Injecting fun into the Australian Curriculum!
This adult ESL curriculum bundle for beginner ESL includes my bestselling grammar, reading, vocabulary, and speaking lessons with worksheets and activities. Your adult ESL or high school ELL newcomers will love these activities that get them using English in real-life contexts. These no-prep lessons will empower English learners by helping them gain skills and confidence! Created by a veteran adult ESL teacher, these materials are way better than a textbook and will save you a lot of time. As an adult ESL teacher, I got frustrated trying to find quality resources for my students - so I created my own! Teaching English to beginners can be a real challenge. These easy-to-use, visually appealing, engaging, and complete lessons will make teaching English a breeze. There are over 400 pages of teaching material in this bundle! You could easily spread these lessons out over a whole school year. Each lesson comes with step-by-step instructions for the teacher - you can even use them as sub plans. The topics of the lessons are geared toward older learners, and there is no childish clipart. Included Products: I. Beginner Adult ESL Vocabulary Activities Worksheets & Flashcards (I recommend starting with these): 16 no-prep vocabulary lessons for beginners on daily routines, jobs, clothing, classroom items, food, money, family, body parts, calendar, emotions, opposites, skills and abilities, transportation, health problems, medical help, and classroom verbs. Beginner English learners need visual aids and scaffolded activities that progress from controlled to open-ended and communicative. These activities will introduce a manageable number of new vocabulary words and related grammar. By the end of the lessons, the students will be able to use this new language to communicate! These activities are appropriate for adults and teens - there is no childish clip art. The lessons can be taught in no particular order! Included in Each Vocabulary Resource: Teacher's page with step-by-step instructions on how to go through the vocabulary lessons and activities worksheets. There are several ideas for differentiating instruction if you have a multi-level class. These are no-prep lessons that even a sub could use! Worksheets with engaging, scaffolded activities and images geared toward older learners. You can print the worksheets or use them as digital, fillable PDFs. See below for specific learning objectives. Flashcards (320 total) with images geared toward adults. The clothing and food flashcards come in two versions - color and black and white. Another teacher's page with ideas for flashcard activities and games II. 15 No-Prep Grammar Lessons For each of the 15 grammar points, you'll get: 1. A detailed lesson plan that walks the teacher through each step of the lessons. The lessons follow a PPP (present, practice, produce) structure. These can be used as sub plans! 2. All accompanying materials for the lesson: A grammar presentation on the meaning, form, and use of the grammar point with examples of the grammar in context Grammar explanation handouts for students to refer to and study Scaffolded, engaging activities that focus on a communicative approach: warm-up activities, fill-in-the-blank, sentence completion, surveys, speaking activities and writing tasks. The worksheets can be printed for classroom use or used as digital, fillable PDFs if you are teaching online. 3. Answer key Beginner Grammar Lessons in This Bundle (I recommend teaching in this order): The Be Verb Questions with the Be Verb The Simple Present Nouns & Pronouns Articles A, An, The Count and Noncount Nouns The Present Progressive Modals of Ability (can/can't, could/couldn't, be able to) Adjectives Adverbs Conjunctions (and, or, so, but, yet) Prepositions of Place Prepositions of Time The Imperative Phrasal Verbs III. 20 Fiction Reading Passages with Activities - Maria Series - For Beginner and Intermediate ESL These adult ESL reading comprehension passages with questions and activities are perfect for beginner and intermediate-level adults and high school ELL newcomers. Students will be able to relate to these topics and they will hone important reading comprehension and vocabulary skills. These are perfect for teaching a multi-level class! No prep required. These reading passages are about Maria, an English learner from Mexico who is living in the U.S. Here are the topics for each passage: Meet Maria - Get to know Maria! I recommend using this passage first. Maria Likes to Cook - This passage is about Maria's passion for cooking Maria Shops - This reading has vocabulary and phrases that people use when grocery shopping. Maria's Daily Routine - This reading has the simple present verb tense, times of the day, and time signal words like usually, sometimes, after, and next. Maria's Apartment - This reading has there is and there are, the simple present verb tense, and prepositions of location. Maria's Best Friend - This passage is about the similarities and differences between Maria and her best friend. It has the simple present verb tense and language for comparing and contrasting. There is a Venn diagram activity. Maria Bakes a Cake - This reading has the simple present verb tense and takes the reader through a simple process - baking a cake! Maria Applies for a Job - This reading is about Maria applying for a job at a bakery. Maria Goes on a Trip - In this reading, Maria and her son, Luis, go on a trip to San Diego! Maria Gets Sick - Maria gets a cold and has a telemedicine appointment with her doctor. Maria's Job Interview - Maria has an interview at Slice of Heaven Bakery. Maria's First Day - Maria starts working at the bakery. Maria's Coworkers - This passage describes Maria's coworkers. Maria Goes to a Birthday Party - It's time for some fun! Maria and her friends go to a backyard birthday party. Maria Goes on a Date - Love is in the air! Maria and Phil go on a date. Maria Is in Love - Maria and Phil are in love. Maria's Broken Heart - Maria deals with a tough breakup. Maria Feels Sad - Maria's friends help her heal her broken heart. Maria Goes Camping - Maria and her girlfriends enjoy the great outdoors. Maria and Hector - Maria has feelings for Hector. But is she willing to risk their friendship? Students will be able to relate to these topics and they will hone important reading comprehension skills. There are simple multiple-choice questions for beginners on the first page. For higher level students, there are more challenging comprehension questions and paragraph writing activities that will connect the topic of the reading passages to students' lives. IV. 7 Nonfiction Biography Reading Passages with Activities for Beginner and Intermediate ESL The reading passages are about: Climate activist Greta Thunberg Chimpanzee expert Jane Goodall Pakistani activist Malala Yousafzai Civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. Apple founder Steve Jobs South African activist and leader Nelson Mandela Nobel Prize winning physicist Marie Curie These lessons comes with: Pre-reading activities to spark student's interest (build schema) and get students familiar with new vocabulary words from the passages. Multiple choice questions that are perfect for beginners and short-answer questions for intermediate-level students. Students can work at their own pace and complete what is doable for them. Writing activities that will connect to the topic of the reading passage to students' lives. Print worksheets or use as digital, fillable PDFs! Teacher's Guides with several ideas for differentiation and using the reading passages in different ways. Answer keys included. These come with Teacher's Guides with several ideas for using the reading passages in different ways. Answer keys included. Use these reading lessons if you are short on prep time, or you can use them as sub plans! V. Speaking Lessons & Activities for ESL - Useful Phrases for Conversation Teach your adult ESL students or high school ELL newcomers English conversation skills and discussion skills with these 12 engaging, no-prep speaking activities! With these activities, students will use common phrases for real-life, communicative tasks. These activities will give students the language and communication skills they need for academic contexts, professional communication, business English, and everyday conversation. Way better than a textbook! These speaking lessons include: 12 no-prep lessons that teach over 150 common phrases for saying hello and goodbye making small talk asking for clarification asking for and giving advice discussing opinions agreeing and disagreeing communicating in class (classroom phrases) making requests interrupting politely ways of saying "thank you" and "you're welcome" apologizing expressing sympathy Scaffolded activities that go from controlled to open-ended and communicative: Fill-in-the-blank activities Listening activities Pair activities to practice the phrases in speaking Roleplays Group discussion activities Worksheets that can be printed or used as digital, fillable PDFs Teacher's guides with step-by-step instructions, teaching suggestions, ideas for altering the activities and answer keys VI: Adult ESL Discussion Cards for Beginners - Speaking Activities & Writing Prompts These discussion cards and prompts are perfect for adult ESL and high school ELL newcomers. They provide hours of conversation practice and can be used in a variety of ways! There are 176 question cards with simple questions that are appropriate for beginner ESL students who are culturally diverse. No more spending hours trying to come up with questions for your beginners! I've done the work for you. This resource comes with a teacher's guide with several activity ideas to get your students practicing their English speaking and writing skills. You can use these cards for ice breakers, warm-ups, bell-ringers, writing tasks, grammar review, group activities, pair activities, or individual tasks. You can plan en
Have you ever felt like as a teacher, you’re doing most of the work to learn, organize, pace, and dispense the curriculum while your students sit back passively waiting for you to tell them w…
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*The list keeps growing - there are six now! Ted Talks are increasingly popular with educators for use with the faculty as well as the students. However, it can be tricky to find just the right talk for the occasion since there are so many available. There's also the problem of occasional profanity or inappropriate ...
Need a quick way to introduce new content that will grab your students' attention? You can be sure that at least one of these five engaging strategies will be perfect for your lesson!
How are you doing with teaching non-fiction, informational texts? Do you feel you have a good grasp on expository text structures? With the Common Core ELA standards, students are expected to be proficient in reading complex informational texts. State assessments are also becoming more non-fiction focused, to evaluate student abilities in navigating these complex texts. So what can we do to help our students meet these standards? The purpose of this post is to provide a few resources for teaching non-fiction, in preparation for the higher levels of achievement students are expected to reach! The ideas shared are perfect for upper
Step-by-step instructions for using this engaging instructional strategy; video included!
Student engagement is my number one goal in the classroom. None of the academic goals can be achieved without student engagement. It is essential! My biggest advice to you is to decrease teacher talk and the time students spend in their desks.I want to share some more specific ways that I keep my students engaged
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Every English language arts teacher needs a variety of successful, student led discussion strategies that will provide opportunities for student learning.
3-Act Math Tasks are some of the most powerful learning experiences I've used in my middle school classroom. Learn about the research behind these effective teaching practices, and grab some incredible ready-to-go lessons for every grade level, primary to high school! #math #mathteacher #mathclass #3actmath #teaching
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3-Act Math Tasks are some of the most powerful learning experiences I've used in my middle school classroom. Learn about the research behind these effective teaching practices, and grab some incredible ready-to-go lessons for every grade level, primary to high school! #math #mathteacher #mathclass #3actmath #teaching
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Download this poster inspired by two resources: Universal Design for Learning in Action, Whitney Rapp’s practical UDL guide; and Teaching Everyone, a handbook from Rapp & Arndt that covers just about every aspect of inclusive education.
Check out these private teaching activities and games for your ESL lessons. Keep things fresh and interesting in your 1-1 English classes.
Inside: Spanish vocabulary games for the language classroom. The best way to “learn vocabulary” is in context. I use to give long lists of isolated words, until I switched to proficiency-based teaching and threw out my textbook. I realized my students were memorizing the words to pass a quiz, and then forgetting them. Our students really need to see
Let's explore the 3 brain networks associated with UDL. As related posts, videos, and resources are published, they will be hyperlinked below. The items that are not currently hyperlinked represent great content that will be offered in the near future, so please bookmark this post and check back often.
Teaching and learning homophones can be tons of fun! Many reading programs introduce the concept of homophones in second grade. Homophones are words that sound alike but are spelled differently and have a different meaning. Students need to be able to tell the difference in the meanings of these words and to use the correct […]
A technique of movement and negotiation that prompts students to consider connections not previously seen in their own reading of course materials.
Team 16 will be starting long division in Math next week. Here is a preview:
Via Susan Oxnevad
In an excerpt from his new book, Teaching Students to Dig Deeper: The Common Core in Action, Ben Johnson provides teachers with a better understanding of the nature of the advanced thinking.
Nick Rose explains how Aristotle's modes of persuasion apply to fantasy football, how each can help, and, more importantly, the dangers of each.
10 simple ways to get your students moving to learn. On this blog post Room 213 shares classroom-tested strategies that are sure to engage.
Are you noticing some gaps in your curriculum? Are you looking for some new, creative ideas for how to fill these holes in your ELA curriculum? This post gives you 10 creative ideas for how to fill holes in your secondary ELA curriculum.
Kids, well, all people really, LOVE choice! That's why I created these reading choice boards.
Hello, this is Lindsay Jervis, from Pursuit of Joyfulness and Lindsay's Kodaly Inspired Classroom (on facebook). “The most important thing is to actualize the instinctive love of the child for singing and playing, to realize the changing of his moods through the songs, his feelings, his experiences. . . in other words, to bring about the miracle of music.” (Adám, in The Kodály Concept, 1966, p. 2) But HOW do we keep them singing as they get older? I really do believe that the love of music and singing must be something that is instilled from a very young age (most likely before they even enter our classrooms) because of the exposure to music and their musical experience in the home, but that being said, I do believe what we do once them come to elementary school can have a profound impact on what they think of music and music class and whether they WANT to continue in music as they go on through schooling and life. With the little ones, I have always felt this comes easy. Song, stories, and play are so much a part of what they love to do. With the old grades (I'm thinking 3rd-5th), you have to carefully select music, games, and activities that have just the right amount of challenge to peak their interest, keep them engaged, and meet their skill level without becoming too difficult that they give up and become frustrated. In my psychology of Music Ed class last semester we talked about the inverted U - as the challenge goes up, the performance and enjoyment of the students goes up until they reach their skill peak. After that peak, students feel stress, anxiety and give up on the task or "think it's stupid". This is where it is really important to know where your kids are at and select appropriate songs for them. The songs cannot be too babyish (even if the students really are beginners and need to practice things like steady beat and basic rhythm or tonal patterns). I still really consider my older students to be older beginners. I started at my school three years ago and my kids had NO method of reading rhythms or pitches when I got there, so that coupled with my maternity leave my 2nd year there, and they are still not quite up to speed, but that is ok. It is better to go at the pace of the students and do developmentally appropriate literature than push ahead for the sake of staying "on grade level". Here are some songs and games that I have done with my students. In some of these cases, we have used them to isolate rhythm or melodic concepts, but some we have used purely for the joy they bring students while participating. If you find a song that students can't wait to sing/play again- it's a GEM! Hang onto it! You know this one is a gem when I have 5th graders still request it every time they earn a free day. The game is very simple. Students are seated in a circle with their hands behind their back. One student is "it". I call it the "detective" with the older kids and for some reason that is cooler than "it". The first time we play I go around the outside of the circle with a key hidden in my hand. I hide the key in someone's hands. Once I have made it around the circle once, I stop and the detective gets three guesses to try to figure out where the key is. This song is great for older beginners because of the easy rhythms, it is also great for teaching re. With my older beginners I started melody with mi re do instead of sol-mi. Pre-made visuals for this song available here. This song is great for teaching sixteenth notes and the game is a lot of fun. Set up students in a double circle. Inside circle will move clockwise, outside circle will move counterclockwise during the song. Select two chicken farmers. They stand facing away from the circle on opposite sides of the circle. All students in the circles join hands and teacher selects one "window" in each circle. On the last word of the song (I only use verse 1 when playing the game), the selected partners hold their arms up to create a window. The two farmers must race, only going through the "open windows" to get to the middle. I usually borrow a rubber chicken from my PE teacher to throw in the middle. The kids think it is hilarious. This play party is played in longways sets with two lines facing each other (typically one line of boys and one line of girls). Verse 1, the first girl skips around both lines and back to her place. Verse 2, "pretty little Susie skips around set and boys line follows until all are back in their places. Verse 3, cast off, or "peel the banana", head couple forms an arch at the bottom of the set and everyone goes under the arch and the song starts over with a new head couple. Use when preparing and practicing tiri-tiri. If you would like visuals and assessment tools like the one below for this song, you can find some here. I use this song when preparing and practicing tiri-ti. I have one person travel around the circle with two envelopes. Ones says "Ida Red" the other says "Ida Blue". Inside each envelope is an action like crawl, skip, gallop, twirl, crabwalk, hop on one foot, etc. On the last word of the song, the person with the envelopes stops between the two closest people and hands an envelope to each. They take out one card then when I say go, they race around the circle performing that action. If I feel one has an unfair advantage (like crab walk vs. run), I can make one go around twice. The winner gets to be "it" and the game resumes. This one is great for low la! The following two songs were a lot of fun for my fifth grades to create an arrangement of for our Fall Program last year. We used these plus "Who Has Seen the Wind" and added ostinato patterns and added Orff instruments. Each class was responsible for arranging how they wanted to perform the song. They might have chosen to singing sing just the ostinato, then add the melody, then sing and play on barred instruments, and then sing a capella as they traded spots with the next class who was moving onto the barred instruments. It was different for each class and it allowed for them to take something that we were working on in class, take ownership and polish it so that it was something we could present to parents. I used Mamalama strictly for the joy of it last year. It was a great "ice breaker" game for back to school time. My kids loved the challenge of learning the words. I had one girl nail it the first week, which was really cool. You could use this in prepping for fa but it is probably not one that I would use to present fa. This is another one that was played for the joy of it. My kids aren't to low ti yet and the syncopated rhythms are a bit above my kids, but they still need to sing and play this hand clapping game because it is fun. Here's a video of the hand clapping game:
Are your students spinning, twirling, and turning objects or even themselves? They are exploring the rotation schema. This blog post explores the rotation play schema in detail and gives you 46 engaging activities you can use to support the rotation play schema in your classroom.
Thanks to Jackie at Room 213 for organizing this blog hop! It's so true, right? When I think about my own experiences as a learner, the times that I made the most profound instructional gains were when I felt that my teacher truly knew me and believed in me as a student. That's why I believe that the best learning always occurs when students feel a connection with their teacher...when they know that their teacher cares about them as a person. If you're reading this, then you already know that students don't care a bit about what they are being taught until they know that their teacher cares a bit about them. Any teacher checking out a blog about learning and instruction is one who is invested in their profession. So, the ideas that I'm about to share are probably not new...in fact, I bet you have a few ways that you build caring and compassion into your own instruction that I'd love to read about! However, I hope that these ideas remind us all about why we became teachers in the first place. We love learning. We love students. And showing them both each day is what matters. How often do you hand back a piece of student work to see them quickly scan for the grade and then toss it into a folder...or worse the garbage? That's why I love writing students fun notes on their papers. Instead of "good job," I like to write comments that show I know and care about them, like "Wow, use figurative language in your writing as well as you shoot 3-pointers!" I'm a huge fan of making positive phone calls home. They're such a wonderful way to build positive relationships with students and their families. You can read all about it HERE. I love watching my students excel in the classroom, but for many of them their true talents are on display at the band concert, or on the soccer field, or during the school play. That's why I try to reserve at least one night a month to attend students' extracurricular activities. There's nothing better than the connection between that student and I the next day in class! I've always heard that the best way to get your own children to listen is to whisper your message within their earshot to someone else. I like applying the same technique with students. When talking with colleagues I love to brag about individual students within earshot of them. Spreading the word about the great things kids are doing is super important! When the bell rings at the start of each class, I'm at the door to greet my students. I love giving them the impression that I can't wait to see them. It sets the tone for a caring classroom before the class even begins! On the first day of school I let my students know that I will be holding them to the highest behavior and academic standards. I want them to achieve beyond anything they have ever done before. That means that there are classroom management procedures in place. It also means that they might be redoing their work to meet my standards. This is the "tough love" part of showing them that I care. OK, this may be obvious, but I'll never forget when I was student teaching and my supervising teacher kept telling her students day-after-day how much she loved them. I was in awe of this. I've followed her lead and tell my students how much I care about them and my profession all the time...even when I'm stressed and tired and overwhelmed. I love creating homework and classwork with students' actual names in the assignments. I'm careful to make sure that their names are associated with positive things and connected to activities and hobbies they care about. It's not hard to do and kids love seeing their names in print. Celebrating students' learning and achievements is super important. I love to do it in little ways like hanging their work around the classroom and in big ways like planning events to celebrate their learning. As you know, teachers are human, too. One of the ways that I show students that I care about them is by trusting them with stories from my own life. I share information about my family, my life successes, and times when I have struggled. Sharing builds important connections. At the end of the (school) day, teaching is not about standardized tests, curriculum requirements, paperwork, data, and reports. I think it's about creating an environment where students want to learn because they know that their teachers care about their profession...and most importantly each of them. I love learning about my students through their own work as well. Units like this MEMOIR Writing Unit and this NARRATIVE Writing Unit are an awesome way to engage students in their learning and gain insight into their lives at the same time! Oh, and click HERE for a printable of the 'Teachers Care' poster (prints on legal-sized paper) and HERE for a printable of the 'Learning' poster (prints on standard-sized paper). Thanks for stopping by!
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Teachers should still implement read alouds in their virtural classroom Learn how to make it easy to read to students remotely.
Are you looking for ways to teach similes like a Rockstar? You’ve come to the right place! Students will be engaged while they learn about figurative language. It will also help you when you are discussing word choice in writing and author’s craft in reading! Read on to learn
Celebrating Think-Pair-Share, the Little Strategy That Could, and sharing some best practices for making it work for you.
