Welcome to the Shurley English Blog! For the past thirty-five years, our mission at Shurley Instructional Materials has been simple. We do all we can to help teachers and students experience grammar and writing success. With that goal in mind, we wanted to create a space where our team of educators could share tips, tricks, and techniques to ignite learning. It’s all about educators helping educators on the Shurley English Blog. We invite you to join the conversation!
The upcoming Thanksgiving holiday is the perfect time to help your students show appreciation for someone special in their lives by creating a special, handmade memento.
I’ve got a great activity that will take your students through the entire writing process to create a heartwarming essay to share with their loved ones. Here are the details…
Read MoreWhen was the last time you had your students write a Comparison-Contrast Essay? Personally, it is one of my favorite forms of writing. With this type of essay, you must use factual details to analyze the similarities and differences between two or more subjects. I think the wanna-be researcher in me LOVES this! I get to scour sources for facts and data. I get to learn new information. That’s my jam, and you may be surprised by how many of your students will love this type of writing too!
Read MoreIt’s that time of year when all things Halloween are tripping about, including thematic lessons like the one I’d like to share with you today. Since it can be exhausting to come up with new, exciting ideas to engage kids during the holidays, hopefully, you will appreciate the idea. I think it’s important to embrace and even outdo students’ excitement because kids long to have adults who can embrace fun!
A favorite lesson plan of mine requires 360˚ thinking—a process where you consider a lesson theme and use it to branch into as many academic areas as possible—sort of like the spokes on a wheel. I like to call it 360˚ Thinking because you actually do look at the possibilities from every aspect where it can apply. Since Halloween is coming up,
Read MoreVocabulary development is an important part of a child’s education! Since language is the system of words and the methods of combining them that people use to express thoughts and feelings to each other, it makes sense that a large vocabulary improves communication.
Writers most definitely need a large vocabulary to have the words they need to express themselves in an interesting way. That’s why Shurley English establishes a routine early on to teach students to incorporate new and unfamiliar words. It’s called a Vocabulary Check, and it includes proven strategies to increase vocabulary. Here’s how it works:
Read MoreIt’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.
Read MoreDo you need a new idea to get the creative juices flowing in your classroom? The Haiku offers that opportunity to your students by channeling their creativity into this unique form of Japanese poetry. Here is a great lesson plan to get you started. The best part is that it has a Valentine’s Day twist!
(You can find this lesson, along with many others, in the Unit Studies Section of your Shurley English book!)
Read MoreDuring the first few days of January, many people across the globe participate in the age-old tradition of writing a New Year’s Resolution. The custom of making a promise to do something differently to improve one’s life (mind, body, & soul) in the coming year has been going on since ancient times.
Writing a New Year’s Resolution is not the same thing as coming up with a goal for the New Year.
Read MoreAs a classroom teacher, returning from holiday break was always bittersweet. On one hand, I knew the pressure for “test prep” would be more intense, but on the other hand, the satisfaction of witnessing my students grow into wiser beings put a validating smile on my face.
It was a common practice of mine to
Read MoreAs 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 2023 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 2023. From subject-verb agreement to jingles to language arts centers, these articles examine ways to ignite learning while building a solid foundation for #ELAsuccess.
Read MoreThere are only six shopping days left before Christmas! (Let that sink in for just a minute!) I know that Christmas is supposed to be the most wonderful time of the year, but right about now, I’m feeling a little less than wonderful! The very idea that I only have a handful of days left to select, purchase, and wrap gifts for my family stresses me out! I’ve never been this unprepared!
People deal with stress on a daily basis, but it’s no secret that stress runs extra high during the holidays. There are four
Read MoreShurley English is the best English Language Arts curriculum available to public schools, private schools, and home educators.Shurley English is a rigorous curriculum that brings back student-teacher interaction, promotes higher-order thinking skills, and provides students with a successful base from which they can achieve mastery, retention, and enthusiasm for English.
Our mission is to inspire and empower ALL students to become competent, confident communicators by providing superior educational solutions and innovative teacher training tools. This will enable all students to positively impact their school, community, and future work environments.
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