What is a clause? A clause is a grammatical form that has a subject and a predicate. Two main types are independent and dependent clauses. Different types of clauses are explained here with the help of examples.
Discover the essential rules and tips for mastering punctuation in English!
I mean...why WOULDN'T you use cootie catchers in your reading block? It makes perfect sense. Ok - remember last week how I was talking about doing a little spring cleaning with some of my TpT resources? Well, I did a little spring cleaning in my file folders on my computer as well. Yikes. Now THAT'S a bit of a rabbit hole. I got in a little deeper than I wanted to, but I figured I might as well finish the job. I got rid of a lot (a LOT) of cringe worthy products that just didn't make the cut anymore, and I got some major organizing done as well. BUT - you know what I found? THIS >>> It's a reading comprehension cootie catcher that I TOTALLY forgot I made! And since it resurfaced for me - I thought I'd resurface it for you! I'm sure I made it for you guys in the first place, but I can't for the life of me find it anywhere on the blog. There's actually 3 different versions. They have different comprehension questions that can be used with any fictional book. They work great as a quick partner review game. You can download them here! Find any long-lost things in your spring cleaning, lately? Pin and Share this freebie:
This is a fun worksheet to practice the present perfect tense. Students look at the pictures and describe what has just happened.
What are Modal Verbs? Types with Examples In English, In this blog, You will learn about Modal Verbs with Examples In English
Learn three simple things you need to teach your ESL beginners right away. These include variations of introductions, classroom surroundings and basic needs
We're mixing pen and paper with digital in our blended classrooms, and everything's going great. At first (for me) it was just about throwing in some digital
This is a fun activity to practice the simple past. Students look at the images and talk about what Harry did on holiday.
This Finish the Drawing boy worksheet lets your child complete a picture using his own illustrations. Use our Finish the Drawing boy worksheet with your child.
Traditional British sweet oat bar treat. They’re soft, chewy and super easy to make! Today I’m sharing one of my favourite childhood treats. Classic British flapjacks are gooey, butter…
This worksheet is great for practicing the past continuous tense. Students need to use a verb in the simple past and a verb in the past continuous.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_cNCsj_ZMYQ Are you ready to discover new ways to engage your students in primary science? I want to help you! Sign up to my mailing list to receive the printable template for this engaging sunflower foldable activity. Children can sequence the parts of the sunflower life cycle from seed to adult plant whilst creating a […]
Differentiate is likely a word you have heard a million and one times as a teacher. We hear we need to differentiate assignments for our students, but no one really takes the time to explain what that looks like in the classroom. Try out these 6 strategies to differentiate any assignment.
First before starting any thing I'm not an expert in books annotation, I started it recently and this is what I learnt ...
These visual tools allow students to synthesize learning, but some kids don't think they're talented enough to make them. A bit of creative constraint helps.
Expand your vocabulary with this list of positive words, A - Z. We think in words, and those words shape our lives. What are your words to live by?
Do you feel like getting your students to speak English is a constant struggle? Have you used up all the resources you could think of and are now at a loss what to do next? Are you wondering where to find real-life materials that would spark an engaging conversation in your ESL classroom? Look no further! 25 Authentic Speaking Activities for Your ESL Classroom will absolutely transform your conversation class! Here is what you will find in this ebook: - An introductory video that explains who this ebook is for and how to use it - 25 picture prompts and 25 accompanying lesson plans with suggested teaching sequence and ideas - word banks and related idioms/metaphors/high-frequency phrases - sentence starters to help your beginner level students - questions to start a classroom, group or one-on-one discussion - a variety of writing/discussion activities - lessons that are geared towards beginners and intermediate level English learners - lessons that are perfect for the middle, high school, and adult learners The conversation prompts are divided into 7 topics that roughly follow my Beginner ESL Teaching Checklist (you can find it in my store for frre) which has been hugely popular with students and teachers alike. 1. Food 2. People 3. Shapes and colors 4. Animals 5. Clothes 6. Hobbies 7. Free time Are you ready for some conversation? Make sure to visit my website www.simplyieva.com for ESL teaching resources and teacher support. Hang out with me in my Facebook group Join the fun on Instagram -@simplyievaesl Like and follow my YouTube channel - Simply Ieva ESL Follow me on Pinterest - @simplyieva Should you have any questions, please reach out to me at [email protected]
Have you been wondering, what the heck is a one-pager? Are you ready to discover the OODLES of ways you can use it in your classes? Click through to find many engaging ways to use a one-pager with your secondary ELA students today.
This Finish the Drawing TV worksheet gets your child to think, imagine, and draw. Use this Finish the Drawing TV worksheet with your child.
Beat the overwhelm of teaching an absolute beginner with this downloadable checklist
Sourdough discard english muffins are a delicious and practical way to use up all of your extra discard. This simple recipe not only helps minimize food waste but also allows you to create a whole new meal from something that would otherwise be discarded. No fancy flours or cornmeal needed for these homemade english muffins!
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.
10 Real Tips for Improving your English. If you follow these tips I'm sure you're going to be able to improve your English. Tip number one is ...
Whether you’re a brand new teacher or you’ve been at this for a while, the first week of school is a crazy, roller-coaster ride of a week. Students' emotions are intense this week, and so are yours as their teacher. Plus, a lot more administrative stuff is asked of you. It can be a tough week, to put it mildly. What you need to make that first week run smoothly is a strong plan that allows everyone to feel safe. So, I went ahead and planned that week for you. I’ve laid it all out here. It includes ways to connect with your students (on their terms); it also allows for you to begin equipping them with what they need to be successful in your class. Over the last two decades, here are a few things I've found to be the most important things to focus on that first week: That students get a sense of who you are--that you are knowledgeable and caring That you start building relationships and rapport with your students, but on their terms That you start establishing class norms, routines, and expectations That you start getting into the material of the course in a way that sets them up to do well in your class Everything you do that first week should have one or more of those elements in mind. I've got a lot of FREE LESSONS in this post. If you want to jump straight to those, click here. Without further ado, here's your first week of school, planned. Monday: Welcome and Writing When I was a brand-new teacher I did icebreakers that first day and then I would talk for a solid 30 minutes about my syllabus. Whatever you do, don’t do that. That was not a great plan because it threatened some students (icebreakers are hard), and then it bored all of them (syllabi are boring). Here’s a much better plan that I discovered over the years with help from colleagues: Save your syllabus for the second day of school. The first day of school is filled with so much listening for your students, and it’s exhausting for them. But when I say “listening,” I don’t really mean that they hear and register what the teacher is saying. It’s more like the listening that appears to be happening when a group of students is sitting at desks silently. They aren’t talking, but they aren’t listening. Because who could actually take all that information in when they’ve heard 5 other syllabi presentations that day? What’s more, why even bother listening if all that information is printed on the syllabus? They can just read it when they have questions. If you do your syllabus the first day of school, that's fine, but only spend 10-15 minutes on it. Instead of talking at length through your syllabus, have them do this first-day-of-school activity. This activity allows you to give your students either a set of questions geared toward their history as a reader and a writer or a creative writing opportunity to see what their writing style is like (which can work great for more advanced classes or creative writing classes). You can grab this lesson and over 100 more resources when you become a member of the English Teacher Vault! My History as a Reader and Writer Assignment One of the options in this activity asks students a set of questions about their history as a reader and as a writer. These questions are broad as well as specific and work great with 9th-11th graders. Have them write for a pretty big chunk of the class period. Then, over the next several days you can read through these and get a sense of who your students are in a way that did not require them to embarrass themselves or think of something clever that rhymes with their names. Having students create name plates on that first day of school that they then bring back all week is also incredibly helpful as you start learning names. I go into a lot more details about this lesson in this blog post “Want An Outstanding Activity For The First Day of School?” One added benefit of this activity for the first day of school is that it immediately gets students writing in your classroom, and they will start to relate your class with a place where meaningful writing is going to happen. It sets the tone. I like to start with a narrative writing unit early in the school year, and this first-day activity is narrative writing. Some students could later draw from what they’ve started here and develop it into a longer narrative writing piece. Tuesday: Syllabus, Accounts, and Norms Briefly, cover your syllabus. For Tuesday, hit the high points of your syllabus if you didn't go over it Monday, but do not read the syllabus to your students. I find it best to explain the late work policy, when you are available to respond to emails, and what your “office hours” are. Besides these things, students can read what’s on your syllabus. It’s also helpful to have your syllabus designed as an infographic that draws students’ attention to key places and lets them take the information in quickly and easily. We have an editable syllabus template in the English Teacher Vault that you can make your own when you become a member! Set up accounts. If students need to set up any type of account for your classroom, this is the day to do it. Set aside 10 minutes for students to do this and then move on. Establish classroom norms. The most important thing you will do on day two is to establish your classroom norms for the year. If you are not familiar with the concept of classroom norms, this will revolutionize how you handle classroom management, especially with secondary students. High school students are transitioning between childhood and adulthood, so it’s important they have some voice in what the expectations are for them at school. They have more ownership this way and more buy-in. If this is all totally new to you, please jump over to this blog post and take 5 minutes to read all about what classroom norms are and the benefits of using them in your secondary classroom. In this blog post, my former colleague, Sam Bradford breaks down what norms are and how you can set them up early in the school year. Essentially, norms are principles decided upon by all your students--they are not rules that the teacher created and imposes on students. They are short and easy to remember, and they should also be revisited frequently. You can have your students brainstorm individually, and then work in small groups to start developing the classroom norms. As a class, you will ultimately decide on a handful of norms that will be your guiding principles every day. These norms might change later in the school year, and that is totally fine. They are dynamic! Here is a great free resource that walks you through how to set up norms in your high school ELA classroom: Norms Construction – A Process of Negotiation – School Reform Initiative Wednesday: Get Into Grammar Now that you’ve set up your classroom norms, you can jump into the content of your class. It’s important to get to meaningful learning in that first week to set the tone that this is a place where purposeful learning will happen. A focus on grammar is a way that students can be successful that first week, get needed review, and have the essentials that they will need to do well in your class going forward. By teaching a few highly-engaging grammar lessons this first week of school, you will set your students up for a clear path toward powerful writing for the rest of the school year. Teach vivid verbs on third day of school. Verbs are familiar to your students, but most students don’t realize the power of using action verbs instead of linking verbs. This lesson gets them there. I’ve put together a free parts of speech unit that I’d love to give to you, so you have nothing to prep on this day at all (and for several other days those first few weeks). Each lesson includes: Direct instruction on the concepts of action and liking verbs, strong nouns, adjectives, and adverbs Amazing mentor sentences that showcase the power of each part of speech Sentence frames for students to start practicing using parts of speech well A video writing prompt that will further instruct students in using the concepts in their own writing Quick writes to follow up the lesson and to allow students to work with each part of speech The free lessons will give students a sense that they have a path to becoming better writers, and your classroom is the place where that will happen. Thursday: Build On Grammar For Writing Success For the fourth day of school, continue teaching grammar in a way that is engaging, purposeful, and with a clear purpose: for students to become better writers. From time to time, it’s good to start class with a very short hands-on game to review grammar concepts. These games should be low-stakes, and early in the school year they should not be competitive. Remember, you’re working hard to create a safe place that first week. This hands-on grammar game allows students to look at mentor sentences and then determine if each sentence has a linking verb or an action verb. Students can do this activity in pairs, or you can do it as a full class. There are several variations of how you could use this game depending on the size of your class. This activity comes with the free parts of speech unit! After this game, jump into a lesson on using strong nouns. I know what you are probably thinking, “My high school students know all about nouns.” And I hear you, and I get that. They do know a thing or two about nouns, but let me tell you what this lesson does and does not do: It does not: Require students write down the definition of nouns Require students do tedious worksheets finding nouns It does: Challenge students to think about how to use nouns intentionally Remind students of the difference between concrete and abstract nouns Immediately give students a chance to write meaningful prose using nouns intentionally Let students have a little fun thinking about and playing around with nouns If you’re worried that around this time (two grammar lessons in two days) your students will start to moan, whine, and complain that “grammar is boring,” or that they “know all this already,” or that “there’s no point in knowing grammar,” let me say this can be your response: Grammar is a tool for better writing. It is my strong belief that knowing grammar is indeed useless if you are only memorizing a bunch of terms (i.e. an adjective modifies a noun or pronoun). It's also useless if students are only working with grammar in isolation on worksheets or drills that don't affect their writing. The purpose of grammar is for students to understand how language works, so they can apply those concepts to their own writing, creating powerful pieces of writing that let their voices be heard and even effect change. That’s it in a nutshell, but if you want to read more so that you are ready for your students (totally valid) questions regarding the point of grammar, check out this blog post,
As the school year comes to a close, you might be looking at your calendar thinking, what on earth am I going to do with these random extra days? Or maybe you have room on your calendar for a final unit, but no idea what to do with your students. I’ve got your solution right he
Filler Activities for ELA (blog post) What can you do with five extra minutes in secondary ELA? Here are a few ideas to engage students until the bell.
This is a fun worksheet to practice the present continuous tense. Students have to look at the pictures and write what the people are doing.
Check out the top ESL conversation activities for adults—make your English speaking classes fun, engaging and filled with happy students.
