Lost Without a GPS: My Road Trip into Writing Instruction
Have you ever set out on a road trip without a map or GPS? I tried it once, years ago. I thought, “How hard could it be?” A few wrong turns later, I was circling back, wasting time, and wishing I had just plugged in my destination from the start. Some folks may love the thrill of driving without a plan, but not me. I need a GPS—something to guide me step by step and keep me from getting lost.
As it turns out, teaching kids to write can feel exactly the same. When I started my career as a teacher, I had no GPS for writing instruction. I could write fairly well myself, but showing kids how to do it? That was a whole different road. My students and I often wandered aimlessly, hitting detours called writer’s block and potholes called organizational errors.
Then, I found Shurley English, and it was like plugging in my very first literacy GPS. Suddenly, I had clear directions. The program didn’t just say “go north.” It told me, take a right here, now turn left, stay on this road until you reach your destination. The writing process became mapped out for both me and my students.
The turning point for me came with something called the three-point sentence. It sounds simple—and it is—but it was the landmark I needed. From there, I could guide my students into paragraphs and then on to full essays. Every step was like a road sign pointing the way forward.
But the real game-changer? Sentence Outlines. These outlines became the GPS screen my students could follow:
No more wandering off course.
No more wrong turns into jumbled ideas.
No more “I don’t know what to write” breakdowns on the side of the road.
Instead, students could see the route in front of them. Sentence Outlines showed them how to start with clear sentences, build them into paragraphs, and eventually craft strong essays and reports. The outlines acted like mile markers—helping them measure progress and gain confidence with every step.
Over time, I watched something amazing happen. My students weren’t just writing better—they were thinking better. They stayed on the right path, avoided detours, and actually enjoyed the journey.
That’s why, at Shurley English, we like to think of ourselves as your literacy GPS. We don’t want you or your students getting lost on the road to good writing. Instead, we want to guide you—step by step, turn by turn—until your students reach their destination: clear, confident, organized writing.
So if you’ve been feeling lost on this writing road trip, take it from someone who’s been there. You don’t have to wander without directions. With Shurley English, you’ve got the map, the GPS, and a traveling companion who knows the way. Right now, you can even download our writing maps, sentence outlines, and a host of other helpful tools by visiting our website: www.shurley.com.
