If one of your goals is to learn a new language this year, then you need to check out for those 11 top tips for learning a new language in 2023
These Duolingo tips & secrets will help you stay motivated and use Duolingo more than ever before! Tip #4 seriously changed how I use it!
Learning a new language is tougher and less romantic than we’d like. But it doesn’t have to be.
The best way to learn Spanish fast on your own! Try these fun and easy (and mostly free!) learning tips today and start speaking Spanish.
When you are on the journey of learning a foreign language, you need some tools to help you with that. Dictionaries, books, apps, Youtube videos, penpal friends, pencils, markers, podcasts, Instagr…
Discover our top list of tv shows to learn spanish for beginners. Our list of Netflix shows will have you forget your learning a language.
Whether for pleasure or business learning a new language for free is always the best option. Here are the top sites to learn a language for FREE.
When you are on the journey of learning a foreign language, you need some tools to help you with that. Dictionaries, books, apps, Youtube videos, penpal friends, pencils, markers, podcasts, Instagr…
As I mentioned in my post on the benefits of foreign language for travel, I think that learning the basics of the language to any country you visit is a great way to bettter experience the local culture. If you’ve read my post on Sagunto, you may know that I studied abroad there and speak it at
Are you interested in learning a new language? Or do you have a friend that desperately needs to get down the basics of yours? Whether you are simply interested in knowing the basics, or you
The best way to learn Spanish fast on your own! Try these fun and easy (and mostly free!) learning tips today and start speaking Spanish.
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If you are planning to visit Brazil or Portugal, it is a good idea to learn a few essential phrases before your trip. You’ll find that outside of those who work directly in tourism, often English is not very widely spoken. And this is particularly true in Brazil. As a Latin Romance language, it may
There isn't much of a secret to language learning because it's all about working with the language as much as possible over a length of time. Howev...
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Wondering how to learn Italian at home on your own? Use these language learning tips & resources to learn Italian independently!
Learn three simple things you need to teach your ESL beginners right away. These include variations of introductions, classroom surroundings and basic needs
Find the best websites for learning coding for free and the best coding courses to start learning to code from scratch.
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
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In this article, you'll learn how to write better essays, with twelve amazing tips that will turn you into a master essayist - if you take the time to practice.
An ESL teacher has a unique job in that s/he has to fulfill a great variety of roles on a daily basis. The four main ones are described in this article.
Theme is such an important concept when teaching reading. Students are asked to determine the theme of a text over and over again. However, many students struggle with how to identify the theme. That's why I'm sharing some of my favorite ways to teach theme. You'll find theme lesson ideas, theme activities, and theme passage suggestions to help your students finally figure out how to find theme! Sometimes when thinking about theme it is easiest to think about what it is not. Theme is NOT the subject of the text. The subject would be a single word like "childhood" or "friendship." It is NOT a summary. A summary would be several sentences describing the text. Instead, it is the underlying idea of a text. It is what the writer wishes to convey about the subject. Therefore, it is usually written in a phrase or clause. When teaching theme, I find that it's best to introduce the critical components of theme through notes and a class discussion. My favorite kind of notes are theme doodle notes, of course. Since doodles are more engaging, they're a great way to get students focused as you begin teaching about theme. Once students have a general understanding of theme, you might want to have a discussion with students. During the discussion ask students to think of texts that have a theme like "Be careful what you wish for" or "Never give up on your dreams." Then, have students discuss the theme of fairytales or fables like "Beauty and Beast" and "Goldilocks and the Three Bears." The notes and discussion will drive home the idea that the theme is not a single word subject, nor is it a multi-sentence summary. Students will realize that the theme is a truth about life revealed in a phrase or clause. A work's theme can apply to multiple texts. When you teach about theme you'll want to help students realize that themes need to be general enough to apply to many different texts. Take the theme "Be careful what you wish for." That theme can apply to "The Little Mermaid," "Jack and the Beanstalk," and even "Macbeth." It's important for students to realize that themes are universal. You'll also want to expose students to different genres of writing so that students understand that themes are evident in all writing including fiction, nonfiction, prose, and poetry. I've compiled different genres in this theme unit. Since poems are short and compressed, I love using poems to help students develop an understanding of theme. Take a poem like, "Life Doesn't Frighten Me" by Maya Angelou. In Angelou's poem, the speaker is a child. Angelou's message and the poem's theme is to "be brave when faced with your fears." You might share poems like this or some of my other favorites to help students read several texts and practice determining universal themes. The theme is the message that the writer wishes to reveal about its subject. It's what the reader is supposed to learn about life after reading the text. Therefore, it is usually not directly stated in the work. Instead, students will need to think about the plot, conflict, characters, and setting and then make an inference or educated guess. When students consider all the elements of the text, they'll need to infer the theme. One way to help students understand that the story is built around the theme is to have them develop their own stories with a theme in mind. At first, you can have students do this by providing them with themes that they will need to portray in a comic strip or skit. For instance, you might have students doodle a comic for the theme "Two heads are better than one." Or, you could have students work in small groups to come up with a skit that has the theme "Friends always show up when you need them." By writing their own texts, students will begin to see how the theme is infused throughout the work. As students determine the theme of a passage, they'll need to consider a text's plot, characters, conflict, and tone. In other words, they need to think about the entire writing piece and reflect on its message about life. That can be challenging for students. That's why I like to give students many opportunities to practice finding the theme. Task cards and mini-passages work especially great for this. I've taken the idea of theme task cards even further with Learning Take Out activities. Students read fiction and nonfiction passages that they grab from take out containers. The passages are the perfect way for students to develop the ability to identify a text's theme. ------------------------------------------------- As you can tell, there are many ways to teach theme. I think the more chances we can give students to develop their reading skills, the better! If you're looking for some ready-to-teach resources, grab these THEME resources: ⭐--- FINDING THE THEME MINI-UNIT - Doodle Notes and Activities ⭐--- THEME UNIT - 3-Day Theme Unit ⭐--- LEARNING TAKE OUT - Theme Task Cards Thanks for stopping by! Mary Beth P.S. Here's my latest resource for teaching theme!
Kinesthetic learners like to be active, and become easily bored in a traditional classroom. Here are 14 strategies for kinesthetic learners.
If you're a French beginner, you need to check this out. To learn beginners French isn't that hard - you just need to hear a few things before you start, so you don't waste time with frustrating methods that lead nowhere.
Games are a great way to help students practice vocabulary. For newcomers that are just learning English, they are a fun way to practice basic Tier 1 terms. For students at higher language levels and native speakers, they are great ways to practice content-specific vocabulary. It is important to review vocabulary words with ELLs before
Help your students become better spellers with the spelling hack that every teacher should know! It is mind-blowing how effective as well as how simple it is and easy for students to use!
How to start learning coding the right way? Find out how to start learning programming without wasting any of your valuable time or money.
Help the learning process with these simple strategies for making studennt thinking visible. Perfect for middle and high school English classes.
Inside: A peek into dozens of Spanish classrooms, of all kinds, shapes, and sizes! A well-designed room won’t make or break your teaching. Oh, but it can make a difference in how you and your students feel. Some of you have very limited options, and very tight budgets. There’s some serious classroom eye-candy here, but the
Get your toddler talking using these simple language games! | expressive language activities for 2 year olds | expressive language examples |
Whether you are trying to write a novel, pen an epic poem, or maintain a blog about this or that, it’s inevitable that you will at some point experience one of the following: lack of inspiration decrease in motivation general malaise writing burnout general I-don’t-give-a-shit Some people refer to these symptoms as “writer’s block,” but I … Continue reading What to Write About When You Have Nothing to Write About
I love teaching a split-grade class. I know this may not be a popular opinion in teaching, but there it is. In reality, many of us teach split-grade
Activities and resources to help teach a child to read, from pre-readers to school-age, in phonemic awareness, phonics, and comprehension.
So you have 100 minutes, but how exactly do you plan and schedule your language arts block for the junior grades?
What is Oral Language? Oral Language skills are an important component of language development. It is made up of at least five key components (Moats 2010) including phonological skills, pragmatics, syntax, morphological skills, and vocabulary. Students need opportunities throughout the day to practice their speaking and listening skills. For English Language Learners this is particularly important
A good teacher should try to say as much as possible in a lesson to give as much information as possible… right? WRONG! In this article we will look at why limiting teacher talk time in a class is a…
Practical tips and useful resources to help you successfully teach English to kids. Learn how to teach kids with games and songs. Includes free resources.
