I like to do refreshers in my grammar and writing courses. This short powerpoint presentation helps me to gauge if students need more time practicing a certain grammar point taught in a previous class. I saw this at CATESOL regional 2018 with a different grammar point. Check out this example and create your own for other grammar lessons. Directions: Teach when to use or for before a time word. At the beginning of the next […]
Category: Intermediate
Carve a Pumpkin
As Halloween approaches each autumn I often bring in a large pumpkin. After briefly describing the origins of this “holiday” I discuss the current manifestations that take place in American culture such as costumes and trick or treating. But what really gets their attention is when I give a narrated demonstration of how to carve a jack ‘o lantern. Necessary items: one (1) pumpkin, one carving knife, newspaper to put the seeds on, and a […]
INS Study Guide
Resource Posting PD.tifI find that students, especially at the lower levels, are curious about the history and politics of the United States. Over the years one of the handouts I have accumulated is the INS Standard 100 Questions for 312 Test at Legalization Offices. The document has questions such as, “What do we call a change to the U.S. Constitution?” Answer, “Amendment.” It serves as a nice break from grammar, writing, etc. and often engenders […]
Composition Self-Assessment
In ESL 282B, Composition I used Longman Academic Writing Series, Paragraphs to Essays by Alice Oshima and Ann Hogue. Pearson, 2014. This Fourth Edition had a new component compared to the Third Edition, 2007. Towards the end of each chapter there is a section entitled Self-Assessment. For example, in Chapter 9 (“Essay Organization”) students are asked to check off if they learned to identify and write the three parts of an essay, etc. This check […]
Comparatives and Superlatives
This is a great lesson plan as a prelude to a compare/contrast project. I like teaching superlatives and comparatives because they are a somewhat “simple” grammar concept for students to grasp onto. There are only a few “exceptions” to the rule – like fun! I teach how to use fun as a comparative and tell students that if they listen, they will hear native speakers use funner all the time and this is their opportunity […]
Comparative Adjectives
I really enjoy teaching how to use comparative adjectives with students. The rules are simple and students have fun with this presentation. I run the presentation and have all the students examine the list of adjectives. I provide a few answers and try to get students to guess the rules. After a while they figure out that 1 syllable you add er and 2+ syllables you write more/less. I provide example sentences about classes (Professor […]
“Can you”? Ability Activity
I created an ability activity for students to do after we discussed “can” and “can’t.” In this activity students run around the room attempting to find some who “can” do something on the list. For the future I plan to give out a snack or prize for whoever can find the most people. This works well in a big class, but can work in a small class if you allow people to ask the same […]
Brainstorming for High Level Writing
This is a power point I use to present different ways to brainstorm. Before the presentation or doing the presentation I give examples of what each brainstorming technique is. The topics are a survey of all the essays this class covers. After this I assign homework for them to practice these techniques and when they return they will have a quiz on this (given around 7 minutes per prompt). Directions: Teach or walk the class […]
Hachiko Waits, exercises for the novel
Hachiko Waits exercises for the novelHachiko Waits is one of my favorite novels to use with ESL students. It’s a lovely story, based on a real story about a professor and his dog Hachiko. Hachiko was so famous that there is a statue of him in Japan that many people visit. These are my set of exercises, questions for discussion, vocabulary work, etc that go along with the 10 chapters. I used to use it […]
Song “Yes, We Can Can as sung by Maria Muldaur
This song was a tribute to Obama sung by Maria Muldaur, with Bonnie Raitt, and the Women’s Voices for Peace Choir at the 2008 Democratic National Convention. It is the perfect follow up for a unit about the Civil Rights movement. It has lots of photos of Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr. You could just have the students see how many civil rights leaders, presidents and famous people they recognize. The visuals are […]