As the school year progresses, your students have learned a wide range of core concepts. How do we help them go beyond the basics and make deeper connections? In this month’s Shurley English Teacher Talk, we will continue our deep dive into novelty and explore how it can spark
ELA Success
What if elementary teachers approached the subject of Language Arts as if it was a competitive sport? Just think of it. Every K-8 teacher would be part of a coaching staff charged with developing players’ language arts knowledge and skills. In this analogy, the playbook contains plays designed to help
ELA Success
In this series about developing micro-comprehension, I have discussed how students need a good vocabulary in order to create accurate mental models of the stories they read or hear. We also know that those mental models are affected by the way the brain fills in missing information, called gap-filling inference.
Holiday Lessons/Resources
Do you 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. The best part is that it
Writing
There’s nothing like the dreaded feeling of sitting at your desk with a blank sheet of writing paper staring back at you. You see some of your classmates busily jotting down ideas; you see them creating their prewriting map; or you see some classmates looking upward with a pleasant
In the Spotlight
Last week, we talked about student-led learning centers. Personally, I found that learning centers gave my students the opportunity to collaborate in small groups, be a leader among their classmates, and learn subject material on a deeper level. This week, we would like to provide you with some tips on
Our brains are wired for novelty, the search for new stimuli. If you have been tuning in to our recent webinars, you know that Shurley English makes learning language arts easier because we intentionally revisit content in a logical, systematic way. But what do you do when the practice becomes
Ideas for your Classroom
When I was a classroom teacher in the 90s, some teachers, including myself, were in the business of creating student-led learning centers or stations for Math, Science, or Language Arts. I loved creating and hosting centers in my classroom because it gave my students the opportunity to collaborate in small
ELA Success
In a word…YES! If you are seeking a great writing prompt, look no further than a picture book, a local art gallery, or a collection of great works of art from one of those coffee-table display books. When I was a kid, we used to have a large reproduction
ELA Success
Sniff, sniff, mmmm! There’s something special about the aroma of that sweet little corner coffee shop. The lingering scent of a creamy caramel latte, mixed with the boldness of jet-black espresso, brings a smile to my face. The dimmed lights and down-tempo tunes playing in the background set the
ELA Success
The Shurley English Writing Folder will help your students move through the writing process with ease. This foldout, four-pocket folder keeps students organized with a dedicated space for their prewriting, rough draft, revised draft, and edited paper. It is packed with handy references, checklists, and tips to ensure students have
In the Spotlight
Teaching kids to write can be easy if you have the right tools! Getting organized is the first step, and one of the best ways to accomplish this is with an excellent set of writing maps. Writing maps will provide your students with a solid foundation from which to establish