Trusting the Process of Shurley English

This week, I evacuated from my home in North Carolina due to Hurricane Florence.  I headed out of town alone, following the others trying to seek safe shelter from the life-threatening storm.  Nine hours later, I arrived at my turnoff, and it was completely dark except for my vehicle’s headlights.  Imagine this…

I’m in the middle of a mountain range that is unfamiliar to me, and the GPS (yes there’s service) tells me to turn right, up this steeeeep hill!  For a split second I questioned Maggie, my GPS, as if I thought I might know better or more than her.  In that second of hesitation, my car stalled on the steep incline and a wave of panic came over me.  I took a deep breath, restarted my SUV, and said to myself, “Just go with it!”  I did, and I pushed the gas pedal to get going. 

With fluttering in my stomach, I made my way up the dark and winding road that had been paved before me.  Once I made it to the top of that steep hill, I still had no clue where I was going exactly.  I could only see the next step in front of me, and I knew I had to keep going. 

When I arrived, the destination home where I will be staying until the storm passes was also completely dark and unfamiliar.  So, with my measly headlamp and suit of “No Fear!” armor, I followed the steps given to me to let myself into the home to get it up and running.  I found the key.  Then, I found a light, and from there I just went with it!

The fear of the unknown can be incredibly scary, testing your patience and faith.  But, trusting the road that has been successfully paved for you can sometimes lead you in just the right direction!

Some teachers might feel the same way I did on the steep hill when they begin to teach Shurley English.  I imagine you’ve heard someone say, “Just trust the process.”  It seems this phrase has become a part of our daily verbiage.  I know that I’ve even said it while leading Shurley English trainings.  So, let’s take a closer look at how Merriam-Webster defines the words: trust & process.

Trust

a : assured reliance on the character, ability, strength, or truth of someone or something

b : one in which confidence is placed

Process

a (1) : a natural phenomenon marked by gradual changes that lead toward a particular result-the process of growth

So, what does “trusting the process” mean when it comes to Shurley English?

- It means trusting that each feature of Shurley English has a purpose in the big picture of teaching students how to make the Grammar Writing Connection.

- It means trusting that the cute little Jingles actually help to lay the foundation for the Question and Answer Flow by using domain specific language.

- It also means having confidence in the format and sequence of the Q&A Flow, trusting that it will teach sentence analysis and reinforces sentence fluency and proper sentence structure. 

- It means trusting in the value of teaching the reverse approach to the Q&A Flow through Sentence Blueprints, in order to help students learn how to build and revise creative sentences independently.

- It means having faith that your diligence in teaching all the skills introduced in Grammar, Writing, Reading, and Speaking & Listening, while having students apply them daily, will pay off! 

- It means relying on the Writing Evaluation Guide and Traits of Effective Writing to help guide your students through the 6-Step Writing Process so they can become confident and competent writers. 

To completely trust the process in Shurley English:

…you need to let go of the need to know what is unfolding next or why. 

…you need to be able to have the confidence to simply experience how the curriculum spirals language arts concepts, using repetition. 

…you need to have confidence that Shurley English will give your students the skills they need to make the grammar/writing connection! 

Just go with it and be fearless!

The Artistry of Appositives

One of my favorite strategies to teach writers is the effective use of appositives. I like to show kids how appositives, like prepositional phrases, can create a wonderful context for the sentence.

So, what’s wrong with adjectives? 

Usually, with younger writers, we might simply encourage the use of strong adjectives to be placed in front of nouns, and the adjectives work just fine. But in order to help your slightly older kids to elevate their writing, teach them the artistry of appositives. We don’t want students to think that adjectives are the only tool in their Parts of Speech Tool Chest. There are other ways to modify nouns and pronouns. To help build an appreciation for selecting just the right way to say something, appositives are a good go-to.

A positive what?!? 

Appositives are phrases that you set off with commas, and you usually position them just after the word you want described. The appositive is really just a renaming or modified version of the word it follows. Here is an example from one of the Mover and Shaker Sentence activities featured in Shurley English:

In this case, we have the direct object noun, Jackson’s Market. Notice that I have set the appositive off with a comma just before the phrase and right after it. Then, by strategically placing the appositive just after Jackson’s Market, I have modified the direct object without listing simple adjectives in front of it. It adds a bit of zing to the sentence, don’t you think?

Give it a try.

When your young writing scholar has scraped the bottom of the adjective bucket, it’s time to refill the bucket with some appositives. You can help writers get used to this strategy by brainstorming some basic nouns and appositive phrases that do a good job of modifying them. Keep your list of nouns and appositives handy by posting a Matching Wall of Words, specially designed to help writers find just the right appositive phrases to go with the noun of their choice. Over time, the use of appositives will become second nature. So, get out there and practice the skill of writing with appositives.

Helping Parents Understand Shurley English

I love it when parents want to help their children at home. This kind of attention and assistance can make all the difference. But what happens when the parent is not quite sure about your teaching methods, specifically the Shurley English approach to language arts? Not to worry! We have a resource to help parents understand how Shurley English unfolds in the classroom: The Parent Help Booklet.

Here is a step-by-step process to access our Parent Help Booklet from our website:

Step 1:

Go to www.shurley.com.

Step 2:

Click the PRODUCTS AND SERVICES tab.

Step 3:

Scroll to the bottom of the page to the PARENT HELP section.

Click the level desired.

Step 4:

Print the Parent Help Booklet you wish to distribute.

© Shurley Instructional Materials, Inc.

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.