October 28, 2021

360˚ Thinking: A Halloween Lesson

October 28, 2021/ Contributing Blogger

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,

October 22, 2021

More Than the ABCs: The Consonant S

October 22, 2021/ Contributing Blogger

Welcome back! In a previous post, I showed you how to help students own the alphabet as more than just the ABCs. Each symbol or letter is a picture of sound. Our job is to teach kids how to attach the sound or sounds that each symbol represents. I introduced to you the three sounds of Vowel Aa. As promised, I will be teaching you about a consonant next…the Consonant Ss. Again, like last time, I print both the capital and lowercase letter Ss so that you won’t forget to make it a point to teach the sounds that way. Unlike the vowels, consonants stop

October 13, 2021

How to Teach Subject-Verb Agreement

October 13, 2021/ Contributing Blogger

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.

October 02, 2021

Vocabulary Enrichment: Strategies to improve and increase your students' vocabulary

October 02, 2021/ Contributing Blogger

Vocabulary 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: