Step into the future of multilingual communication and break down language barriers with Timekettle. Our innovative technology, showcased in the WT2 Edge, transforms conversations by providing real-time, two-way translation, ensuring seamless dialogue flow. TIMEKETTLE 1 by John Woodard Further enhancing this experience, the X1 AI Interpreter Hub, fueled by HybridComm 3.0, effortlessly bridges linguistic gaps, […]

We recently shared an illustration showing many of the world’s languages and how they’re all related to each other. And a lot of you really liked it, so we thought we’d give you a closer look at each language family. With some familiar names and some not quite... #familytrees #illustrations #image

Minna Sundberg’s illustration maps the relationships between Indo-European and Uralic languages

Did you know that most of the different languages we speak today can actually be placed in only a couple of groups by their origin? This is what illustrator Minna Sundberg has captured in an elegant infographic of a linguistic tree which reveals some fascinating links between different tongues.

Awesome upper elementary poetry lesson for teaching students how to analyze and visualize poetry!

How do you encourage your students to write longer, more interesting sentences? You know what will happen if you simply them to write longer sentences... they'll just add more words to the end, resulting in long, rambling run-ons! After struggling with this problem myself, I developed a three-step process to help my students turn boring sentences into super sentences. I began by teaching them the difference between fragments, run-ons, and complete sentences. Then we practiced revising and expanding basic sentences to make them more interesting. After I modeled the activity and they practiced it in a whole group setting, they played a game called Sentence Go Round in their cooperative learning teams. The difference in their writing was dramatic! Before long, they were adding more detail to their sentences without creating run-ons in the process.

Wondering what trees existed in the scripture and its significance? Check out these four biblical trees that reveal the wonders of salvation

This novel activities resource unit will help you to teach a lot of comprehension skills. It is based on the novel 'Fish in a Tree' by Lynda Mullaly Hunt. This resource has differentiated activities that you can use to teach in-depth comprehension skills for this novel. It has many activities that c...

In the past two weeks we have turned WW up a notch. My kiddos have been doing well with labeling and I wanted to go further to enhance th...

Make an alphabet beans literacy game and an ongoing resource to use in lots of activities together! Playful literacy fun and learning for preschoolers!

"Dare to be honest and fear no labor." -- Robert Burns It’s fitting that this month’s guest blogger comes from Scotland because January 25th is Burns Night, which honors Robert Burns. Frances McGowan is a retired EAL teacher and the name of her TpT store is EALEE, which stands for English as an Additional Language Excellent Education. (EAL is one of the acronyms used to describe a teacher of English Language Learners.) Frances presents general information about teaching in Scotland as well as more specific information about teaching English Language Learners. Map of Scotland; source: Wikimedia Commons In her own words: General Information about Scottish Schools In Scotland, there are state schools and independent/private schools. The state schools are either non-denominational or for Catholic pupils. Catholic education has been provided in Scotland for many centuries. The independent schools may have a religious affiliation. Most children attend non-denominational state schools. There are two routes to becoming a primary or secondary teacher in Scotland; a four-year undergraduate programme or a one-year Professional Graduate Diploma in Education (PGDE) programme in either primary or secondary teaching. To be a subject teacher of English in a Secondary school, teachers must have a degree in English and Post Graduate Diploma In Education (PGDE). Edinburgh Castle; source: Pixabay I have recently retired but for many years I taught English as an Additional Language (EAL). I worked as a peripatetic teacher at state schools. When I started, I worked in Nursery, Primary and Secondary, providing direct teaching and advice to mainstream teachers on strategies and resources for supporting EAL pupils in a Local Education Authority. In recent years, because of ever increasing numbers of EAL pupils, we only provided advice to Nursery Schools. The age span from Nursery to the end of Secondary could be from 3 years to 18 years. Some education authorities have language units where new arrivals who are initial learners of English attend for a short period. However, where I worked we didn’t have the numbers to justify funding of a language unit. Funding for EAL learners comes within additional support needs and is awarded annually by the Scottish Government to Local Authorities (LAs) who then have control over the way in which this funding is used. Many Scottish LAs use part of this funding to establish specialist teams delivering EAL teaching and advisory services in schools and Early Years settings. All of the services across Scotland are different, reflecting local cultures, demographics and demand. However, the vast majority of the funding is used to cover the cost of specialist EAL teachers and bilingual support assistants, as well as for teaching resources and training. I was part of a specialist EAL team. The School Calendar In general, the school session starts in the middle of August and ends at the end of June. School holidays can vary by a few days over the Local Authorities. The pupils’ school day in Primary schools generally starts at 9.00am. There is an interval for 15 minutes in the morning, 45 minutes lunch break and school finishes at 3.00pm. In Secondary Schools, the pupil’s school day generally starts at 8.50am. There is a 15 minutes interval in the morning and 45 minutes lunch break. On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays pupils finish at 3.40pm. On Wednesdays and Fridays pupils finish at 2.50pm. There are variations among Local Education Authorities (LEAs). My working hours were 35 hours per week in total, 22.5 hours of which had to be teaching time with pupils. Preparation work could be done in a place of our own choosing including at home, but liaison and consultation took place in establishments. My working hours often exceeded 35 hours due to the preparation and liaison required for a large number of pupils and schools. Teaching English Language Learners in Primary and Secondary Schools In Primary Schools, ideally, I liked to have 45 minutes for teaching beginners in a tutorial, but sometimes only 30 minutes was possible. Visits were usually only once per week. When the pupil progressed from the basics, I incorporated and differentiated classroom materials. Eventually if time allowed, I provided in class support to the pupil. Part of my role was to provide professional development to class and subject teachers. I usually produced and provided handouts containing background information about pupils and strategies to be used in class. In Secondary Schools, again I felt that tutorials were more beneficial for initial learners. When pupils progressed, I provided in class support. Periods were usually 50 minutes. I also produced, sourced and differentiated resources for use by myself in tutorials and for class/subject teachers to use in class. Resources like my English Worksheets and Games for Initial Learners Pack were found to be very useful by class teachers who didn’t have a lot of time to work with individuals, due to the demands of other class members. Click HERE for more info about this resource Initial Learners of all ages found these kinds of worksheets and games to be very helpful and they allowed time out from constantly listening to a language that they didn’t understand. The workbooks enabled initial learners to work independently when they couldn’t be included in the class work. The games reinforced the targeted vocabulary, encouraged interaction with native English speakers and consequently provided further opportunities for building friendships and acquiring English. The title for Booklet 1 in the previously mentioned pack is English as an Additional Language Worksheets and Games for Initial Learners School Vocabulary. There are 5 booklets altogether. The other topics are Colour, Number, School Clothes and Food and Drinks. EAL Curriculum and Assessment The work I did with pupils in tutorials depended on need. I did not have to follow a set curriculum. Initially, I taught the vocabulary that was needed in school. I planned a lesson, taught the lesson, then assessed progress. This cycle determined the next work to be done. When the pupil had sufficient English to understand, he/she was included in choices about what work should be done. Class/subject teachers also provided information about what support was needed. I often looked at pupils’ jotters to see the kinds of errors that were being made and then focused on providing support. From my assessment I decided where input was required and planned the next step. Because the pupils were scattered over the schools, I often worked with individuals or groups of up to about 6 pupils. Sometimes native English-speaking, able, articulate pupils were included in the groups so that the EAL pupils could hear good models of English. My reports on pupils focused on what pupils had achieved in the Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing skills in English. Progress in Maths was also included. My comments were related to pupils being, Successful Learners, Confident Individuals, Effective Contributors and Responsible Citizens. EAL pupils were graded by stages – Initial, Emergent, Consolidating, Competent and Native English Level. We had profiles with set targets for each stage. When pupils had met all the targets in the four English skills for a particular stage, they were classed as having reached the next stage. We did not have set tests for EAL pupils. When EAL pupils were included in class work, they sat the ordinary class tests, but when I had the opportunity I made staff aware that this was not a true representation of their ability due to language and cultural difficulties. Language Tree created by students at EALEE's school; source: EALEE In recent years there have been changes to assessments and in the 2017 there will be more changes. In 2017 new national, standardised assessments are to be introduced for pupils in P1, P4 and P7, as well as for youngsters in the third year of secondary school. The focus will be on literacy and numeracy. My main educational aim was to help pupils to reach a stage where they could be fully integrated into the school curriculum. After the basics, the content of my work supported the work of the class/subject teacher. In addition I provided some secondary pupil input for the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) ESOL qualifications. In 2005, Learning and Teaching Scotland produced guidelines for teaching EAL pupils. It is called Learning in 2+ Languages and while I was working was considered to be "the bible." The Curriculum for Excellence is a major educational reform with the aim of providing a wider, more flexible range of courses and subjects. Other Responsibilities In addition, I attended parents’ evenings. Parents often brought a friend or a pupil to interpret. Funding for professional interpreters was seldom available. I also used visuals, drawings, diagrams, etc. and home language dictionaries to aid communication. There was a regular intake of new arrivals, so we worked on a priority system, giving initial learners priority. To find time to work with the new pupils, sometimes difficult decisions had to be made when withdrawing support from pupils who had made progress. These pupils were then put on to a monitoring list and were monitored at least once a year. I also had other responsibilities for fully supporting the whole pupil. In addition to education I was concerned about physical, social, emotional spiritual and psychological development. One of my efforts towards making EAL pupils feel respected and included was the running of home language clubs. I wanted to raise the status of the home language and reinforce the importance of maintaining the home language. The clubs each ran for 6 weeks. Native English speakers were keen to attend. Parents came in and I provided games to be played to teach colours, numbers and phrases in the home languages. One mother provided a cooked dish from her home country. All seemed to enjoy the experience and native English speakers saw their EAL peers in a new light. To raise the status of the home language, I also encouraged the display of the home language in schools and writing in the home language. Pupils and parents made signs or commercially-produced signs were purchased. The saltire--the flag of Scotland; source: Pixabay If you would like to learn more about Scotland or teach your students about Scotland, please take a look at Frances’ Free Scottish Words and Expressions for EAL/ESL Students and her resource Scotland Information and Worksheets for EAL/ESL/ELL/ELD/EFL. You can find more of Frances’ products for English Language Learners at EALEE, her TeachersPayTeachers store. For more information about Scotland’s education system, click HERE. Thank you very much, Frances, for giving us such a comprehensive look at what it's like to teach ELLs in Scotland and about Scottish education in general. And for more information about Robert Burns and Burns Night, you can find them on my Pinterest board about holidays around the world. You can find more posts in this series by clicking on these links to read about education in: New Zealand, Australia, Morocco, Sweden, England, United Arab Emirates, Scotland, Quebec (Canada), and South Africa.

The Nomenclature Cards are formatted in 3-part cards. The 3 parts include the following: 1. Picture Card: image or illustration 2. Label Card: the name or label of the picture 3. Control Card: Combine the picture and label together (showing you the correct match) Nomenclature cards are designed to promote language development, visual discrimination, and the understanding of relationships between objects or concepts. They help children expand their vocabulary, learn correct terminology, and make connections between images and labels. The parts of a tree shown are: •Tree •Roots •Branches •Leaves •Trunk This set of 3-part nomenclature cards includes the following: •5 Control cards (approx. 4.77" x 3.7”) •5 picture cards (approx. 3.7" x 3.7” •5 label cards (approx.. 1” x 3.8" ) •2 versions of booklets (with and without dot tracing words) •1 labeled chart for reference •1 blackline master for coloring and labeling Instructions: Activity 1: Match the Cards •Provide students with picture cards, label cards, and their corresponding control cards. •Instruct students to match the picture cards and label cards with their respective control cards. Activity 2: Booklets •Distribute blank tree booklet pages to students. •Students will color and either write or trace the correct parts of the tree on each page of the booklet. Activity 3: Blackline Master •Give students a blackline master •Instruct students to color the picture and then cut out the labels. •Students will label the picture by pasting the labels in the appropriate locations.

Like me, you already know that teaching prefix and roots can help improve vocabulary. Do you ever wonder how much to teach-or worry that you are just doing the same things as the language arts teacher? What specific skill set do we bring in as speech language pathologists when thinking of vocabulary? That’s the question I’m …

Welcome to the forest! This unit study is designed to guide learners aged 6-12 on an in-depth Forestry exploration that will not only provide a thorough study of the subject at hand, but will also involve students in the process through immersive, experiential learning opportunities. Consistent, gentle, and easy-to-follow structure encourages internalization and personal connection with each module. Be sure to add the Forestry Primary Level Workbook, available in both digital PDF and physical print formats! These workbooks are not required to complete the unit study; however, they add enriching dimension to the learning experience. This unit study will be delivered digitally and may be used ebook-style or printed alongside a notebook of your own choosing or with the Harbor + Sprout Primary Companion Notebook, available in both digital PDF or physical print format. You can purchase a physical print copy of this unit study here. Primary Level Unit Studies are open-and-go and non-consumable, meaning that you will not need to write on or cut anything out of the pages.  Optional printable notebooking pages are provided. This unit study is intended for elementary learners ages 6-12.  This unit study includes 20 modules. Each module is made up of 3 parts: Information: This is the reading portion of the module. The reading can be completed independently or with help from an adult. You may take one day or more to complete the reading. Notebooking Prompts: In the notebooking section of each module, you will have the opportunity to reflect on your reading in a way that is unique to you.  Activities: Each module contains a selection of activities and hands-on learning experiences to choose from. These activities span the range of learning styles and are meant to be completed at whatever pace feels most comfortable to you.   Click here to download a free sample of the Forestry Primary Level Unit Study! The modules in the Forestry Primary Level Unit Study include: Module 1: The Significance of Forestry Module 2: The History of Forestry Module 3: Different Kinds of Forests Module 4: The Tropical Rainforest Module 5: The Deciduous Forest Module 6: The Coniferous Forest Module 7: The Layers of a Forest Module 8: Tree Identification Module 9: Tree Growth and Life Cycle Module 10: Forest Ecosystems Module 11: The Amazon Rainforest Module 12: Foraging Part 1: Plants and Berries Module 13: Foraging Part 2: Nuts and Fungi Module 14: A Forest's Euphony Module 15: Indigenous People and the Forest Module 16: Urban Forestry Module 17: Forest Health Module 18: Forest Fires Module 19: Forest in Numbers Module 20: Forest-Inspired Art Each module has a list of pertinent subject applications including science, nature study, language arts, writing, history, geography, art, music, math, and life skills. Writing and language arts are also inherently woven into the whole unit through notebooking. Enjoy your adventure in the forest! Page count: 260 Click here to download a free Forestry Primary Level Unit Study sample!

Make a simple rhyming activity to help practise rhyming pairs and learn about literacy in a playful, hands-on way! This would be great for both home and the classroom as a go-to resource on the shelf. We have been practising hearing and identifying rhyming words together recently and focused initially on identifying rhyming strings with...Read More »

Five Fun Activities for Teaching Prepositions. Teaching prepositions through playing games & enjoyable activities for children to learn while having fun.

In this activity, your class will examine nonfiction texts to determine an author's point, a supporting reason and two points of supporting evidence.

The current theme in our reading program is Food. Last week we read Apple Farmer Annie by Monica Wellington. It is a very simple story about Annie who has an apple farm. Annie picks and sorts apples. She makes all sorts of thing with apples. Then she sell her apple products at the farmers' market in the city. We created a story map about the book. We also made a circle map showing foods that are made from apples. And we made applesauce AGAIN in the slow cooker! My kiddos can't get enough of this! Today we created sentences to answer the question - What does Annie do with apples? I recorded their answers in a predictable chart with the sentence frame - Annie __________. They copied their sentences and illustrated. More food plans for the rest of the week! Yay!

Are you looking for a resource to bring STEM into your phonics skills or word work stations? Or maybe you are just tired of using the same 'ole word work stations year after year..?? Maybe you are wanting to give STEM a try but nervous on how to get started...?? I get it! That's why I created Phonics STEM Sound Kits!

This game is a prelude to what will (hopefully) become some better writing on my boy's part. His stories are simple sentences with unimaginative adjectives, nouns, and verbs. I wanted to open his mind to a wider, broader vocabulary. I thought a little synonyms and antonyms game might help. I made two pages of hexagon magnets, each shape containing three words. Their antonyms and synonyms were featured on adjacent hexagons. I printed the pages on magnet paper, tediously cut them out, and then hit the library for some great books. Are you rolling your eyes? I know. I know. You're probably tired of hearing me gush all over Brian P. Cleary's books. I can't help it if they're the most fun language arts explanations I've found; my son loves them as much as I do. For this lesson, we read Stop and Go, Yes and No: What is an Antonym? and Stroll and Walk, Babble and Talk: More about Synonyms. Wildly creative illustrations, a rhythmic tempo, great explanation of the parts of speech, and examples galore! If you've never opened one of the Words are CATegorical books, run to your local library and check one out now. Prep Download our synonym/antonym hexagons free. Print on magnet paper (it costs about $6 for a 3-pack of sheets at the craft store; feed it through your printer one page at a time). Cut out. Access a 2-page PDF of synonym/antonym hexagons here. Play I put all the magnets word-side-down in a small flat tub. One was drawn and placed on our refrigerator (any large metal surface will work). Then each of us picked five hexagons as our "hand." (It doesn't matter if the opponent sees your magnets.) Then we went back and forth trying to add the magnets in our hand to the refrigerator, matching up synonyms or antonyms on the words on the shapes. It doesn't take long before a honeycomb shape emerges! If we didn't have any magnets to play, we drew a new one from the bucket. Still can't play? Then you forfeit your turn and the opponent gives it a shot. Every time you are able to add a hexagon magnet to the refrigerator, you get another turn to play any magnet from your hand (no drawing on the second - or subsequent - plays during a turn, though). Watch as you build an entire honeycomb of antonyms and synonyms! The first player to play all of the hexagons in their hand wins. Repetition to Remember Synonym vs. Antonym With each hexagon that was played, my son and I said aloud whether the words we were matching were synonyms (words with a similar meaning) or antonyms (opposites). This reinforced what we learned from reading Cleary's books!

We did our lesson on schema today. It always amazes me how my friends take to this lesson. When I talk about opening that mental file cabinet and pulling out the file labeled . . . , they get it. I love that today one of my friends looked at me and exclaimed, "Wow! Our brain is really amazing!" It sure is! Some familiar topics were discussed where I asked them to tap into their schema, and we discussed how it helps us to better understand and make meaning of our reading. I then had them "activate their schema" on the topic of rain forests. They took some time to jot down everything they knew on the topic. We then shared. This was really great because we noted how our schema grows and changes as we have more life experiences. Sharing what they knew was helping to build their schema. Here's a sample of a page from one of my friend's reader's notebook. I then read The Great Kapok Tree by Lynne Cherry. If you don't know this book, you will want to check it out. It's a classic and has the most amazing illustrations. Essentially, a man begins to cut down a kapok tree in the rain forest, but stops to take a nap. While he naps, all the different animals of the rain forest come to him and whisper in his ear the many reasons why he shouldn't cut down the tree. As I read aloud, I modeled how my schema, the schema we shared, helps me to understand and make meaning of the story. The love the book and they really get this lesson. I then sent them off for their independent reading with the focus of tapping into their schema. At the end of the period, in their reflection log, I asked them to tell me how their schema helped them with their reading today. It was a good lesson.

Yes. Narrative writing....again.....well, personal narratives! :) Here are our "ouch stories": We started with this as our pre-write, which I also use as our first draft: And then we moved to our final draft {we stuck band-aides to the side of our paper for the added drama}: Click {here} to download this freebie! :) I've also included upper-grades writing paper

Perfect for small groups, literature circles, centers, reading workshop, any reading series, or whole group - these common core aligned reading response printables are a great tool for helping your students think deeply about their reading! With 18 different graphic organizers, designed for use with ANY book, these printables would make a great addition to your lesson plans throughout the school year and will help ensure that you teach the reading standards for grades 2-5. What's in the packet? Here's a list of the graphic organizers included in the packet; Story Elements Main Idea & Supporting Details Character Traits (Internal & External) Connections (Text to Self, Text to Text, Text to World) Inferring Predicting Character Change Visualizing Summarizing Character Comparison Character vs. Problem Cause & Effect New Words Questioning Central Message & Author's Purpose My Favorite Part My Favorite Character Book Recommendation Fun Freebies From The Packet! Below you'll find a link to preview and purchase all 18 organizers. In the meantime, here are two freebies for you to enjoy! Have your kiddos identify and write about the story elements... ...or invite them to take a closer look at the main characters in the story in order to identify external and internal character traits! If you think these freebies are great, you can purchase all 18 of the reading response printables from my Teachers Pay Teachers store by clicking here! Happy learning!

Click Here Click Here Click Here Click Here

A blog full of tips, lessons, and ideas to use in the upper elementary classroom.

BC's renewed curriculum is based on 6 Core Competencies. The book The Six Cedars connects these competencies to local animals. Free posters and student self assessments.

Eurasiatic Pastoralists The Mariupol culture Samara culture Khvalynsk culture Domestication of the Horse Sredny Stog Suvorovo culture Early Indo-European community The Yamna Culture Human type Cont…

This fun activity uses picture and word identification to teach students about basic tools used by a carpenter. Students use English language arts and career education application in completing this activity.Find over 180 learning activities in the KidZ Learning Connection store.

When you feel a strong attraction toward your twin flame, you can feel that your twin flame is thinking about

Our extensive range of NOM Handcrafted Wooden Animals are available in all shapes, colours, and sizes. From big cats that rule the jungles to bats that roam the night skies, the mammoths of the Ice Age era to the sleepy, tree-dwelling sloths, with a wide assortment of animals at their fingertips, little ones will have unlimited fun creating their own natural landscapes and fantasy wonderlands. NOM Handcrafted wooden figures inspire open ended, small world play. A fun, imaginative way for children to expand language, social-emotional connections, fine motor coordination, and creative play. The animal figurines pair perfectly with our NOM Handcrafted Trees, Mushrooms, Animal Burrows, Birds, and Mythical Creatures, along with the rest of our NOM Handcrafted Animal Assortments. PLEASE NOTE: Variations in colour, size, and wood grain are proof of quality, not defects. This toy is lovingly made by hand, inspired by the diverse beauty of nature — no two pieces are exactly alike, and each is charmingly unique. Specifications Safety & Usage NOM Handcrafted Made in: Australia — each piece is cut, sanded and finished by hand Materials:  • Hard maple wood, sustainably and ethically sourced• Non-toxic, water-based paints• Non-toxic, oil-based hardening sealant Dimensions: W 6.5cm H 7.5cm (approx., sloth), H 12cm (approx., branch) Recommended age: 3+ years WARNING: Not suitable for children under 36 months. Choking hazard due to small parts. Safety: NOM Handcrafted uses high-quality materials that are 100% toxic-free and completely safe for children. Every toy adheres to Australian AS/NZS ISO 8124.1 Toy Safety Standards, and all colours and finishes conform to European EN 71 Toy Safety Standards. Care: Not intended to be mouthed or wet, as colour transfer may occur. Spot clean only, apply a lightly damp cloth to the area. NOM Handcrafted is a family-owned business based in Brisbane, offering a large variety of wooden animals, including a range inspired by Australian fauna. Each piece fosters open-ended play, empowering children to unleash their creativity and celebrate the magic of their imaginations. Learn more about NOM Handcrafted...

A blog full of tips, lessons, and ideas to use in the upper elementary classroom.

Have fun playing reading and math games this fall with these super simple, FREE alphabet and number cards!

Joł, joł, joł!!! I co a nie mówiłem, czyli pisałem?!! Piję tu do tego, co napisałem Robertowi, o tym, że nad tymi danymi zapadnie dumna i błogosławiona cisza… Łatwowiernym ludkom wydaje się, …