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 to diagram sentences at all during their academic career, they might have been exposed to “parsing”-that’s the way diagraming sentences was taught in the old one-room schoolhouse, as well as, in my junior high school. The Shurley English Question and Answer Flow is a simple and more modern version of that, and has proven to challenge adults that never learned our methodology. So, right off the bat, if the people helping your students with Language Arts homework struggled with grammar and writing concepts, they may not understand our unique methodology let alone recognize how it connects to the writing process.

Here are a few ideas that have been used over the years to help parents and helpers familiarize themselves with what you’re teaching in your classroom.

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*Parent Help Booklet-find this on www.shurley.com. (Direct them to our YouTube tab to view live classroom demos.)

*INVITE them into your classroom! Allow parents to observe you teaching a Shurley English lesson.

*Making the Connection Bulletin Board- Show the transfer of grammar into writing outside of your classroom. Together, tie Sentence Blueprints, the Writing Process, Final Drafts, and Across the Curriculum or Enrichment Activities on a creative bulletin board.

*LITERACY NIGHT-This has been done successfully by many schools around the nation. Showcase some Shurley Jingles, Question and Answer Flow patterns, and Published Writing pieces from a variety of grade levels. Give your students the opportunity to shine in front of their families!