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! 

Developing Students' Empathy Skills

Bullying remains a serious problem in schools across America even though anti-bullying laws and/or policies to prevent bullying and protect children are enacted in every state. Recent studies suggest that rates of bullying may be on the decline, but according to the National Center for Education Statistics, nearly a third of all students aged 12-18 reported being bullied at school.

Stopbullying.gov, a federal government website, lists four ways adults can help prevent bullying, including:

(1) helping kids understand bullying,

(2) teaching them how to keep the lines of communication open,

(3) encouraging kids to do what they love, and

(4) modeling how to treat others.

After staring at the list and reading the description beneath each heading, I came to the conclusion that a fifth goal should be considered:

(5) developing students’ empathy skills.

I truly believe that adults can help prevent bullying by developing students’ empathy skills.

Empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings of another.  Research states that people strong in the Empathy theme can sense the feelings of other people by imagining themselves in others' lives or others' situations. (Gallup’s Strengthfinder 2.0)  Gallup researchers report that while empathy is a natural behavior for some folks, it can be an area of lesser talent for others.

The good news is that there’s research available that shows (1) empathy can be learned, and (2) empathy can decrease bullying among school children.  In fact, studies conducted by Mary Gordon at Roots of Empathy, an evidence-based classroom program, have shown a significant reduction in levels of aggression and bullying occurred while raising social/emotional competence and increasing empathy. (Source: Gordon, Want to prevent your child from bullying others?, Dec. 15.)

Knowing that teaching empathy skills in the classroom will help students build and maintain healthy relationships and decrease bullying at the same time, I encourage teachers to initiate a plan of action today! A dash of empathy goes a long way!  

ELA Writing Connection

Here are a few writing related activities you can use in your classroom as you discuss empathy:

1. Write about a time when you felt empathy toward someone else, meaning that you felt the same way another person did because you could sense the way they were feeling.

2. Write about why you believe empathy is important.

3. Empathy is a skill that can be developed through practice.  Write about a few ways you might use empathy to show care and concern for others.

Key Skills for ELA Success

Words, Words, Words…what are they all for?  I’d like to invite you to reflect on your early learning years as a young child and remember what it might have been like before you knew about sentences, paragraphs, or reports.  If you find this to be challenging, then catch a glimpse of very young children (PreK or younger) and consider how they communicate.  You will probably notice that words are the primary means for communication.  A broad vocabulary is essential to good writing and will directly affect a student’s word choice and voice in their writing.

Learning new vocabulary words, understanding analogies, delving into a word’s etymology, making vocabulary cards & notebooks, taking the time to do vocabulary enrichment, mastering spelling rules, and playing with Power Words are all strategies within the Shurley English curriculum that assist your students in building and expanding their “word bank” in order to begin to own their language.  Owning one's language opens the door to fully understanding how words work together in sentences, how sentences are organized and developed into paragraphs, and how being able to write for all purposes sets you up to connect with the world differently.

The path to ultimately owning one’s language is making sure you as the teacher provide your students the knowledge, skill, and practice in these key skill areas:

• Alphabet
• Phonics
• Rhyming Words
• Spelling
• Reference Skills
• Figurative Lanugae
• Sound Devices
• Word Study: syllabication, etymology, analogies, synonyms/antonyms
• Comprehension: context clues, inferences, drawing conclusions

Set your students up for success by giving them the opportunity to own their language and become confident, competent communicators.

Help reluctant writers with reverse engineering!

In the world of technology, reverse engineering is a slippery slope, as any technology patent office will tell you. But, in Shurley English, we feature a clever type of reverse engineering that can be groundbreaking for reluctant writers.

In Shurley English, we make it our goal to help students understand basic grammar concepts and definitions in a fun way. But, we also want to make sure students can transfer their grammar knowledge into writing. We use a strategy called Sentence Blueprints.

Sentence Blueprints are the result of studying the Question and Answer Flow, the innovative system of questions and answers that help students classify the parts of speech of words used in a sentence. Basically, a sentence blueprint is actually the Question and Answer Flow process after it undergoes reverse engineering, Shurley style.

Since students are taught the Shurley English Jingles early and often, they already have gained a wealth of knowledge about how words work in English. The Question and Answer Flow advances that learning by putting it into practice in the analysis of sentences. Now comes the reverse engineering aspect. We provide young writers a blueprint for a sentence. The sentence may be built from a set of parts of speech labels, such as A (which stands for Article Adjective), Adj (Adjective), SN (Subject Noun), V (Verb), P (Preposition), A (Article Adjective), OP (Object of the Preposition). Printed all together, the labels or blueprint look like this: A Adj SN V P A OP.

Next, we present the writer with a page filled with open fields where words can be arranged into sentences, using the blueprint.  (I'll include a Sentence Blueprint at the end of this article!) By reversing the process of the Q & A Flow, we ask the writer to start with the same core of a sentence they would classify, asking the exact same questions as they would during analysis. This time, however, they will have the freedom to use whichever words they like to create a sensible, correctly written sentence. If I take this example a step further, I think you will see what I mean. Here is my example:

In this example, I would start with the subject noun and verb. Then, just like in the Q& A Flow, I would move past the verb rummaged and go to the prepositional phrase, word by word. After I finish the verb part of the sentence, I would then move to the subject noun and work in reverse until I get to the last word I write in the sentence, the Article Adjective The, which is the actual first word of my sentence. (Here's a great video that shows you the entire process.)

By teaching students to think of the Q & A Flow in reverse, they are, in a sense, participating in reverse engineering in the realm of linguistics called semantics. How cool is that! After teaching kids to focus on just one sentence at a time to focus with special emphasis on the skill of sentence building, they seldom struggle with knowing the difference between a complete sentence vs. a fragment, a problem many, many students have in school when it comes to writing.

What is love?

My favorite thing about February is that it seems to be the designated month of love.  It’s the time of the year when people seem to make a conscious effort to show LOVE to their family and friends in one way or another.  Even people that find it hard to say “I love you” and secret admirers feel as though they have a free pass to do so on Valentine’s Day!

Love has many levels of implication, which makes it hard to define and sometimes even harder to understand.  Thankfully, the ancient Greeks tackled the subject long ago and devised terminology to clarify the 7-States of Love:

Storge: natural affection; the love you share with your family

Philio: the love that you have for friends

Eros: the romantic desire kind of love

Agape: this is the unconditional love, or divine love

Ludus: this is playful love, like childish love or flirting

Pragma: long standing love; the love in a married couple

Philautia: the love of the self

The 7-States of Love represent seven different feelings, yet the same word is used to name each one: LOVE.  That’s so confusing, but think of it like this:  Even though you might say ‘I love you' to two different people and mean it, the truth is that you don’t love your mother the same way that you love your significant other, and so on! 

So, how can you clearly communicate your feelings when you say ‘I love you’ without using the actual terminology used by the ancient Greeks?  (I don’t think I’ve ever heard someone say something like, “I have philio-love for you!”)   One way is to try using a simile to clarify.  For example:  I love you as a friend; or I love you like family. (There's your ELA connection!)

Love is one of the most important parts of our lives, so understanding the 7-States of Love and how to convey our feelings of LOVE will make a huge impact.    

Remember:  “Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.” 1 Corinthians 13:4-7

Haiku Review: the Valentine's Day Edition

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. (By the way, you can find this lesson, along with many others, in the Unit Studies Section of your Shurley English book!)

EXPAND THE LESSON: VALENTINE'S DAY

You can adapt the directions by creating an example with your students that focuses on the desired holiday or season.  For this example, I focused on creating a haiku to include in a valentine for a mother or grandmother in the life of the student.

Loving me each day

Never giving up on me

My Valentine Mom.

Missing you today

Happy Valentine’s Day, Mom

Hugs up to heaven.

She wakes me each day

With a smile and a big hug -

Now filled, love others!

No other mother

Can fix my crushed, broken heart

She’s just right for me!

Just Grandma and me

Baking her special cookies

Making memories!

Of course, the students can use whatever craft supplies you provide to design a special valentine card, which includes their haiku to bring a smile to someone. Just think, you can help to create lifelong treasures in the families represented in your classroom! I saved many of the special creations of my own son, most of them prompted by his wonderful teachers throughout his elementary school years.  What a privilege you have to be a part of making memories to last a lifetime!

Understanding Degrees of Comparison

At first glance, teaching the Degrees of Adjectives and Adverbs may seem trite, but after personally hearing numerous adults use this concept incorrectly, I feel it’s worth addressing to ensure the communication success of our young learners. Here is a great reference for you to use during your lesson:

I have to admit that I cringe when I hear people use double comparisons such as, “more better” or “most wealthiest,” especially when it’s uttered from a schooled adult.  Here’s another Shurley Reference to save the day!

When teaching Degrees of Comparison, pay close attention to irregular adjectives and adverbs, along with these valuable References and Student Tips found in your Teacher’s Manual.  After teaching these concepts to your students or refreshing your own memory, remember to apply them in your own verbal and written communication...never forget that YOU are always a model for your students!

This concept has been taught to students in the Shurley English Curriculum since Level 3, which is consistent with my experience teaching from other publisher’s Language Arts curricula in 3rd-5th grade…so why is such a simple concept still being used incorrectly among adults?  I’m not claiming to know the answer, but I believe it might have something to do with teacher instruction, modeling, and application & accountability.   Allow me to show you how Shurley English can help clean up this mess.

You’ve probably used various comparison activities using physical objects to illustrate this concept.  If so, EXCELLENT! If not, here’s a simple activity to consider.  Others can also be found in your Teacher’s Manual.

For example:  Show students a golf ball and other larger sized sports balls and have students repeat after you.

One.  Simple.  The golf ball is small.

Two.  Comparative. The golf ball is smaller than the baseball.

Three or more.  Superlative. The golf ball is the smallest ball here.

Another Tool to Help Keep Your Students Organized

All of us have students in our class who need a little extra nudge to keep their work area organized. (I have a whole post dedicated to teaching study skills here.) One of THE best tools that I have found to aid in the quest to stay organized is to have student helpers. These student helpers can monitor and politely remind others in their group to keep their area in order. Here's a quick way to utilize your student helpers with The Desk Check.

The Desk Check

1. Initiate a weekly or daily desk check.

2. Train a few students as desk checkers to monitor the organization of each student's work area. 

3. Perform a desk check. You can do this task before school, during the day, or after school. Simply choose whatever works best for you and your students. 

4. If there is a problem with any desk, the checker should call you to do a more thorough check.

Remember, organization is a process. The idea is to identify and support those students that need a little extra nudge. After all, organization is a life-skill that will follow your students into their future college and career endeavors.  Once mastered, these learned abilities will generate guidelines for your students to utilize throughout their home, school, and work environments.  

Listen, Move, and LEARN!

TPR (Total Physical Response) has its roots in second language acquisition, but it found its way into Shurley English too. TPR was first incepted by a psychology professor from San Jose University, CA, James Asher. He developed the idea almost fifty years ago, but it has truly helped students to acquire new languages with great facility.

What is TPR (Total Physical Response)?

The strategy Asher developed first involves teaching students to just sit back and listen attentively, much the same way that babies typically acquire their first language. Then, a requested response is modeled repeatedly until the student has connected the response to the request. The request is focused upon helping students acquire new vocabulary and associating the word to a movement, to a gesture, or to a repeated meaningful practice of some kind. When the movement is linked to a specific vocabulary word, students acquire the word easily. With lots of practice, the new word moves into the student’s long-term memory.

How can I integrate TPR into my ELA day?

Integrating TPR can be a fairly simple task; let's start with language arts definitions. In Shurley English, our grammar and reading jingles tap into the TPR philosophy. In fact, any kind of action song or jingle is basically a TPR event with added music. The jingles we teach in Shurley English introduce students of any language to a whole host of vocabulary and help them lock in the new academic language through music and movement. (Here's an entire article about it!)  Even if students merely chant the jingles, it’s the cadence, rhythm, and rhyme, along with the movement, that enable students to make strong connections between the movement and the vocabulary. This ultimately helps students lock down important language concepts that will stay with them for a lifetime. 

If you haven’t checked out our ELA jingles yet, you can listen to a sampling of them on our YouTube channel. Enjoy!