Here is a list of my most favorite ESL teaching resources: books, websites and simply products that make my life as an ESL teacher easier!

| Into the Driver's Seat

An educational blog for sharing ideas, strategies and resources that support teachers of English Language Learners.

Prefixes and suffixes in first grade? Kindergarten ? What?! I'm not sure who decided teaching them so early was the way to go but never fear...

Beat the overwhelm of teaching an absolute beginner with this downloadable checklist

Learn Creative ESL Teaching Notes and Ideas.

Teaching English as second language (ESL), which websites do you use for preparing lesson plan, classroom activities, teaching resources and materials? These are some of the websites we know.

We are about to start our Fiction unit in 3rd grade where I teach. I always find that kids love fiction much more than non-fiction--probably because it is more imaginative. Fiction is fun to teach as well! There are so many wonderful books to use with fiction units! Here are a few we use to introduce (or reintroduce) the students to fiction! We use many more books, of course, but these are some of my favorites! They are full of wonderful characters, great changes with the characters and other amazing uses of the fiction story elements. We always start with an anchor chart--explaining what a Fiction book is! Here is an example: Fiction books have many different parts (elements)--Here is an anchor chart that I found on pinterest, it shows the basic story elements! We have our students create one of these to glue in their reading spiral notebook! I also love this page for the kids to put in their notebook! It is an easy way to remember that the elements are all part of the big "fiction" picture. Here is a link to it! After we do the initial teach of fiction and the different elements, we have students practice all year through responses and graphic organizers. The more they are familiar with the different story elements, the more comfortable they are answering questions about them. Here are a few of the graphic organizers and links to print them--some are younger level (for differentiation) and some are on grade level. Story Map-1st Grade Response I haven't made this yet--but I love it! Story Map--Any Grade! (Take out Theme for lower grades!) I have used this graphic organizer for enrichment activity before--the kids really enjoy it! Or they can use a friend instead of themselves. (Nice words only though!) :) Another great enrichment (or even whole group if you have them time) activity is to create a foldable with the different fiction elements. We are going to do this at the end of our unit--so I don't have any pictures yet...but I know the kids will love it! We will use this tool to assess the student's learning of fiction elements. The students will create the foldable--label it with the different parts, then fill in the parts from a book we have already read in class. Learning made fun! Yay! :) Here is one last resource that I hope you will enjoy! Our principal is huge into technology--which is great! He is in the process of trying to get an ipad in every classroom. The process is slow because they are expensive--but I believe there are at about 20 or so on the campus now, not too shabby! I do not have a school one, because I have a personal one (no need to have two.) But, this is a free educational ipad app called Toontasic! It has a lot of different features, but one thing you can do is create your own story map--and create your own characters, problems, and solutions for the characters. This is new for me...but looks like FUN for the kids! I am going to try it out next week with my kids! As you have noticed--character is a huge part of fiction so we actually teach those two concepts in the same week! We try to tie it all in together. There are a TON of resources out there...too many to list. I hope this helps you in your classroom though! I always believe that the more resources you have...the less likely the kids will get bored. :) Have a great weekend! 

What are language functions? LFs are the "reasons" we use language; it's our purpose, or goal, when we express ourselves. Perhaps we want to express our needs or wants, explain a process, describe an experience, or persuade someone to do something. Whatever the purpose, we use language to perform these functions. Examples of Language Functions: -express wants/needs -sequence -compare/contrast -opinion -persuade -inform -describe -analyze -cause/effect -summarize -ask questions Students use language functions in every grade level and across all content areas, so what better way to set English learners up for success than by explicitly teaching the academic language needed to successfully use language functions. Here is how this looks in my ESOL classroom. Planning I like to plan certain LF units during specific times of year. For example, Compare/Contrast is fun in the fall due to apples and pumpkins. Cause/Effect is great in the winter because I like to use the topic of seasonal changes on plants and animals. Opinion/Persuade is great in the spring because I use the topic of plastic pollution, which ties into Earth Day. I sprinkle other LF units throughout the year, but those three I pretty much keep at the same time each year. You could teach any LF at any time of the year; it's very flexible. Each unit, in my classroom, lasts about 3-4 weeks, but again, it's flexible. Which language functions will my students need in order to be successful with the grade level content? When I sit down to plan a unit, I brainstorm science and social studies topics that my students will be learning about during year, then I pick the LF and topic I want to focus on. When we connect LF units with the content our students are, or will be, learning in their general education classrooms, it gives students the language tools and confidence they need to participate and succeed. Language Functions Planning Process This is the tool I use to plan out my language function units. It helps me map out the BIG picture first, then hone in on the details. The main components of my planning are: 1- identify the language function 2- identify content areas topics 3- create learning targets 4- locate activities to support the four language domains 5- determine the scaffolds needed Learning Targets I like to backwards plan by first identifying what I want my students to be able to do by the end of each LF unit. This becomes the learning target(s) for the unit. I have targets for both expressive (speaking and writing) and interpretive (listening and reading) language. A focus on the verb is important because it's what we want students to do, for example: identify, use, label, illustrate, explain, etc. The learning targets are then posted and referenced throughout each unit. Activities Once I've identified the learning targets, I start collecting activities and resources at various proficiency levels to practice viewing, listening, reading, speaking and writing skills. I also think about how I'll build background knowledge for the topic. I love to incorporate videos, so YouTube, BrainPOP Jr. and EPIC Books are places I typically go to first for engaging video resources. Building background knowledge using a short video is highly effective, IMO. It's an engaging way to get students talking about what they already know or think about a topic. This planning phase is all about finding materials that will help facilitate the language function. Since I work with a wide variety of proficiency and grade levels, I need a variety of resources. Here are some of my favorites for the 4 language domains. Listening I primarily use videos for this domain. I tell my students what to listen for and will stop the video in designated places to give them time to process and respond. Again, my top 3 places to find videos in order of preference are YouTube, BrainPOP Jr (paid subscription) and EPIC Books. EPIC has some really great videos, and it's a free resource! ReadWorks.org is another great site. The reading passages there have an audio component, so it's not a video, but it's an article read aloud. You could create your own questions for the article, but comprehension question are already provided for each passage. Nice! Reading For reading materials I look through my school's bookroom first. Then I check out Reading A-Z (a subscription my school pays for), Readworks.org, EPIC books (both are free), another online subscription resource from Benchmark Education, and lastly my own collection of books. Reading Materials for Cause and Effect The picture above shows some of the reading materials I gathered for my cause and effect unit. I searched for resources that demonstrated how changes in climate or weather impact plants and animals. Reading Materials for Opinion/Persuade As you can see, I'm a "spreader outer." By spreading out all of my resources during this planning phase, I can quickly see what I have and what I still need. Speaking I want my students talking everyday, so we do a variety of speaking activities in my ELD groups. This is probably the number one reason why I love the pull-out model of instruction, but that's a blog post for another day. Some activities I use are talking mats, games, class discussions, partner talks and simply sharing our thinking. Oral language is the foundation of language and literacy so I'm intentional about providing structured (and unstructured) opportunities for students to use oral language each time we meet. Talking Mat Activity for Cause and Effect Students chose the cards they wanted to talk about, then used the sentence frame as needed. One of my favorite speaking activities is having students record a Flipgrid video. They always moan about it at first, but then they get into it and enjoy watching and responding to their classmates' videos. It's also a great way to measure progress. You have recorded examples of your students speaking throughout the year! I like to jot down notes while I listen (and re-listen) to their recordings. This helps me target certain areas that my students need additional practice with, then I create or find mini-lessons for those skills. Writing Writing is integrated with listening and reading activities. Students generally have something to respond to each time we meet. (They usually write inside their ELD notebooks.) Similar to speaking, I'll have students writing at each meeting, even if it's a short task. I frequently use graphic organizers for writing responses. I like to reduce the size of the graphic organizer to about 75% and trim the edges, then I'll have students glue it into their notebooks. Opinion Writing At the end of each LF unit, there is a written or oral language component, sometimes both. It's an assessment to demonstrate their ability of applying the language function. Usually it's a prompt written in their ELD notebooks, but it could also be a digital activity. This past spring, at the end of our Opinion/Persuade unit, students had the choice to either create and present a PowerPoint presentation, record a Flipgrid video, or create and present a poster. Google Jamboard is another platform I frequently use for their end of unit writing task. Scaffolds Let's talk scaffolding for a moment. This is where we consider the specific language needs of our students and the appropriate supports for them. Scaffolds will vary from group to group. Some groups/students will need sentence frames, while others may only need sentence stems. Some groups will need more modeling than others. Some will need more visuals. Some will need extra opportunities to practice. Some might need L1 support. All will need explicit vocabulary instruction. We want to challenge our students without frustrating them, so picking appropriate scaffolding is key. Language Function Unit in Action For each unit, I display a "language board." It's a jumping off point and a reference tool that provides what the language function is, gives an example, along with key words. Next, I build some background knowledge so that students can connect to the reason we use the LF. It could be as simple as asking, "What do you already know about..." Then we dive into the plans and activities for listening, reading, speaking and writing skills. They spend the next 10-15 days practicing and using the language for the language function. Language Function Board for Opinion & Persuade Introductory Lesson for Opinion/Persuade Model OREO Opinion Writing Opinion Lesson - real life example to connect students' experiences with learning target Reading Activity- Will students' opinions about plastic bags change? Intermediate ELD group- students gave their opinion about plastic bags prior to reading. In Closing The best part about incorporating language function units into my ESL classroom is that ALL of my ELD groups are learning the same language function. This makes planning so much more manageable. Instead of planning 10 different lessons for ten different groups, all of my groups are learning the language of persuade at their language level. I love it! And more importantly, my students love it too! These units are fun, engaging, flexible and highly effective at building academic language. Do you teach language functions? If so, do you have a favorite? If not, do you want to? Here are links to some of my Language Function resources. Happy LF Teaching,

Our Spelling dictation words this week are focusing on plurals. I'm a bit worried about introducing this concept with ELL learners, so I th...

Learn three simple things you need to teach your ESL beginners right away. These include variations of introductions, classroom surroundings and basic needs

My list of top tips and resources for the new TEFL teacher; videos, songs games and advice on how to survive your first TEFL job.

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.

Our Spelling dictation words this week are focusing on plurals. I'm a bit worried about introducing this concept with ELL learners, so I thought I'd make some posters to help guide them. I'll use these with a center activity that I can ask my EA to help out with. Big thanks to Michelle, the 3 AM Teacher, and Nikki at Melonheadz Illustrating, and Mel at From the Pond for the great graphics! Click either of the images for the link to these free posters. - Amanda

Beat the overwhelm of teaching an absolute beginner with this downloadable checklist

This focus includes ongoing professional learning for staff and a weekly focus on particular aspects of spelling, including spelling rules and strategies.

Do you struggle with finding interesting ways to teach ESL listening skills? Maybe you have an activity or two already but you want to be able to mix it up and keep things interesting. By the end of…

Cards for teaching verbs to beginner ESL students. Great for activities like gesture games, Simon Says, Bingo, etc. 32 basic verbs per page. Free download.

Conjunctions are joiners or connectors that bring together words, phrases, and clauses. A few of these important words follow: And But Or Nor So For Until After Because Since To teach my son about how these words are used, I created an activity we'll be able to do again and again, with a template I'll use for practicing other skills too. To get started I printed several pages of these right and left hands. Download a 1-page PDF here. I used colored papers, but that's not necessary. After they were printed, I laminated and cut them out (including the hole inside the hand); yes, this is a bit of a pain but with a small craft knife, it went rather swiftly. Once my hands were done, I cut some small strips of paper. Now I got busy writing parts of sentences on right and left hands with a fine-tip dry-erase marker. I also wrote the conjunction that would join them on the blank slips of paper. Here are some of the sentences I used: During the race I swam and ran. I got today's mail and put it on the desk. Mom was tired after exercising at the gym. I stayed awake until the sun came up. Molly hated peas because they never stayed on her spoon. Do you want popcorn or peanuts? I do not like broccoli so I chose corn instead. By laminating, the dry-erase markers wipe clean making the hands reusable! When my son came home from school we read a great book by Brian P. Cleary. I'm a huge fan of his Words are CATegorical series and this book delivered the same whimsical illustrations I expected with the simple, clear definition of conjunctions my son needed. My son also watched Schoolhouse Rock's "Conjunction Junction" video; I remember it from when I was a kid. This little song is certainly handy (and mighty catchy too; my son was singing it later that evening)! With the hands laid on the table, it was up to my son to determine which conjunction was missing and join the hands together by looping the paper with the conjunction through the hands and stapling it. My son made quick work of the task and was excited to have joined the sentence fragments with the correct conjunctions. Next time, I might scramble the fragments to make the exercise more challenging for him.

We have been concentrating on myths in our reading/writing (to connect to the Native American unit we just wrapped up) and I wanted to share a few things we did with you. First, we read The Gift of the Sacred Dog (Reading Rainbow Book) , which is a myth to tell how the Native peoples were gifted the horse. It really was a great myth to read because it is pretty typical of all myths. We were able to really see all of the major elements found within myths. We then created a simple "door" foldable (I have no idea if that is what it is called...it is just what I called it) with all of the major traits of a myth on it. The students looked through The Gift of the Sacred Dog (Reading Rainbow Book) and picked out examples of all the major mythical traits. Next, students were given their own myths to read. In partners, they read them aloud (to work on fluency) and then picked out the major mythical traits as well. This information went on the bottom portion of the foldable so the students had a side by side comparison of the two myths. As a class, we put all the information together on a big class chart (which, of course, I did NOT take a picture of!) Doing this allowed the students to see just how universal these mythological traits were and how they could be found in one way or another within the myths. They also saw that not all of the myths had every.single trait, and that was ok too. Next, I wanted the students to transfer this knowledge into writing their own myths. The students went outside and we listened, looked, felt, and smelled nature. They then wrote all of their observations down in a circle map. Once that was done, the kids thought of one observation they wanted to "explain". It could have been why black widows have spots or why trees are rooted in the ground and can't move. We went over and over how these myths were not to be the scientific explanation, but a creative explanation that happened long ago and involved nature. After their question was chosen, the students created an answer. They had enough exposure to myths at this point to understand that I wanted them to have a creative answer that would then be explained throughout the story the were going to write. Since they knew where they were going to start, and where they wanted to finish, I asked them to fill in this myth trait chart with all of the elements they thought they would want to include. This was more of a brainstorm sheet, so if they ended up not using the ideas, that was ok. I just wanted them to begin to think about what supernatural elements, or whatnot they might include. Next, came the rough draft, followed by numerous peer revision sessions, and finally a final draft. Overall, these came out good. They seemed to get the point of the myth and how it is used in traditional cultures (which was the point of it all) and I am pleased with that. What are you working on in your reading/writing block?

If we want language to come OUT of our students’ mouths, we must get language IN to their heads. They need INput so that they can produce OUTput. » Input is reading and listening » Output is speaking and writing This is common sense. A learner cannot utter an expression in a new language if…

So, YAY! We finally sold our house and moved! What a big job...and time zapper! Thankfully we were able to find a great rental (and by great I mean good neighborhood, clean, good size, etc.) close by until we are able to move closer to home (Vermont!) Of course, with all the moving I've had very little time to blog! However, I took a little time today and got a new product up on TeachersPayTeachers - an irregular verb foldable graphic organizer. It's more of a resource, than anything else, but I'm already seeing my students pull it out and use it - so that's what I consider SUCCESS!! Like my other FGOs, there are several choices to pick from to print, so it allows for easy differentiation! To buy this graphic organizer, head on over to my TeachersPayTeachers Store!

Resources, tips, and materials to help you, help children with autism

What are your methods for teaching vocabulary? Drills? Flashcards? Yuck! Boring! While these can certainly be effective, they can be a quick way to lose your student’s attention if you spend too much…

Want to teach vocabulary without boring word lists? Here are 5 great ideas to teach ESL vocabulary and keep your students motivated!

ELL strategies for grammar instruction as you read. Teaching identification and reflection of in-context language patterns.

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,

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)

Using Kylene Beer's "Someone Wanted To But So" (SWBS) strategy to teach summarizing fiction narratives to ELLs. Aiding reading comprehension & inferencing.

Beat the overwhelm of teaching an absolute beginner with this downloadable checklist

Vocabulary instruction is so critical in today’s classroom! A vast vocabulary will help students to become better readers and writers. Vocabulary is also essential to their performance on standardized tests. Helping kids to develop their vocabulary is time that is well spent in a busy classroom. I have developed a routine to teach new vocabulary

Lesson plans can be a tedious job, but it all can be simplified if you know what to focus on and have some resources at hand to make the writing of the lesson plans a smooth sailing.

This post is part of our Fair Is Not Always Equal…Now What? blog series. Stay tuned for many more posts! Happy Thursday, everyone! Today I’m bringing you a list of critical success factors for all co-teachers, excerpted and adapted from Julie Causton’s book, The Educator’s Handbook for Inclusive School Practices. If you’re currently […]