360˚ Thinking: A Halloween Lesson

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360˚ Thinking: A Halloween Lesson

It’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,

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The Value of a Pretest

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The Value of a Pretest

What is the value of giving the Shurley English Pretest if students are not familiar with the curriculum? As a consultant, I’ve heard this question before, and I want to urge you to listen up! Even though the pretest may appear extraordinarily difficult, you should never avoid it! Let me explain.

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An Open Letter to Teachers: Taking off with Shurley English

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An Open Letter to Teachers: Taking off with Shurley English

Dear Educators,

Welcome aboard Shurley English flight ABC. Please find your seat, stow your baggage in the overhead bin, and buckle up as we take off into your new school year! This year’s destination is progress and growth. We’ve got a long flight ahead of us so, sit back, stay focused & relaxed, and enjoy the journey!

For some of you, Shurley English might be a new addition to your curriculum. Several of you may already be familiar with the effectiveness and uniqueness of our Grammar, Skills, Writing, Reading, and Speaking & Listening features. Regardless of your passenger status, I encourage each of you to

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Back-to-School Workshops: Grammar, Skills, and Writing

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Back-to-School Workshops: Grammar, Skills, and Writing

Welcome to the Shurley method of language arts instruction! We are thrilled that you are using the Shurley curriculum this year. To help you get started and stay motivated, we have developed an exciting lineup of professional development opportunities for the 2024-2025 school year. We hope you will include these monthly Shurley English Workshop Series events as part of your continuing education. Keep an eye on your inbox for your invitation!

For the month of August, we will host our most popular event, the Shurley English Mini Training Series. This three-part webinar will help you learn how to teach grammar, skills, and writing...Shurley style! Follow the links below to register for each day of training.

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The Four “VITAL -V’s” of a Veteran Shurley English Teacher

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The Four “VITAL -V’s” of a Veteran Shurley English Teacher

Visualize this scenario: It’s early August, and as you scroll through your inbox you see the first of many emails from your school administrator. “Already!?!” you say to yourself as you hesitate to open it. You guessed it! It’s your new school year Welcome Letter and Professional Development Schedule. On the agenda, you notice a full-day training scheduled for Shurley English! Your next few thoughts go something like this: “I’ve taught Shurley English for 5 years now! I don’t need training! Maybe I can get out of it this year!”

Warning: Thoughts like these are exactly why veteran teachers still need our support! Take these thoughts as a sign. I know because I’ve been there.

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Shurley English 101: Teaching with Confidence

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Shurley English 101: Teaching with Confidence

So, you have purchased your Shurley curriculum, you open the book or access your digital teacher’s manual…and then it hits you! “What’s all this? How am I going to cover all of it? Can I even do it?” If you have had these or similar feelings, don’t panic. It’s going to be all right.

My post today is about confidence. Yes! You can teach with confidence, especially if you are just embarking upon your first journey with Shurley English. I realize that the

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Summer Learning: How to create a family storybook

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Summer Learning: How to create a family storybook

Summer Break is here, and our thoughts are revolving around words like vacation, relaxation, rest, getaway, and so on! Words like homework, project, and assignment instantly turn into bad-words the minute summer vacation begins, so I encourage you to avoid them at all costs! Instead, try to generate creative ways to keep your child/children actively involved in writing, reading, and processing information over the break. One way to keep all these language arts skills at the forefront in a covert way is to develop family storybooks.

Family storybooks are similar to

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Summer Journaling with Appreciative Inquiry

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Summer Journaling with Appreciative Inquiry

Summer vacation is coming soon! So, what are your plans? Have you included any activities that will help your child keep their language arts skills sharp over the break? (Haha! I’m almost positive that most of you just knitted your brows and sarcastically muttered the words: “Ugh, NO!”) Before you stop reading this post, I’d like for you to consider doing some “AND” thinking because there is a way for students to enjoy their time off from school AND continue applying language arts skills! They might just learn to appreciate the experience while they’re at it if we add an additional AND to the list! The key is to cop a good action plan in advance!

Before I get to the suggested activity, I want to tell you about

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How to Keep Language Arts Skills Sharp During the Summer

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How to Keep Language Arts Skills Sharp During the Summer

Slurpees, sunshine, swimming, sunbathing, relaxing, travel, camping, barbecues, bike rides, fireworks, friends, and LANGUAGE ARTS! Of course, summer vacation might include some of these foot-loose and fancy-free things, but it’s also an opportunity to keep parents engaged in their child’s learning over the summer months.

Remember, the key to success in whatever you want to do is setting goals for yourself. Encourage families to set short and long-term academic goals for the summer. (I've included a great bonus lesson on Setting Goals at the end of this post!)

Here are three great ways to keep your child's Language Arts skills sharp this summer:

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Writing Toolbox: What are correlative conjunctions?

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Writing Toolbox: What are correlative conjunctions?

Having the right tools in your writing toolbox can make all the difference when it comes time to revise a composition. Do your students need a creative way to link ideas and show association? Then look no further than the correlative conjunction! First, let's look at this simple definition:

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