ESL - Free Material For Teachers

Dual-language program at primary schools: good or bad idea ?

noreply@blogger.com (Melu) — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 01:57:00 +0000

The 193 students in the dual-language program at the school in Silver Spring, the only program of its kind in Montgomery County, move between two rooms. In one, English is spoken; in the other, Spanish. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, the Pledge of Allegiance and announcements are in Spanish; on the other days, in English. This is the story of a school that serves as a bilingual program for English-speaking students whose parents want them to learn Spanish and for Spanish speakers who must learn English. Find out if they have a successful or an irrelevant programme in the following article from the Washington Post:

Finding fluency in language lessons

Safety at home - Activity booklets for young learners

noreply@blogger.com (Melu) — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 00:13:00 +0000

Safety tips are always important when our young students are growing up and maybe they begin to stay home alone for hours. Why not introducing fun activies in English to help them understand all those safety measures when there is a fire, a water leak or a blackout? Here are some recommendations:

1) Sesame Street - Join Grover and Elmo to learn how families get ready for emergencies (pdf information booklet with drawings).
2) Safety begins at home - Fun activity book for the classroom.
3) Fire and Safety - Activity Book with fun exercises to raise awareness on how to behave during a fire.
4) Safe Kids Week - Tips by Johnson & Johnson on how to prevent kid injuries when we are on holidays.

Role-playing cards: Living in a Community

noreply@blogger.com (Melu) — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 16:20:00 +0000

The aim of this UNICEF booklet is to broaden the scope of discussion about rights into the
citizenship domain. This Unit helps young people (aged 16 or more) to consider their own and others’ behaviour and their relationship with their communities. The activies discussed include vocabulary cards on nationalities and role-playing cards to broaden tolerance and social values on kids. The booklet also contains lesson plans for teachers.

Download the UNICEF booklet here.

More Science flashcards

noreply@blogger.com (Melu) — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 18:58:00 +0000

The second handing of Science vocabulary flashcards (pdf format) is here.
This material is ideal for round-up science courses (Grades 5 and 6).

The Science behind everyday food

noreply@blogger.com (Melu) — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 18:50:00 +0000

Have you ever planned a mixed lesson between English vocabulary and Science? Here we show you how.

In this set of flashcards, your students may learn food vocabulary with pictures of products that we consume everyday. Moreover, the clever scientific explanation of the contents of each product are also included. Check the pdf file by clicking here.

Teaching English with minimal resources

noreply@blogger.com (Melu) — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 02:49:00 +0000

Every junior teacher who is facing her/his first teaching year is always hunting for tips and ideas for teaching English with minimal or no resources.
What happens when we have no coursebooks? Broken photocopier? Your favourite onestopenglish writers have come to the rescue with a section which is jam-packed with tips and ideas for teaching English with minimal or no resources. You and your students will love their ideas! Click on the author's name to read their suggestions.

IGCSE Review Contents: S-cool Revision

noreply@blogger.com (Melu) — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 23:37:00 +0000

Today I want to recommend a great website dedicated to providing high quality GCSE and A-level revision material totally FREE. Within the site you will find all sorts of subjects from GCSE Biology to A-level Psychology as well as hints and tips for your students that may help them pass their exams. Check it out:

S-cool Revision

Basic English Grammar for English Language Learners 1 and 2

noreply@blogger.com (Melu) — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 01:33:00 +0000

Basic English Grammar For English Language Learners

Saddleback Educational Publishing, Inc.

This two-book series was written specifically for English language learners and covers all the basic grammar topics for beginners. Contains clear and concise explanations of the rules and illustrates them with numerous examples. The “Did You Know?” and “Grammar Help” notes add further to the understanding of basic grammar.

These books will give English language learners a clear understanding of core grammar skills and help lay a strong foundation for good English. Each book includes 150-pages plus of grammar examples and instruction. They cover:

All the basic rules of English grammar
Clear and concise explanations with numerous examples
Lots of language notes throughout
Exercises at the end of each grammar topic for testing and review

Download the free pdf version: Book 1 and Book 2

Wrtiting Fun

noreply@blogger.com (Melu) — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 20:15:00 +0000

Writing Fun by Jenny Eather

This website has a cool presentation on how to help kids write using text organizers. Nice ideas on writing letters, envelopes, e-mails and more!

Primary Grammar Box

noreply@blogger.com (Melu) — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 22:12:00 +0000

Download this great collection of photocopiable resources packed with more than 50 games and activities to make learning grammar fun for children. The book includes puzzles, games, crosswords and other task-based activities.

Download the Primary Grammar Box now (free .rar file)

Crime Investigations

noreply@blogger.com (Melu) — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 20:14:00 +0000

Have fun with experiments while your students learn English through Science skills.

Here we present the teacher's booklet (primary level: Grades 3 to 5) of a workshop conducted by the University of North Texas. It contains some ideas to perform experiments that are easy to carry out in class since they require materials that we all have at home.

Download the pdf booklet here.

Teach English, Teach about the Environment

noreply@blogger.com (Melu) — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 19:20:00 +0000

We have just received this mailing with very useful material for those teachers who work with Science courses.

"The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has developed the Teach English, Teach about the Environment curriculum to help you teach English to adult students while introducing basic concepts about the environment and individual environmental responsibility. These concepts can help the newly-arrived be part of cleaner and healthier communities by understanding and practicing the "3Rs" of solid waste management – reduce, reuse, recycle. "Background Information – The 3Rs of Solid Waste Management" on page 40 should be read before using this curriculum.
The curriculum uses a hands-on, multi-sensory, multi-media approach to show how personal behavior can improve the overall environmental well-being of the family, home, and community. Lesson plans are provided for the beginner, intermediate and advanced student. Each lesson plan has a language as well as an environmental objective. It also provides background on the environmental objective, a list of materials needed, a glossary of terms used in that lesson and a worksheet. Lessons should be introduced when the adult learner is already familiar with the grammatical construction emphasized in the materials. Flash cards and picture files are also included.
We hope that you find Teach English, Teach about the Environment a useful and interesting resource for your students. "

Click here to download Teach English, Teach about the Environment for free (pdf)

Teaching Creative Writing to Children

noreply@blogger.com (Melu) — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 23:45:00 +0000

By Zacharias Allred

Teaching creative writing to children is fun and rewarding. Kids naturally love to here stories read to them. As parents many times our children fall to sleep while being read to. Teachers can build a stimulating creative writing program in the classroom by giving the children a desire to write. Here are 5 steps to start a creative writing program.
1. Small beginnings. Start out by finding common topics to the children in the room. Parents, grandparents and pets are usually good examples. Have the students write 5 sentences about the topic. These can fictional and in story form.
2. Dictation. You can get a tape recorder and one by one let the students dictate a story to you. You might find it easier to do without a tape recorder if you can write or type fast enough. On another day you or the child can read the story out loud to the class. This helps the students start to make a connection with hearing stories and making them up.
3. Word processor. Kids take to computers very quickly and most of your students are probably already familiar with them. If possible have them start typing their stories on a computer as soon as possible. Using a word processor is much easier than writing by hand and so the writing will be easier. At first do not be too concerned with grammar, punctuation and spelling. After awhile you can gradually start showing the students how to make capital letters and use some of the grammar and spelling tools offered in most word processors.
4. Idea box. Bring a small box to class and tell the students that this box is only for ideas for stories. Let them know that others in the class will also have access to their story ideas so they may also want their own "idea boxes."
5. Characters. Help the children come up with interesting characters in their writing. Show them stories from authors who are strong on character development. Make the main character likable. An author I like is Louis L'Amour. All of his main characters have high moral values and make honest choices. Of course they get the girl and are expert at everything they do.
Teaching creative writing to children can seem overwhelming at first but when taken in small steps it is not as challenging. Start with basic stories and then work the kids through ideas then into character development. There are other more advanced steps like plot development, editing and publishing but this will get these suggestions will help them get started.

Source: schoolwritingjournal mailing list

Writing and Grammar Worksheets

noreply@blogger.com (Melu) — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 23:31:00 +0000

Hello everyone! Today we want to recommend you EZSchool . It is a website that provides free printable ESL worksheets, maths worksheets, online games, study tools, tutorials, and stories for grades K-12. Everything is ready to print. Check it out here:

EZschool Worksheets

Writing Exercises: transition words

noreply@blogger.com (Melu) — Sat, 30 May 2009 23:33:00 +0000

Looking for online resourses on transition words when students work on their writing skills, I came across a very interesting website. It contains handouts and worksheets that explain how to use "transition words" such as however, therefore, despite, regardless of, etc. Check it out by clicking here.

Reading aloud with children

noreply@blogger.com (Melu) — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 21:37:00 +0000

Do you read aloud to your students? Is there ever a time when students are too old to be read to? Many teachers are firm believers in reading aloud -- even at the upper grade levels!

Reading aloud to children helps them develop and improve literacy skills -- reading, writing, speaking, and listening. And since children listen on a higher level than they read, listening to other readers stimulates growth and understanding of vocabulary and language patterns.

This is why I recommend the following handbook with a lot of tips on how to read together with kids from all ages. It is worth taking into account. Read it:

Reading aloud with children (pdf)

Science Fun facts

noreply@blogger.com (Melu) — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 20:08:00 +0000

This is a daughter website of the USA Congress Library with a fun section called Science Mysteries. It contains science facts introduced with a topic question and divided into categories or branches. The terminology is easy to read and it looks like proper material for the kids to search for information when they are learning to use internet. Keep it in mind a a good tool / resource for IT in the English class. Check it out!

Everyday Mysteries

Andersen Fairy Tales

noreply@blogger.com (Melu) — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 23:22:00 +0000

This site is wonderful for kids who are just swimming in the ESL literature world. It contains classic folk stories and fairy tales of Hans Christian Andersen. Official Web-published children's books with Flash animation and narration (online games and printable coloring activities as well).

Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales Online

Grammar and vocabulary Worksheets

noreply@blogger.com (Melu) — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 19:24:00 +0000

I collected some worksheets from different ESL forums with vocabulary and grammar worksheets in Word format (.doc). They are suitable for elementary / begginers ESL level. Enjoy it! Download it for free here:

Grammar and vocabulary Worksheets

Short games for your students

noreply@blogger.com (Melu) — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 23:33:00 +0000

Richmond Publishing Argentina have just launched a new section on their website. They offer printable activities and games for your classes and also a very good section of online games to practice grammar by the means of IT. Every teacher should keep track of resources like these.

Printable games for your class

Online Grammar games

"How to" writing guides for students

noreply@blogger.com (Melu) — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 23:37:00 +0000

This site happens to have a lot of "how to write" guides. There are even samples for most writing formats such as essays, term papers, speech, bibliographies, etc. Check it out!

Writing Skills by Factmonster

Free resources: teacher helpers

noreply@blogger.com (Melu) — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 21:38:00 +0000

Let me recommend you a website with free resourses for teachers. This material will help you plan your lessons with fun activities and you can find many free helpers or cool premium resources as well.

Schoolslinks.co.uk

Reading Comprehension Success in 20 Minutes a Day

noreply@blogger.com (Melu) — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 22:30:00 +0000

Quick, critical reading is an essential skill that is used in standardized tests, jobs, schools, and more. Be it literature, essays, tech writing, or articles, this fully updated edition of Reading Comprehension Success in 20 Minutes a Day provides a complete close-reading tutorial in an easy 20-step program. This book's self-paced guide includes:
• lessons on diction, perspective, cause and effect, drawing conclusions, and more

• questions with easy-access answer keys featuring thorough explanations

• appendices featuring resource guides and tips on standardized tests.

Download the free pdf book here

Reading Extra (photocopiable - CUP)

noreply@blogger.com (Melu) — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 18:28:00 +0000

This book uses many authentic sources such as factual texts, newspaper articles, features and TV schedules, instruction manuals, everyday signs, stories, quizzes, emails and diary entries. Students are encouraged to read material on different levels and in different ways, such as reading for gist, scanning, skimming, comprehension, analysing structure, summarising and shadow reading.

Download the free pdf version here

Teacher resourse bank (OUP Vocabulary Worksheets)

noreply@blogger.com (Melu) — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 14:13:00 +0000

Do you need new ways of expanding your lower-level learners' vocabulary? Every month we have a new lesson Link with activities and worksheets for teachers to use in class and help learners discover and learn new words. Check it out !

Teacher Resource Bank by Oxford Univeristy Press Online.