Shurley English

Surley English IconShurley English became a part of CCA's curriculum in 2002 to help teach specific language arts content as outlined by the Core Knowledge Foundation. CCA is currently using Shurley English to support grammar and writing instruction in grades 6 - 8.

Brenda Shurley developed Shurley English over twenty years ago when she became frustrated with the traditional approach of teaching concepts in isolation and found that her 8th grade students were not retaining the information in her English class. She set out to develop a program that was engaging, used an incremental approach and gave students adequate review, so that important concepts became part of the student's long-term memory.

Shurley English is probably best known for its jingles that help students learn about the different parts of speech. You may have even heard your child singing or chanting these jingles at home. Some teachers have challenged the students to develop their own tune for the jingles. Whether your child loves or hates these jingles, they are hard to get out of your head, and that's the point!

Another unique aspect of Shurley English is the use of what is called the "Question and Answer Flow." The students learn specific questions that need to be asked in order to help them identify the different parts of speech within a sentence. Parts of speech are analyzed with the context of the whole sentence, not in isolated units. As students progress through the program, the types of sentences become more varied and complex. The students are then encouraged to use these various sentence types within their own writing. This knowledge of grammar is also important in developing a student's writing. For example, if the teacher says, "Try using a stronger adverb in this sentence," the student needs to know what the teacher is talking about. The Shurley Grammar exercises expose the students to various adjectives, adverbs, prepositional phrases, etc. that can then be used in their own writing as well.

Learn more about Shurley English at their Website. To read about the rationale and research behind Shurley English, click on "Research" tab at the top and "Downloads" at the bottom on their website. You'll, find booklets that are available to download.