing Success

April 03, 2019/ Kim Shurley

The Shurley English Writing Folder will help your students move through the writing process with ease. This foldout, four-pocket folder keeps students organized with a dedicated space for their prewriting, rough draft, revised draft, and edited paper. It is packed with handy references, checklists, and tips to ensure students have exactly what they need to produce a polished piece of writing.

April 02, 2019

How to Increase Emotional Intelligence with Role Modeling

April 02, 2019/ Contributing Blogger

Welcome back to my series on emotional intelligence. My two previous articles were closely related because drama and storytelling involve playing the roles of characters. The same is true with this entry about role modeling. Role modeling, like drama and storytelling, reaches deep into the emotions of learners. Real-life situations and relationships get real-world practice in role modeling.

March 28, 2019

Help Your Students Improve Their Revision Skills

March 28, 2019/ Contributing Blogger

How many times have you asked your students to revise their work, only to have all of the papers returned to the hand-in basket within a few minutes with little to no changes at all? The problem is that many students lack the necessary grammar skills required to revise.

Simply writing a comment on a student’s paper to suggest a revision isn’t enough.

March 26, 2019

The Playbook of Literary Success: Grammar

March 26, 2019/ Contributing Blogger

Let’s get back into the language arts huddle to go over some key plays that will help your students win the game! If you missed Part I of the Playbook of Literacy Success, you might want to go back to the starting line to capture the necessity of a strong vocabulary. As for today, we’re going to focus on Part II: Grammar. We’ll begin with some calisthenics we call Shurley English Jingles, and then we’ll move right into our version of the wishbone formation! We call this feature the Question and Answer Flow.

March 20, 2019

Writing Folder: New Tools for Writing Success

March 20, 2019/ Kim Shurley

March 19, 2019

Grow Emotional Intelligence with Storytelling

March 19, 2019/ Contributing Blogger

Last time, I threw drama into the mix to help kids connect emotionally to their own learning. As we think deeper about how important this connection is, researchers report that storytelling offers a unique opportunity for kids to grow their emotional intelligence quotient.