A district-wide unit that affirms the experiences of ELLs while teaching content and developing their language skills. ELLs voices were highlighted through this multi-grade, multi-school unit.

Museums and art galleries can become an overwhelming experience for the casual visitor. Luckily, some people untangle centuries-old ideas and dumb-down them into language us mortals can understand, too. Previously, we covered museum museum snapchats; now it's time for something else - an array of hilarious art memes. After diving into this list, you might just feel as a highbrow art critic yourself.

The start to the school year for newcomer ELLs can be overwhelming and nerve-wracking. It is our job to set them up with tools to help them feel comfortable exploring a new language in a

I'm back! I totally apologize to all my readers for disappearing for the last couple of months. I took my first real grad class this fall and had no time to breathe. Something had to give and unfortunately it was my blog. But, the class is over and I am back! I have so much to tell you but instead of one long post, be looking for short posts over the next week or so to catch you up! The class I took was TONS of work but also very rewarding. In Massachusetts, if you have even one student in your class who is and English Language Learner, you need to take a class called Rethinking Equity and Teaching for English Language Learners (RETELL). It's basically an intro to ELL and walks you through tried and true activities that helps ELLs succeed in the classroom. Being my second year in district, I found the class to be EXTREMELY helpful and my biggest takeaway is direct vocabulary instruction. I have always felt that vocabulary is such an important part of teaching social studies and last year I just knew I wasn't cutting it. My students were just understanding vocabulary on the most superficial of levels and I knew it was because I was teaching a population I had never really experienced before. In the class they taught us a vocabulary activity called the Seven Steps to preteach vocabulary. Here is a fabulous example of Seven Steps from an elementary teacher: I knew this was exactly what I needed but I decided to tweak it for my class. Now, almost every day, my kiddos walk in and we preteach a word or term they are going to need in order to understand the upcoming content (Tier 2 and Tier 3 Words). We do it in the same order every day: Introduce word and have them pronounce it twice. Ask if they know anything about the word and identify and prefixes, suffixes, and/or base words. Have them write down a student friendly definition. Tell them how we are going to use it in content. I also like to tell them how it is used in other contexts (for the word "convention" this week, we talked about the Constitutional Convention but we also talked about ComicCon). I show the kids a YouTube video that better illustrates the word or a visual. Lastly, the students are given a sentence stem that they need to finish with the students in their table groups. We then share out as a class. This method has truly revolutionized my class! Not only are the kids truly understanding the vocabulary, it has allowed me to frontload my teaching. As an example, I taught the term Articles of Confederation three days before we really learned about the Articles of Confederation. The kids absolutely love it and have been acing their vocab quizzes like champs. They can use the words weeks later in a sentence and I really feel like it has helped me make bigger connections in my content. I showed two different videos with this term. The first clip, I explained to them, is how the British knew how to fight and the second video was how the Americans learned to fight from the native Americans. We were able to compare and contrast the two styles and this whole lesson took less than ten minutes of my class. If you're interested, I have started to gather together these vocab lessons and have made them available on Teachers Pay Teachers. https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Mesopotamia-and-First-Civilizations-Direct-Daily-Vocabulary-Instruction-1675580 https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/American-Revolution-Direct-Daily-Vocabulary-Instruction-1672787 Head on over to TPT to check these out and look for more as I progress in the year!

These short biographies profile 80 African-American men and women, 100 American women of various ethnicities, and 68 women around the world who were pioneers in their field or achieved something notable. Each resource has different people in it so there are biographies of 248 people in all. Included in each resource are 15 ways to use these task cards to help your students develop their writing, speaking and listening skills. Bundle at a Glance: ★ What will students learn? * Basic facts about the lives of 80 influential Black Americans who were born between 1720 and 1960. * Basic facts about the lives of 68 influential women born between 1720 and 1960 who are not U.S. Americans. * Basic facts about the lives of 100 influential American women born in the 16th, 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries. * How to use facts and phrases to write a short biography. ★ Who is it for? * All students, including English Language Learners. ★ How does it help teachers? *Students learn about famous and not-so-famous African-Americans who had an impact on American history. * Students learn about famous and not-so-famous women who lived outside the United States and influenced world history in some way. * Students learn about famous and not-so-famous American women who impacted the history of the United States. * Students practice their skills in writing, grammar and mechanics by transforming the information on task cards into complete sentences and paragraphs. * Differentiated model biography paragraphs are presented to help students develop their writing skills. * Suggestions for additional activities that extend students’ learning are included. * The included rubric saves you time if you want to assess your students’ work. What educators who have used these resources say about them: ♥ “My students were really interested in learning about women in history, and even more interested in learning about African-American women in history. This really helped get us started off on the right foot with where to start researching for more information.” — MugglesinMiddle (about this bundle) ♥ “Great activities to use as a class!” — Michelle M. (about the Women Around the World biographies resource) ♥ "I love all of the different ways you can use these task cards!" -- Angelica M. (about the African-American biographies resource) ♥ "These are perfect for my ELL students!" -- Meghan S. (about the African-American biographies resource) <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> What you get in this bundle: The African-American Biography Task Cards for Writing, Speaking & Listening Practice resource, for Grades 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th includes: ★ A table of contents for easy reference (1 page) ★ A Notes to the Teacher section with explanatory information (1 page) ★ A list of the ELA Common Core standards addressed (1 page) ★ 4 sample WIDA Model Performance Indicators (1 page) ★ 15 ideas for using the task cards (1 page) ★ Student materials for the 2 game activities (2 pages) ★ An evaluation rubric for writing tasks (1 page) ★ Model task card biography with 2 example paragraphs at different levels of writing complexity, 1 in color and 1 in black-and-white (2 pages) ★ 80 biographies of important African-Americans, 4 per page (20 pages) The Women Around the World: Biography Task Cards with Activity Ideas resource, for Grades 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th includes: ★ A table of contents for easy reference (1 page) ★ A Notes to the Teacher section with explanatory information (1 page) ★ A list of the ELA Common Core standards addressed (1 page) ★ 4 sample WIDA Model Performance Indicators (1 page) ★ 15 ideas for using the task cards (1 page) ★ Student materials for the 2 game activities (2 pages) ★ An evaluation rubric for writing tasks (1 page) ★ Model task card biography with 2 example paragraphs at different levels of writing complexity (1 page) ★ 68 biographies of important or famous women, 4 per page (17 pages) The Famous and Important American Women: Biography Task Cards with Activity Ideas resource, for Grades 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th includes: ★ A table of contents for easy reference (1 page) ★ A Notes to the Teacher section with explanatory information (1 page) ★ A list of the ELA Common Core standards addressed (1 page) ★ 4 sample WIDA Model Performance Indicators (1 page) ★ A list of women categorized by social groups (i.e. African-American, Asian-American, Latina/Hispanic, Native American, Lesbian/Bisexual) (1 page) ★ 15 ideas for using the task cards (1 page) ★ Student materials for the 2 game activities (2 pages) ★ An evaluation rubric for writing tasks (1 page) ★ Model task card biographies for 2 people, with sentence starters and 2 example paragraphs at different levels of writing complexity (4 pages) ★ 100 biographies of important or famous women, 4 per page (25 pages) More Info: The versatility of these task cards makes them ideal not just for Black History Month and Women’s History Month but also for Language Arts, Social Studies, and even Science classes any time of the year. Each resource has different people in it so there are biographies of 248 people in all. Each task card presents basic biographical information plus some interesting facts about 1 person. The people included in this bundle lived in ancient times up through the present day. Many of the people showcased in these 3 resources were the first in their field to accomplish something and your students will be inspired by the achievements of these scientists, teachers, suffragists, musicians, civil rights activists, astronomers, politicians, nurses, explorers, mathematicians, actresses, novelists, abolitionists, athletes, businesspeople, singers, lawyers, dancers, aviators, writers, astronauts, poets, rulers, journalists, diplomats, social reformers, judges, anthropologists, service workers, doctors, queens, and First Ladies that are highlighted on the task cards. Even a spy, a pirate, and 2 saints are included! Simple instructions for doing the following types of activities are included: * Writing various types of paragraphs * Categorizing the task cards * Giving presentations * Creating posters * Doing research * Doing map and timeline activities * Practicing note-taking * Playing question-and-answer games The information on the task cards is not presented in complete sentences because one of the suggested activities is for students to write paragraphs about the people. By transforming the keywords and fragments into complete sentences, and including a topic sentence and a closing, your students can practice writing good paragraphs and learn about people’s accomplishments at the same time. You can use these task cards to do other types of writing activities, too. An evaluation rubric is included in each resource so you can quickly and easily assess your students' writing. To use the task cards, just print them out and cut them apart on the dotted lines. Laminating them so they last longer is recommended but not required. Some activities can take up an entire period and some can be implemented in shorter amounts of time. Depending on the activity, students can work on their own, in pairs or small groups, or as the whole class. Some of the activities can also be used in writing centers. The resources in this bundle are appropriate for ELLs at an intermediate level of language proficiency (such as WIDA Levels 3 and up) and if you work in a WIDA Consortium state, 4 sample Model Performance Indicators are included in each resource. ELLs at a lower level of language proficiency (such as WIDA Level 2) may be able to do a few of the suggested activities and these are listed in the teacher notes. In addition, if you work in a Common Core state, a list of ELA standards these resources address is also included in every resource. Some of your students may be familiar with several of the 248 people profiled but there are probably many other people included in this bundle whom they have never heard of before. These biographical task cards will help them learn about notable African-American men and women, women in America, and women around the world! <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> You might also like this resource: ★ Writing Resources BUNDLE: Organizing, Editing & Citing Writing, Types of Writing <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> If you would like to receive updates about my new products, please click on the star by my store name at the top of your screen. You can earn TpT credits that reduce the cost of your future purchases by giving feedback about this product. Just click on the "Comments & Ratings" tab after downloading to leave a comment and a rating. It's that easy! Thank you and happy teaching! Common Core Standards © Copyright 2010. National Governors Association Center for Best Practices and Council of Chief State School Officers. All rights reserved. Any claims of correlation or alignment to the CCSS Standards or WIDA ELD standards are solely those of The ESL Nexus and have not been evaluated or endorsed by the NGA. The ESL Nexus is the sole creator of this product and does not claim endorsement or association with the creators of the CCSS or WIDA standards. <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><

Build Your Own Bundle - 20% off of 3 resources (Code: ELLE3) 30% off of 5 resources (Code: ELLE5) 40% off of 8 resources (Code: ELLE8) CLICK HERE to save 50% on this resource in the Social Studies Poster Bundle: https://www.etsy.com/listing/1404673070 These informational posters are super versatile! Shrink them down for interactive notebook inserts, mini books, bulletin board decor, hall displays, or as a quick coloring page to accompany your read-aloud. There's just enough information to engage your students in a new topic without being overwhelming. TOPICS INCLUDED: The Titanic Shakespeare The Vikings The Middle Ages Christopher Columbus Ancient Rome Ancient Greece Ancient Egypt The Mayans The Aztecs The Incas Terms of Use Copyright © Project Based Learning with Elle Madison. All rights reserved by author. This product is to be used by the original downloader only. This means it is for ONE teacher. Additional licenses may be purchased by the original buyer at a discount. Copying for more than one teacher, classroom, department, school, or school system is prohibited. This product may not be distributed or displayed digitally for public view. Failure to comply is a copyright infringement and a violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). Clipart and elements found in this JPEG are copyrighted and cannot be extracted and used outside of this file without permission or license. Intended for classroom and personal use ONLY.

Even terug in de geschiedenis om te zien of deze baantjes je bekend voorkomen.

Item description 80 famous and important African-Americans who were pioneers in their fields are profiled in this resource. Included are 15 ways to use these biography task cards to help your students develop their writing, speaking and listening skills. Resource at a Glance: ★ What will students learn? * Basic facts about the lives of 80 influential Black Americans who were born between 1720 and 1960. * How to use facts and phrases to write a short biography. ★ Who is it for? * All students, including English Language Learners. ★ How does it help teachers? * Students learn about famous and not-so-famous African-Americans who had an impact on American history. * Students practice their skills in writing, grammar and mechanics by transforming the information on task cards into complete sentences and paragraphs. * 2 models of biographies are provided for students at different levels of writing proficiency. * Suggestions for other activities extend students’ learning. * An included rubric saves teachers time if they want to assess their students’ work. <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> What you get in this product: ★ A table of contents for easy reference (1 page) ★ A Notes to the Teacher section with explanatory information (1 page) ★ A list of the ELA Common Core standards addressed (1 page) ★ 4 sample WIDA Model Performance Indicators (1 page) ★ 15 ideas for using the task cards (1 page) ★ Student materials for the 2 game activities (2 pages) ★ An evaluation rubric for writing tasks (1 page) ★ Model task card biography with 2 example paragraphs at different levels of writing complexity (1 color page and 1 black-and-white page for a total of 2 pages) ★ 80 biographies of important African-Americans, 4 per page (20 pages) More Info: Every task card presents basic biographical information plus some interesting facts about an African-American who was born in the 18th, 19th, or 20th century. Simple instructions for doing 8 types of activities are included.  Activities such as writing various types of paragraphs, categorizing the task cards, giving presentations, creating posters, doing research, doing map and timeline activities, practicing note-taking, and playing games are all described.  The versatility of these task cards makes them ideal not just for Black History Month but also Language Arts, Social Studies, and even Science classes any time of the year. Your students will be inspired by the achievements of these African-American scientists, diplomats, inventors, aviators, doctors, educators, businesspeople, politicians, athletes, soldiers, musicians, lawyers, nurses, abolitionists, novelists, singers, civil rights activists, explorers, poets, mathematicians, journalists, women’s rights activists, and judges that are highlighted on the task cards. The information on the task cards is not presented in complete sentences because one of the suggested activities is for students to write paragraphs about the people. By transforming the keywords and fragments into complete sentences, and including a topic sentence and a closing, students practice writing good paragraphs and learn some history at the same time. You can use these task cards to do other types of writing activities, too. An evaluation rubric is included so you can easily assess your students’ writing. To use the task cards, just print them out and cut them apart on the dotted lines. Laminating the task cards so they last longer is recommended but not required. Some activities can take up an entire period and some can be implemented in shorter amounts of time. Depending on the activity, students can work on their own, in pairs or small groups, or as the whole class. Some of the activities can also be used in writing centers. This resource is appropriate for ELLs at an intermediate level of language proficiency (such as WIDA Levels 3 and up) and if you work in a WIDA Consortium state, 4 sample Model Performance Indicators are included. ELLs at a lower level of language proficiency (such as WIDA Level 2) may be able to do a few of the suggested activities and these are listed in the teacher notes. In addition, if you work in a Common Core state, a list of ELA standards this resource addresses is included. Some of your students may be familiar with several of the 80 people profiled but there are probably many other African-Americans included in this resource whom they have never heard of before! <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> Thank you and happy teaching! Common Core Standards © Copyright 2010. National Governors Association Center for Best Practices and Council of Chief State School Officers. All rights reserved. Any claims of correlation or alignment to the CCSS Standards are solely those of The ESL Nexus and have not been evaluated or endorsed by the NGA. The ESL Nexus is the sole creator of this product and does not claim endorsement or association with the creators of the CCSS standards. Any claims of correlation or alignment to the WIDA ELD standards are solely those of The ESL Nexus and have not been evaluated or endorsed by the WIDA Consortium. The ESL Nexus is the sole creator of this product and does not claim endorsement or association with the creators of the WIDA standards. <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

Many teachers have "tried and true" resources that they pull from year after year. I've been an elementary ESL teacher since 2005 working with grades 1-6. During this time I have used a ton of resources with my students; and my favorites have stuck with me. Even though my "classroom" can change year to year, from pushing-in, co-teaching, to predominantly working with small pull-out groups, these tried and true resources are ones that I wouldn't want to do without. Here's a look at a few of my top favorites... Graphic Organizers This resource is #1 for a reason! I almost always use graphic organizers to teach reading comprehension. I find them to be highly effective because they are not text heavy. Students read with a purpose, then complete an activity that supports that specific reading skill/strategy. No matter my students' level of reading or language proficiency, a simple graphic organizer is what I need to reinforce that skill or strategy! I keep these graphic organizers on my desktop, and when I'm planning my lessons I can quickly pull up the organizers I need, then print and go! Tip: When I print, I reduce the setting to 80% and then trim the sides. Students glue the graphic organizer into their reading notebooks which makes for a great collection of student work and visual reference of student progress and effort. Leveled Books for Reading Instruction I have been very lucky to work in schools that have had awesome book rooms full of guided reading sets. I hope that you have the same access to books in your school. Finding books on my students' levels is one thing, but finding relevant books, especially for my upper elementary beginning ELs, is another. It's a challenge, for sure, but with a good book room I know that I can almost always find what I need. Click here for a free modified guided reading lesson plan template! Don't have a stocked book room? I also order several grade levels of the Scholastic News Magazines. (I think 10 magazines per grade level is the minimum order; that's what I get.) I mostly use grades 1, 2 & 3 with my ELs. With your order, you also have access to the online magazines, which is awesome! You can project to an interactive whiteboard, or have students read on an iPad or computer. These various grade levels make it easy to differentiate text levels. Since I use the magazines for reading instruction, students do not take them home. I keep the magazines organized by grade level and time of year, then I reuse the ones I love, year after year. Reading instruction is a big part of my day, so having access to leveled reading materials is a must! Visual Reading Word Wall Cards I love this resource because of the visuals. and the versatility. When introducing a reading concept, such as "making predictions" or "plot," to beginning or intermediate English learners, a meaningful visual is definitely worth a thousand words! These reading word wall cards provide my students with the visual supports they need as they are learning new concepts in English. I use these cards at my reading table, as a word wall, in anchor charts, as sorting headers, and in my learning objectives that I post on the board. Guided Reading Table Anchor Chart Lesson Objectives Words Their Way for Word Study For ELLs, learning spelling patterns in English is important. I especially like this resource because I can differentiate it according to the needs of my students. First, I assess what my students already know, as far as consonants, short and long vowels, word families, digraphs, etc., then start from there. We systematically work through the sorts building their knowledge of sounds and spelling patterns. A bonus with this resource is that it's another exposure to new vocabulary! Each Monday my students receive their list of words, and each day of the week they have various independent activities to do with their words. Then on Fridays, we finish up with a quick spelling quiz. Click for a free download of Weekly Word Study Activities To start, I set up their notebooks with their weekly Word Study Activities. We do this together the first week or two, so that I know that they understand what's expected. This is a word sort that my newcomers might be working on. And this is a sort that my intermediate ELLs might be working on. After I copy the page, I'll cut the page so that they have about 15 new words per week. My advanced ELLs might have 18 to 20 words. Once my students understand their weekly activities, these Word Study Activities become independent activities during the week while in Reader's Workshop. Students are responsible for completing the weekly work and learning their words. I set them up on Monday with their new words, then quiz them on Friday. It's up to them to do the work Tuesday through Thursday. Vocabulary Mini Office This is a MUST have for my newcomers! When they arrive, this is the first resource I give them. It's basic vocabulary that students use everyday. The Vocabulary Mini Office is kept at their desk to use during independent work time. Whether during Writer's Workshop, Reading or Vocabulary practice, it provides them with access to everyday vocabulary. My newcomers love this resource and they use it often. For my older newcomers I put the pages inside their reading folder. When they practice their writing, they can easily find the vocabulary they need. Daily Language Review I often use this resource as a warm-up activity. With my beginner and intermediate students, this is a group activity we do together. I want them to get used to the format of the questions so I do a lot of guided practice and modeling with this resource. My advanced kiddos do this as a quick independent warm up and then we go over it together. It takes about 5 minutes. Depending on the language level of my groups, I pull pages from either the first, second or third grade book. It also provides a great jumping off point. I can see in which areas of grammar my students need direct instruction, such as contractions, sentence structure, mechanics, etc. It's just a quick warm-up. My students like it and I get good information about them from it. As a teacher of English Language Learners, these are some of my must have resources. When I plan my lessons, these are many of the first resources I grab. They make my instruction consistent, effective and meaningful. Yes, there are other resources that I would not want to do without, and perhaps that would make for a follow up post, but if I were to pick my top resources, these would be them! I'd love to know what some of your favorite resources are! (Affiliate Links Below)

Beowulf is an epic poem composed in Old English consisting of 3,182 lines. It is written in the alliterative verse style, which is common for Old English poetry as well as works written in languages...

Whether you’re trying to eliminate tons of prep time, save paper, or support ELL students in distance learning, using digital vocabulary units can be extremely helpful activities for ELL newcomers. These digital units target reading,

Issues, ideas, and resources for teaching English Language Learners in PreK-12th grade in schools in the U.S. & around the world.

The origins behind the names of all 50 states.

America’s history and diversity are often described with the melting pot symbol. The many different cultural and religious flavors mingle and combine to create one delicious dish… in theory.

Descriptions of 13 books at different language proficiency levels about notable women to read during Women's History Month & throughout the year

Ce n'est pas un seul séisme mais une série qui a frappé le sud du Japon dans la nuit du 14 au 15 avril. La puissance des secousses s'est étalée de 4 à 6, et des répliques sont à attendre.

Games are a great way to keep students engaged. Check out this list of games to use with your ELLs to help them improve their vocabulary.

Are you looking for ways to make ESL writing activities more encompassing of all language domains and more engaging?

My new Grade 4 Common Core ELA unit is about the stories of "Immigration." My kids love it!!! We have been reading many fictional and non-fictional books. We even took a virtual tour of Ellis Island with Scholastic. One of the activities that they loved were the Postcards. We read the book "At Ellis Island: A History in Many Voices." The book has so much going on...it takes 2-3 readings to do it justice. We read it the first time for Sera's story (a fictional character). The second reading we read and discussed the immigrants quotes and the captions. There are many great photos and illustrations on every page. The next thing I did was copy a page from "I Was Dreaming to Come to America" for every student, along with the short biographical page in the back. I had them read the pages and write a postcard from the point of view of their immigrant. We discussed that their postcard would be based on facts but will include some realistic-fiction details. Here are some of their postcards: Here are the Postcards I Made for My Display: For information regarding US immigration please visit: U.S. Naturalization and Immigration

Silly Farming Manuals Of The 14th Century - Captioned Portraits of Yore

Games are a great way to keep students engaged. Check out this list of games to use with your ELLs to help them improve their vocabulary.

Check out these fun history board games for middle and high schoolers!

Buyenlarge «george washington» par gilbert stuart, reproduction d’art

Do you have a newcomer student in your classroom? Here are some strategies for supporting newcomer ELLs in their elementary classroom...

Created for the Canada History Awards, 2015 this lesson plan explores Canadian symbols, old and new and thier place in Canadian society. There are pre, while and post activities based on the Quebec MELS standards. - ESL worksheets

Who run the world? Girls!

To celebrate Earth Day, this past Saturday I visited Casa Grande Ruins National Monument. Located in southern Arizona, it is an archeological site with ruins from the Ancestral Sonoran Desert People culture. Also known as the Hohokam, although their descendants today prefer the former designation, you can see parts of the structures they built and learn how they survived in a harsh desert climate around 700 years ago. Since this is National Parks Week, I thought I’d share a few of my photos and suggest a couple ways to use them with your students. Not every U.S. state has an actual national park but there are 417 sites that fall under the National Park Service system, such as national monuments, national battlefields, and national scenic trails. So there should be something in your state! Views of Casa Grande Ruins in Arizona; source: The ESL Nexus To see 5 of my photographs of Casa Grande Ruins National Monument that you can use in the activities described below, just click HERE. You’ll be prompted to make a copy for yourself, then you’ll be able to see each photo individually and project it on a whiteboard if you wish. Besides the 4 photos shown in the image above, there's another view from the front of the monument. Below are 3 activities you can do with your students that involve using National Parks websites. To find a park (or national monument, river, trail, battleground, etc.) by state, use the National Park Service website. To find a location by type of site, use the National Park Foundation website. Idea #1: Writing, Vocabulary Write a sentences or a paragraph that compares and contrasts your selected site with Casa Grande. Show my photos of Casa Grande and elicit details about what students see in each picture. Then tell students to look at photos of a place in their state and write about what they see in the photos. They can write about details such as: * The flora and fauna * If the sites are still in use, or if they are ruins * If they are in a rural or urban area * Anything else they notice that can be compared or contrasted You can choose some photos from one place in advance and project them on a whiteboard so everyone sees the same images, if you are limited in the number of devices you have that connect to the Internet. Students can work in individually, in small groups, or you can do this as a whole class activity and model how to write a good paragraph. To help your students do this kind of writing, check out my Beyond the Venn Diagram resource, which offers 2 formats for compare and contrast writing. This would work well for ELLs at lower language proficiency levels. Students at beginning proficiency levels can make lists of words in a T-chart instead of writing sentences. Idea #2: Reading, Writing First, go to the website for Casa Grande and with the whole class, read about it out loud. I recommend reading about its history and culture if such a section is available. Then, tell your students to select a site, read about it, and write a description of it. Students can work in small groups if there aren’t enough devices for each student. This activity is more appropriate for students at intermediate and higher levels of language proficiency. Descriptions can be 3 paragraphs if students are at an intermediate level of proficiency, longer if they are at more advanced levels. Idea #3: Reading, Writing, Speaking, Grammar, Vocabulary Write 5 questions about things you see in the photos of Casa Grande. They can be very simple, such as What color are the walls of the buildings? or more difficult like What are the walls made of? Also write answers to your questions. Ask the class the questions and elicit answers from student volunteers. After that, tell your students to select a site in their state and read about it, then write 5 questions, with answers, about the place. Students can work in pairs or small groups. When they’ve finished devising their questions and answers, they can ask and answer them for speaking practice. Option 1: For beginning and low-intermediate proficiency level students, you can give sentence frames to students; for example: When was _____ built? Where is _____ located? Who used _____? What was _____ used for? Why is _____ a national _____? Option 2: For fun, you can assign just one site to everyone. Collect the questions and answers when students have finished writing them. Then play a game by dividing the class into 2 teams and alternate asking questions to each team. Give a point for each correct answer -- the team with the most points wins. If you’re not able to visit a national park in person this week, I hope you can use these ideas to visit one virtually! And please check out my Gift Guide for Environmentally Aware Teachers, where you can find some great ideas for how you can protect and preserve our Earth.

Ancient history will be anything but boring when you use a literature based curriculum. Instead of learning random facts from textbooks, middle schoolers will be immersed in stories and fun projects.

Learn about scaffolds you can add to help your ESL students as they are writing about photographs. Photographs offer great insperation for ELLs to write...

Little known facts about the hot dog. After the text, there is an exercise to practise question formation. - ESL worksheets