How to teach English sentence structure to your ESL students. From the basics to speaking and writing activities that will help them with conversation.
"Why even do this?", students might ask when they are not sure why they need to complete certain tasks. Student motivation and engagement are possibly the most important variables in the learning process. Identifying clear objectives and providing students with a purpose for carrying out various activities will more likely engage them as they will see the benefits of completing the proposed tasks. Because most of my high school ESL learners need a lot of motivation in school, I like to assign di
English may sound daunting to English learners but it does not have to be. Use these 5 tips to teach phonemic awareness and phonics to older ESL students.
"Why even do this?", students might ask when they are not sure why they need to complete certain tasks. Student motivation and engagement are possibly the most important variables in the learning process. Identifying clear objectives and providing students with a purpose for carrying out various activities will more likely engage them as they will see the benefits of completing the proposed tasks. Because most of my high school ESL learners need a lot of motivation in school, I like to assign di
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,
Be sure to try out these ESL Vocabulary Activities and games if you want your students to have some fun learning new words.
Learn about the benefits of exposing ELLs to diverse graphic novels. Also discover some new titles to stock your library shelves with. %
Unit 1: Introduction to School of this middle school and high school newcomers curriculum hits the ground running with 36 new words or phrases, 5 important basic sentences or greetings, and an introduction to singular and plural nouns, pronouns, and the simple present tense.
In order for my ELL students to continue some kind of virtual learning, I created these Google slides as journal prompts. In my district, students are not required to do work for a grade during this quarantine. Therefore, coming up with something engaging was very necessary! I created 10 slides with different journal topics. Students can write on the slide and return it to you. Of course many of my kids write on a separate piece of paper and send it to me. These prompts are best for Middle School and High School Students. Each question is followed by a sentence frame. Depending on the level of your students, you may want to write your own response first. See some examples below: Check them out here: ESL Journal Prompts - Google Slides Thanks for looking!
Beat the overwhelm of teaching an absolute beginner with this downloadable checklist
"Why even do this?", students might ask when they are not sure why they need to complete certain tasks. Student motivation and engagement are possibly the most important variables in the learning process. Identifying clear objectives and providing students with a purpose for carrying out various activities will more likely engage them as they will see the benefits of completing the proposed tasks. Because most of my high school ESL learners need a lot of motivation in school, I like to assign di
Here are five great games to use in an ESL classroom. These activities will help you conduct a fun and exciting class for all, and they can be modified to work with teens or kids.
Sometimes we get our dream job but almost immediately, a question pops up: now what? Here are some tips and advice to keep in mind when you embark on your new adventure as an ESL teacher.
My two favorite projects for my ESL students are their Personal Narratives and their Autobiographies. Not only is it great practice using verb tenses, but it also an excellent way to get to know your students. I am always blown away by the amazing stories they share! I have just completed uploading a FREE Autobiography project for you to use with your ESL students. This autobiography has 3 parts: the past, the present and the future. You can use all three parts or just one or two parts depending on the grade level of your students. You may want to start with Part II "My Life Now" since it covers the present tense. Then continue with "My Past" and "Coming to a New Country" followed by "My Future". I always review each tense and then give my students the related part. This could be a project that you use throughout the year, culminating in a final Autobiography after learning all three verb tenses. Or, you can use it all at once for more advanced students. If you would like to download this FREE autobiography, click here! Thanks for looking!
Are you looking for ways to make ESL writing activities more encompassing of all language domains and more engaging?
Effective strategies for teaching academic vocabulary in middle school ELA Middle school ELA curriculum for academic vocabulary development
Start the year off right with high expectations for your English Language Learners! Some students learn to avoid answering difficult questions by reminding teachers of their limited English skills. "I don't know" or "I can't" may become a common refrain! Here are some ideas to help shift students' mindsets from knowing the right answer to putting in the effort to figure it out. 1.) Talk about the brain as a muscle: the more you work it out, the bigger and stronger it gets! My elementary students always love it when I comment on how large their heads are getting…to contain the brains that are growing so quickly inside! It's become a real motivator for my students to think hard and work hard. They often ask me if I can see a difference in the size of their heads after working diligently on a difficult project. A wonderful colleague of mine has an EASY button that she got from Staples. When you push it, it says, "That was easy!" She invites students to come up and push the button after working through a difficult problem. It motivates students to push through difficulty, and reminds them that it was ultimately easier than they'd thought. 2.) This chart offers students alternate ways of responding to a question they don't know the answer to. Around winter break, "I don't know" becomes a forbidden phrase in my classroom. It is the students' responsibility to learn to ask the questions necessary to get to an answer. I encourage them to ask teachers and peers for guidance, ask for additional wait time, ask for repetition or slower speech, and ask for the opportunity to consult outside resources. 3.) Make this your classroom mantra: It's okay not to know, but it's not okay not to try. Students should be so familiar with this concept that they encourage each other to try without your prompting. Post it in your room and refer to it constantly! The willingness to take risks is so important in language acquisition. The sooner we can create comfortable classroom communities coupled with high expectations for participation, the faster our students will begin mastering the English language.
As I am looking forward to a new school year in my new school, I have already started planning and creating new resources. Since I have my classroom now and I can finally make the big decisions about the teaching materials I would love to use, I am all excited to be able to say good-bye to textbooks and use what I believe best responds to my learners’ needs. If you are looking for some engaging and valuable resources for your textbook-less ESL class or you wish to supplement your own materials,
Are you looking for a resource to give content teachers and/or administrators that easily explains English Language Learners' abilities in speaking, listening, reading, and writing at each level of language proficiency? Look no further! This resource explains the student's approximate abilities in...
When I was a brand new teacher, I thought the quality of my teaching was ultimately tied to the quality of my resources, so I spent hours searching for great materials. I believed that if I had quality resources, ones that my students enjoyed and were engaged with, then that would make me a good teacher. Well, I still believe that having quality resources is extremely important, but over the years I've also come to realize that being a good teacher is SO much more than the tools in my toolbox. Everyday has a million moving parts that need our constant attention, focus, knowledge and skills of best practice. So even though I now believe that being a good teacher is more than the quality of my teaching materials, knowing that I have a good variety of kid tested and teacher approved resources at my fingertips allows me the time and energy to focus on other aspects of my teaching day. So today, as a follow-up to my original "favorite resources" post, I want to share with you MORE of my "go-to" resources that I consistently use in my classroom with my students! Build a Sentence I love this resource, and so do my students! This resource gets beginning and intermediate ELs speaking and writing! First, a photograph is posted. Then students generate a word bank by telling what they see in the picture. I ask for one word at a time. No matter the level of my ELs, everyone can come up with at least a word or two. I get additional details by asking about colors and quantities of items they see. Once our word bank is sufficient, they use those words to create varying lengths of sentences. They are asked to create a 3 word sentence, then a four word sentence, then a five word sentence, and so on. I'll ask, "Who thinks they can come up with a 4 word sentence?" My students all start thinking and counting on their fingers, then quickly a hand shoots up, then another. They love it! This activity is heavily scaffolded for beginners. Students orally create the word bank and sentences, but I write the words and sentences on the board using correct spelling and grammar. Then they copy. I am a big believer in modeling for beginners, and I model a LOT! This activity is a definite favorite among my students. They practice their oral language skills as well as their writing skills. I do this with my small groups at least once a month. Writing with English Learners I created this resource to prep my students for the writing portion of the annual language proficiency assessment. In Virginia, where I'm from, ESL students take the WIDA ACCESS each winter. Being that writing is the literacy skill that usually takes the longest to develop, I wanted to explicitly teach the skills students needed to be most successful on this assessment. In my lesson plans, I incorporate a listening, reading, speaking and writing focus each week. For the writing focus, I usually pull from these two resources. Whether I am teaching how to stretch out words, write a story, explain a process or analyze information, this resource allows me to choose the skills my particular groups need to work on. For my intermediate and advanced ELs in grades 3-6, I focus on "language formats" found in writing. Whether they are asked to describe, provide an opinion, analyze or compare and contrast, understanding and applying the language with that format is key. 5 Ws and H - A Writing Resource for Adding Details This resource is a new favorite! It teaches students to add meaningful details to their sentences. I often ask students to "tell me more." This writing activity gets them in the habit of giving more information in their sentences by adding thoughtful details. This resource is designed for gradual release. The first set of activities can be done in a whole group setting. A photograph is projected and students are asked to answer the 5W & H questions about the picture. This information is then used to write two thoughtful sentences. As students become more proficient with adding details to their sentences, the next set of activities can be done in either a small group setting or as an independent activity. The last set of activities are writing prompts that students can independently respond to in their notebooks. Posters are included which add a great visual reference for a classroom display. Restate the Question This is a simple, yet effective, activity that teaches students to restate the question or prompt in their answers, both orally and in writing. As a writing activity, either project a prompt on the whiteboard and have students write their responses in their notebooks, or print out the question and have them glue it into their notebook. This takes modeling the first several times, but afterwards should be a quick independent activity. For a speaking activity, pull out a card and ask the question. Students take turns answering several of the questions. This works great in a small group setting. My students often ask if we can keep on "playing." VIDEOS! VIDEOS! VIDEOS! Incorporating videos into my lessons is a MUST! When I plan a new unit, one of the first things I do is to scour the internet looking for fun and meaningful videos. My go to place is YouTube. There are some real gems out there, but it does take some looking. When I find a goody, it goes into my collection and I use it again and again. Here is a blog post that I wrote about using short films to teach reading comprehension skills. I continue to add to the list as I find new films. Click on the image to see the list! Check out my Short Film Bundle here. Monthly Themed Vocabulary This is an great resource to use with primary learners and beginning ELs. Each month contains 20 vocabulary words. I love this because it's relevant to what's happening around students at the given time of year. Along with the terms, which I use as a monthly word wall, matching cards, writing activities, a vocabulary booklet and BINGO games are included. In closing... As I create my weekly lesson plans, these "tried and true" resources are many of the activities that my students use throughout the school year. Having a collection of reliable and engaging materials available frees up the time I'd otherwise spend searching. I'm sure you have your go-to resources too. Happy teaching!! (Affiliate Link)
The 10 sites I go back to again and again for fun, easy-to-use resources. Bookmark these for your own class, or send 'em to your favorite English teacher! Via Yuly Asencion, juandoming, Mila Solà Marqués, THE OFFICIAL ANDREASCY
Advice from three ESL teachers on the things regular classroom teachers can do to help English language learners thrive in mainstream classrooms.
Get some helpful ideas on how to decorate your ESL classroom. Check out the top 5 classroom decoration ideas to work on with your students!
I am heading back to the classroom next week and I just wanted to share a quick Getting-to-Know-You Activity that I made for my own high school ESL students. I included a color copy for the teacher since you probably don't have the time to color it yourself! Here is the copy for the students. Download it here! Enjoy!
ESL speaking and writing activities for beginners and intermediate level students. The free worksheets include picture prompts, questions, sentence starters and a space to write. Sign up for my Free ESL Resource Library to get access to these worksheets and more!
How to teach beginner ESL students is just as important as what to teach them. Here are 7 strategies that will help you out.
These awesome ideas will come in handy one day. Or more than once. Who knows - you might even end up using them all with your class! This is a high quality print-friendly poster that you ca
Pair Work exercise useful for practising speaking and listening skills and giving/following instructions. Put students in pairs and give each half of the worksheet. Student B tells student B where to go on the grid and what to write or draw. Make students can not see each other´s sheet. This ws allows the whole class to practise simultaneously. At the end of the exercise, Ss should compare their answers to the teacher´s answer sheet. Enjoy. - ESL worksheets
Fun and engaging ESL activities, games and worksheets in printable PDF format with full teacher's notes and answers for English teachers to use in class.
Check out our top ESL preposition games and activities that you can use in your class today. Have some fun with prepositions today!
This editable activity consists of 4 sections : 'Guess what my job is', ' What do you want to be and why ? ', One-min talk and' Vocabulary Chart ' It can be used as roleplay activity using questions to make a dialogue or interview. - ESL worksheets
In ESL Four Pictures One Word, students view four related pictures and they must guess the word that connects them all.
Beat the overwhelm of teaching an absolute beginner with this downloadable checklist
This editable activity consists of 4 sections : 'Guess what my job is', ' What do you want to be and why ? ', One-min talk and' Vocabulary Chart ' It can be used as roleplay activity using questions to make a dialogue or interview. - ESL worksheets
Improve your second language teaching skills by avoiding mistakes such as talking to much, echoing, sentence completion, and unclear instructions. Follow @tesolAmerican TESOL
This is an ice breaker activity you can use on the first day/week of school to help students learn about each other. They have 10 questions to answer about another student in the classroom, and have to present their information to the whole class, as they introduce their partner and what they learn...
Conversation practice. There are fun and unusual facts about each animal on the individual cards. Discuss the names of the animals. Describe them. What do the students already know about them? Could be used for a pair exercise or a classroom discussion. There is a key included. - ESL worksheets
Check out these fun games to play with high school students, including Apple to Apples, Pictionary, What am I, Password, and more.
A YEAR'S CURRICULUM FOR YOUR ELL'S with detailed Lesson Plans! This English Language Learner's Mega Bundle will help make your ELL's transition into the classroom easier! The thematic units helps your students with listening, reading, writing and speaking. Vocabulary Themes Included: ⭐Unit 1 Introductions ⭐Unit 2 Classroom/School ⭐Unit 3 Verbs ⭐Unit 4 Colors ⭐Unit 5 Vegetables ⭐Unit 6 Fruit ⭐Unit 7 Prepositions ⭐Unit 8 Opposites ⭐Unit 9 Homophones and Homographs ⭐Unit 10 Food Groups ⭐Unit 11 Nouns ⭐Unit 12 Days of the Week/ Four Seasons ⭐Unit 13 Idioms ⭐Unit 14 Alphabet Flap Books ⭐Unit 15 Digraphs ⭐Unit 16 Desert Animals and Plants ⭐Unit 17 Rainforest Animals and Plants ⭐Unit 18 Polar Animals ⭐Unit 19 Wetland Animals and Plants ⭐Unit 20 Insects and Creatures What's in this Bundle? ✅1132 printables ✅16 Units have Easel Activities ✅Detailed Lesson Plans for each unit ✅WIDA and Common Core Objectives ✅Some Units last one week and others last two weeks ✅Units may be taught in any order ✅Many interative games and flapbooks to make learning fun What Others Are Saying! ❤️asywithdelrio This product is AMAZING! I used it during a vocabulary center for my lower group that needed more support and more visuals. There were so many activities and it was perfect to use throughout the entire week. It made lesson planning so much easier! I was able to assign this resource to my classroom instructional aide because the directions were clear and easy to follow. So happy with this purchase. ❤️Lisalisa This is a very thorough pack for newcomer ELs. The lessons are comprehensive and include standards, time and materials, step-by-step directions, and pictures to guide you through them. I would feel comfortable even leaving something like this with a sub - it is very easy to follow. Thank you! ❤️Apprendre Avec Mme Chantal I can't thank you enough! The work you put into this resource is sooooo worth the price. It will be my main resource I use this year!!! Thank you!! Details of each unit: ⭐Unit 1 Includes: Introductions 2 Flap Books Cut-and-glue sentences (4 pages) Introductions Find My Match task cards (10 color, 10 b and w) 5 Day Lesson Plan ⭐Unit 2 Classroom/School Vocabulary includes: 5 Day Lesson Plans Classroom/School Words 24 color and 24 b and w Headers for Pocket Chart or Anchor Chart 4 Sentence frame cards Cards which include each word in the sentence frames Whoops! game directions 2 (2 page) Interactive Printables ⭐Unit 3 ESL Verbs Teach your ELL's action words in a fun way! The action vocabulary words (verbs) can be used in several ways: Flip Books (He is _____. She is ______. They are _____.) Act It Out(Place the vocabulary words in a basket. Work with a partner to take turns acting out the word.) Guess what your partner is doing! Trade partners and act it out again! Great ESL Activities to help your children learn English! Included: 5 Day detailed lesson plans Memory Whoosh Anchor Charts Pocket Charts Included are: 24 color vocabulary cards 24 b & w squares to make flip books. 3 flip book frames Action words are: eating, listening, opening, peeling, washing, giving, writing, brushing, cutting, drinking, painting, whispering, taking, dancing, shopping, hugging, daydreaming, reading, saluting, licking, cheering, roasting, smiling ⭐Unit 4: Colors This activity is to help our new ELL's learn color names in English as well as simple singular and plural sentence structures. There are 16 posters that the children can use to make 8 Flap Books for 8 colors. Detailed Lesson Plans are included based on WIDA standards. Included are: Detailed Lesson plans for 9 days 8 posters (singular nouns) 8 posters (plural nouns) 8 Flap books The sentence frames are: A_______ is red. ________are red. etc 8 pages of color word and colors to sort. The colors are red, orange, yellow, blue, purple, black, brown, and green. Have fun with this color activity! ⭐Unit 5 Vegetables Fun for Teaching ESL Vegetables Names! This ELL activity is to help ELL's increase their vocabulary by learning vegetable names! It can be used in a small group or with a partner in the classroom. It is based on WIDA and Common Core Standards. Great for Anchor Charts and Pocket Charts! Included: 5 Day Lesson Plans Vegetable Interactive Printables (2 pages) I like _____, but I don't like _____. Cut-and-glue sentences (5 pages) Which veggie am I? I am a _______. Vegetable vocabulary cards. Can play FIND MY MATCH or Memory (23 color and 23 black and white; picture and word on same card) (23 color and 23 black and white picture only) (23 color and 23 black and white word only) Emergent Reader ABC Order Enjoy! ⭐Unit 6 ESL Fruit! ESL Teaching Made Fun With This Fruit Activity! This packet is to help our ELL/ESL students make an easier transition into our classrooms. The fruit vocabulary words can be used in many ways: Flip Books (I Like …. I don’t like…..) Memory Whoosh Anchor Charts Pocket Charts Included are: 16 color and black and white vocabulary cards (both picture and word) 16 color and black and white vocabulary cards ( pictures only and words only) 16 b & w squares to make flip books. 2 flip book frames Fruit vocabulary words are: apple, bananas, blueberries, grapes, cherries, lemon, orange, peach, pear, pineapple, plum, strawberry, watermelon, kiwi, lime, raspberry 2 writing printables 5 Day Lesson Plans Have fun with your new students! ⭐Unit 7 ESL Prepositions ESL Teaching Made Fun With This Prepositions Activity! This packet is to help our ELL/ESL students make an easier transition into our classrooms. The prepositions vocabulary words can be used in many ways: Flip Books Memory Find My Match Anchor Charts Pocket Charts Included are: 18 color and black and white vocabulary cards (both picture and word) 18 color and black and white vocabulary cards ( pictures only and words only) 3 flap books Prepositions are: after, around, before, behind, beneath, beside, between, down, far, front, near, inside, on, over, in, through, up under 2 writing printables 5 Day Lesson Plans ⭐Unit 8 ESL Opposites: Enjoy this fun way to teach opposites. This vocabulary resource can be used in a variety of ways! (For kindergarten, first grade, second grade and ESL students of all ages.) Memory, Find My Match, Pocket Chart, Anchor Chart, Word Wall, My Book of Opposites, Flap Books Includes a 5 day lesson plan 16 Opposite Vocabulary Cards (color & black and white) 3 flap books Detailed Lesson Plans are included based on WIDA standards. Flap Book Directions Cut out top sheet and back sheet Glue along indicated edge Cut flaps on the top sheet only Read the opposite Open the flap and write and draw its opposite. ⭐Unit 9: Homophones and Homographs - Updated! This unit is a homophones/homographs set of vocabulary words that can be used in many ways. Memory, Find My Match, Pocket Chart, Anchor Chart, Word Wall, My Book of Homographs, My Book of Homophones, Flap Books Included: 20 color and black and white homographs vocabulary cards 28 color and black and white homophones vocabulary cards 3 flap books Find A Person Who Knows writing printable with teacher’s edition 9 day lesson plans ⭐Unit 10 ESL Food Groups (6 Flip Books!) Help make your English Language Learner’s transition into your classroom easier by using these engaging Flip books for ESL students of all ages! Includes: Bread and Grains Flip Book Meat and Protein Flip Book Dairy Flip Book Junk Food Flip Book Vegetables Flip Book Fruit Flip Book Includes 6 Day Lesson Plans 6 Food Group Posters Each book gives you a choice of a boy cover or a girl cover. Each has a total of 5 pages. Just print and cut along indicated lines. Staple at the top and go! ⭐Unit 11 ESL Nouns ESL Teaching Made Fun With This Noun Activity! Can be used in many ways! Flip Books Memory Anchor Charts Pocket Charts tree maps Included are: 30 color and black and white vocabulary cards (both picture and word) 30 color and black and white vocabulary cards ( pictures only and words only) 2 flap books Nouns are: People: boy, girl, firefighter, mail carrier, coach, teacher, police officer, doctor astronaut, farmer Places: desert, arctic, rainforest, snowy mountains, ocean, kitchen, bathroom, yard, school, city pond, cap, cupcake, car, football, Things: chair, pencil, sunglasses, kites, cap, cupcake, car, football, bed, present 2 tree map choice printables 5 Day Lesson Plans Have fun with your new students! ⭐Unit 12 ESL Days of the Week and The Four Seasons ESL Teaching Made Fun With This “Days of the Week and Four Seasons Activity!” It will help your students name the days of the week in order and name the four seasons. Flip Books Anchor Charts Pocket Charts Posters Printables Included are: 7 Color posters of the Days of the Week and The Four Seasons 7 color and black and white vocabulary cards of Days of the Week (both picture and word) 7 color and black and white vocabulary cards of The Four Seasons ( both picture and word) 2 flap books 2 printables 4 Day Lesson Plans Have fun with your new students! ⭐⭐Unit 13 ESL Idioms ESL Teaching Made Fun With This Engaging Idiom Unit! This packet is to help our ELL/ESL students understand that Idioms are combinations of words that have a different meaning than the literal meaning of each phrase. It includes a 6 day lesson plan. Can be used in many ways! Memory, Find My Match, Pocket Chart, Anchor Chart, Go Fishing, Flap Books, Puzzles, My Book of Idioms! Take a look at the PREVIEW! Included: •34 Idioms with meanings (color and black and white) • 34 idiom pictures and 34 meanings only (color and black and white) • 7 flap books, back page is blank • Writing Printable • 34 puzzles in color and black and white • 6 Day Lesson Plans ⭐⭐Unit 14: ESL Newcomer Alphabet Flap Books ESL Activities: Teach your children the alphabet by using Flap Books. The first slide is "Editable" so you can change text or picture! So much fun! Included: 26 Flap Books (One top page and one bottom page for each letter of the alphabet.) Uses the sentence frame... A is for ______
Beat the overwhelm of teaching an absolute beginner with this downloadable checklist
Paul Dupont is a French citizen who travels to the UK with his wife. She cannot speak English, so he will have to face different situations: at passport control, at the train station, at the hotel, at the restaurant, at the clothes shop, at the foreign exchange office and at the post office.These sample dialogues might be adapted for different role plays. - ESL worksheets
If your non-English speaking students aren't ready to do the regular class work, what should you have them do instead? This handy tool can help.
I’ve written a lot in the past, and shared student work, about using Instagram and Vine videos with English Language Learners to learn academic vocabulary. Last week, I shared how I was going…
