Teacher Toolbox: Simple Ways to Stay Motivated

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Teacher Toolbox: Simple Ways to Stay Motivated

If you’ve ever found yourself in the middle of a tumultuous situation like a rip-roaring, indoor recess due to inclement weather, or a rigorous test preparation right before a holiday, you know how it feels when you need a break! You need it, and you need it NOW!

Now is when you have to dig a little bit deeper into your teacher toolbox and pull out that shiny tool that you know will give you the extra boost needed to get you over the hump.

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Writing Toolbox: Strategies for building better sentences

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Writing Toolbox: Strategies for building better sentences

Whether you teach language arts in the school classroom or your home classroom, you have to teach your kids how to write, right? To be clear, I don’t mean the mechanical parts of writing: holding the pencil correctly, positioning the notebook paper properly, and so on. I mean the actual generation of topics that kids know about and want to write about. I mean the composition of clear, concise sentences that convey what the writer is thinking. It would be nice if kids were natural writers and could pluck ideas (and the words needed to express those ideas) out of their brains at the first sign of a prompt, but most of the time, this is not the case.

What kid writers need is

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The Playbook of Literary Success, Part 2: Grammar

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The Playbook of Literary Success, Part 2: Grammar

Let’s get back into the language arts huddle to go over some key plays that will help your students win the game! If you missed Part I of the Playbook of Literacy Success, you might want to go back to the starting line to capture the necessity of a strong vocabulary. As for today, we’re going to focus on Part II: Grammar. We’ll begin with some calisthenics we call Shurley English Jingles, and then we’ll move right into our version of the wishbone formation! We call this feature the Question and Answer Flow.

Remember, English is like a competitive sport, and every K-8 teacher is part of the coaching staff charged with developing players’ language arts knowledge and skills. The playbook contains plays designed to help each team member achieve literacy success, which is the ultimate goal of the game, and the action plan involves the following equation:

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Is a picture really worth a thousand words?

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Is a picture really worth a thousand words?

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

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Writing Extension: A Valentine's Day Haiku

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Writing Extension: A Valentine's Day Haiku

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 has a Valentine’s Day twist!

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

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The Right Tools for Writing Success

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The Right Tools for Writing 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 exactly what they need to produce a polished piece of writing. The Writing Folder…

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Group Work: How to Communicate Effectively

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Group Work: How to Communicate Effectively

If I asked you to list the top five sources of stress in your life, your answers might include things like money, work, relationships, health, and time. These common sources are no surprise, but have you ever thought about the stress that is created when you attempt to communicate about any source of stress?

During some recent research, I noticed that

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ELA Tips for a Successful Second Semester

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ELA Tips for a Successful Second Semester

As a classroom teacher, returning from holiday break was always bittersweet. On one hand, I knew the pressure for “test prep” would be more intense, but on the other hand, the satisfaction of witnessing my students grow into wiser beings put a validating smile on my face.

It was a common practice of mine to

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How to Manage Stress During the Holiday Season

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How to Manage Stress During the Holiday Season

There are only six shopping days left before Christmas! (Let that sink in for just a minute!) I know that Christmas is supposed to be the most wonderful time of the year, but right about now, I’m feeling a little less than wonderful! The very idea that I only have a handful of days left to select, purchase, and wrap gifts for my family stresses me out! I’ve never been this unprepared!

People deal with stress on a daily basis, but it’s no secret that stress runs extra high during the holidays. There are four

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Writing Extension: Veterans Day Comparison-Contrast Essay

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Writing Extension: Veterans Day Comparison-Contrast Essay

When was the last time you had your students write a Comparison-Contrast Essay? Personally, it is one of my favorite forms of writing. With this type of essay, you must use factual details to analyze the similarities and differences between two or more subjects. I think the wanna-be researcher in me LOVES this! I get to scour sources for facts and data. I get to learn new information. That’s my jam, and you may be surprised by how many of your students will love this type of writing too!

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