Jingle All the Way with these Language Arts Tunes!

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Jingle All the Way with these Language Arts Tunes!

We've said it before and we'll say it again, Jingles are a fun way for students to learn the definitions of the eight parts of speech and other important language arts concepts. Definitions are oftentimes difficult to understand and remember, but by strategically singing or chanting them, students develop a ready-made resource in their brains. They can access that information at any time by just repeating the jingle to themselves.

Did you know you can download our Shurley English Jingles on your electronic device so you can have them with you to learn and review?

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Let’s get “Ziggy" with language arts definitions!

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Let’s get “Ziggy" with language arts definitions!

At Shurley English, we teach everything about Language Arts in a unique way. The curriculum has been divided into a combination of individual features that spiral together in harmony to teach difficult concepts successfully. Jingles are one of the unique features that we introduce, reinforce, and help students master, and they are taught during Jingle Time.

So, what’s the big deal? Well, Jingles are a fun way for students to learn

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Up Your Language Arts Game While on Vacation

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Up Your Language Arts Game While on Vacation

My family and I have played a really cool game throughout our years together. My wife and I thought it up when we were traveling on vacation several years ago, and it remains as one of my all-time favorites (not sure anyone else agrees!!). It only requires a brain, a vocabulary, and a voice.

It’s a kind of free-word association game. It is loosely modeled around the psychological test called

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Taking the Lead: How to Build Confidence in Your Students

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Taking the Lead: How to Build Confidence in Your Students

One goal of using direct instruction in your classroom is to build confidence in your students as you model, model, model. As teachers, we model grammar jingles. We model sentence classification. We model every day to ensure our students can make English Language Arts connections with confidence.

But, why leave the modeling to just the teacher? Why not get your students in on the action?

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Get your parents involved and excited about language arts!

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Get your parents involved and excited about language arts!

I understand that getting parents involved in your classroom can be challenging for many teachers. And, when a school or teacher implements a new curriculum, especially as unique as Shurley English, many parents begin to make themselves heard.

You’ve probably heard such comments as:

“Why is my child chanting?”

“I don’t know how to help my child with this stuff!”

“My parents told me to draw slanted lines under the words, and now I’m confused!”

If a parent learned how

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Grammar and Writing: It's a process!

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Grammar and Writing: It's a process!

Last week, I had the pleasure of teaching a struggling 8th grader how to classify a basic Pattern 1 sentence using the Shurley English Question & Answer Flow. After he silently reviewed the interesting process I lead him through and focused on the classified sentence, he proudly said, “It’s just like Math!” Yes indeed! Understanding sentence patterns and using the Q&A Flow as a way to create a grammatically correct sentence is similar to having a balanced equation in Mathematics. Many Math teachers have shared their appreciation and support for our unique methodology because they, too, see the connection.

“Grammar is to a writer what

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The First Year Freak-Out!

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The First Year Freak-Out!

Now that you’ve given yourself permission to be human and let go of the challenges surrounding perfection in learning and teaching Shurley English, let me speak to you first-year Shurley users and teachers that are just simply struggling teaching the curriculum.

Here are my Top 10 Tips to surviving the FIRST YEAR FREAK-OUT:

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