One of the classes I teach is a 'hybrid' class which means half of it is supposed to take place in the classroom and the other half on-line. I have a few students who have never used a computer before and so I am putting together a lesson on Computers!
I found several worksheets on my favorite ESL Site (which I suggest to anyone who produces and uses ESL worksheets and powerpoints) so I will not post them here (I don't want to post other folks' work if it is not unregistered.)
I did find some interesting youtube videos for ESL learners. The website is www.ef.com/podenglish. They have a whole program for english learners. You can download certain lessons or you can find them on youtube, like this one:
I also taught the following vocabulary:
Hardware: Computer, PC, CPU, Monitor, Screen, Keyboard, Mouse, Mousepad, Disk drive, printer, scanner
Software, programs
Verbs: log in/on, sign in/on, open, close, download, type, scroll, search, google, email
Other vocab: email, internet, web browser, search engine, junk mail, spam, website, webpage
I will probably add to this post later.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Some more great ideas
I usually end up putting lessons together backwards (or so it seems to me.) Hopefully this will improve with practice, but for the present time it always makes me giggle at myself.
I just found these great flashcards for teaching possessive pronouns! Yiiippppeeeeee!
I have already found several flash card sites (this is so amazing because it certainly was not this easy a decade ago when I first started studying ESL techniques!) but MES-English is a fantastic site. Many are geared toward young learners, but we all know that when you are first learning a language the simpler and more obvious the instruction, the better, right?
Also, if you haven't registered, ESL Printables is a fantastic, amazing, phenominal site!
I just found these great flashcards for teaching possessive pronouns! Yiiippppeeeeee!
I have already found several flash card sites (this is so amazing because it certainly was not this easy a decade ago when I first started studying ESL techniques!) but MES-English is a fantastic site. Many are geared toward young learners, but we all know that when you are first learning a language the simpler and more obvious the instruction, the better, right?
Also, if you haven't registered, ESL Printables is a fantastic, amazing, phenominal site!
Tomorrow Morning's Lesson
I need to do some testing with about half of the students in tomorrow morning's class - this is because I have continued enrollment as I have gained and lost students throughout the past 6 weeks.
I need an activity to keep the students that are already done with testing busy so we are going to do a reading exercise.
Goldilocks and the Three Bears
I created this from a version I found on a British web-page of nursery rhymes during a search for some Children's stories for ESL classes. I need to go find the page so I can credit them with the story. (Oh, the things I forget to do when working on a project!) I omitted a few lines (to make it fit on two pages) and changed a little bit of the vocabulary. We are going to talk about making words possessive before we start the reading. I am going to read it aloud to them, then have them read it outloud (taking turns reading paragraphs maybe???) Then we are going to answer all of the questions on the third and fourth page. We usually do a lot of conversation in this class, but they also need to work on writing and vocabulary in their reading, so for a short activity I think this will work out (at least I hope so.) We will see how long it takes, and whether my mostly low intermediate class can process this many words. It will be a break from the section we have been doing on directions and hopefully this will allow their minds to rest a little.
Update: 5 minutes later - OF COURSE I find a typo after posting it. Sorry folks, I don't feel like re-uploading the file. You will have to change Shreiking to Shrieking and then it should be fine.
I need an activity to keep the students that are already done with testing busy so we are going to do a reading exercise.
Goldilocks and the Three Bears
I created this from a version I found on a British web-page of nursery rhymes during a search for some Children's stories for ESL classes. I need to go find the page so I can credit them with the story. (Oh, the things I forget to do when working on a project!) I omitted a few lines (to make it fit on two pages) and changed a little bit of the vocabulary. We are going to talk about making words possessive before we start the reading. I am going to read it aloud to them, then have them read it outloud (taking turns reading paragraphs maybe???) Then we are going to answer all of the questions on the third and fourth page. We usually do a lot of conversation in this class, but they also need to work on writing and vocabulary in their reading, so for a short activity I think this will work out (at least I hope so.) We will see how long it takes, and whether my mostly low intermediate class can process this many words. It will be a break from the section we have been doing on directions and hopefully this will allow their minds to rest a little.
Update: 5 minutes later - OF COURSE I find a typo after posting it. Sorry folks, I don't feel like re-uploading the file. You will have to change Shreiking to Shrieking and then it should be fine.
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Lesson Plan on things to see in D.C.
Eventually I will develop (online) my 5 lesson section on visiting DC. But to get things started, I will give you the lesson I taught this past Wednesday at my Monday/Wednesday morning class (at the Y).
We have been practicing giving and receiving directions which is amazingly difficult in English. My class, as a whole, had a horrible time with the direction questions on the CASAS and they really needed great amounts of practice and review using directional prepositions, expressions and vocabulary. This was not the first lesson we did on directions (I will include those later) but it was a review lesson in which vocabulary about DC and review of directions was included.
First, we had a conversation about famous places to see in D.C. Some vocabulary we revisited and reviewed was: memorials, monuments, museums and buildings. As I showed pictures and spoke briefly about each image, I asked the students to write
"I want to see/visit/go to ________________________" or
"I don't want to see/visit/go to __________________________." To practice evaluating the information I was sharing with them. (This also allows my very beginning students to have a phrase they are conversationally comfortable with.)
Here are some of the word documents (composed of non-copyrighted images) that I used to introduce various sites of interest:
The National Gallery of Art (building fronts)
The National Gallery of Art - Examples of artwork found there
Well, since I still don't have a good hosting site I will have to postpone posting the rest of the images. I will, however, leave you with the directions activity associated with the pictures, etc.
This is the directions worksheet that I used. I pointed out that on the map we can see the east and west wings or buildings of the National Gallery of Art. We spoke about the map and the pictures (matching the pictures to the buildings they represented on the map as well as reviewing the "I want to/I don't want to" phrases. Then we worked on the worksheet.
As always, I would love comments or suggestions on how I can improve these lessons.
We have been practicing giving and receiving directions which is amazingly difficult in English. My class, as a whole, had a horrible time with the direction questions on the CASAS and they really needed great amounts of practice and review using directional prepositions, expressions and vocabulary. This was not the first lesson we did on directions (I will include those later) but it was a review lesson in which vocabulary about DC and review of directions was included.
First, we had a conversation about famous places to see in D.C. Some vocabulary we revisited and reviewed was: memorials, monuments, museums and buildings. As I showed pictures and spoke briefly about each image, I asked the students to write
"I want to see/visit/go to ________________________" or
"I don't want to see/visit/go to __________________________." To practice evaluating the information I was sharing with them. (This also allows my very beginning students to have a phrase they are conversationally comfortable with.)
Here are some of the word documents (composed of non-copyrighted images) that I used to introduce various sites of interest:
The National Gallery of Art (building fronts)
The National Gallery of Art - Examples of artwork found there
Well, since I still don't have a good hosting site I will have to postpone posting the rest of the images. I will, however, leave you with the directions activity associated with the pictures, etc.
This is the directions worksheet that I used. I pointed out that on the map we can see the east and west wings or buildings of the National Gallery of Art. We spoke about the map and the pictures (matching the pictures to the buildings they represented on the map as well as reviewing the "I want to/I don't want to" phrases. Then we worked on the worksheet.
As always, I would love comments or suggestions on how I can improve these lessons.
Figuring this out
Though I consider myself to be generally somewhat 'blog' savvy, I have only worried about pictures and html in the past. Document hosting is a whole new game, but soon I am sure I will know much more than I ever though necessary.
Here is my first attempt at linking a pdf I created to the blog. If successful you will see MANY more in the future.
The Capitol Area Map Worksheet is one I created while doing a section on 'Taking a trip to DC' where we have been practicing (reviewing) skills previously introduced (in this case the vocabulary and skills needed to give directions.)
Here is my first attempt at linking a pdf I created to the blog. If successful you will see MANY more in the future.
The Capitol Area Map Worksheet is one I created while doing a section on 'Taking a trip to DC' where we have been practicing (reviewing) skills previously introduced (in this case the vocabulary and skills needed to give directions.)
Thursday, October 16, 2008
What is this?
This is a place for me to post some of my ESL lesson plans and ideas for others to use. Please feel free to copy, download, or use any information that you find helpful. I also LOVE ideas and comments, so please feel free to comment on, or provide suggestions regarding any ideas or experiences posted here.
the three classes I am currently teaching
I am currently teaching three different classes for the local community college. The first is on Tues. & Thurs. and is a higher level class focusing on civics & citizenship (which includes a healthy smattering of U.S. History.) Generally, this class is small with regular attendance around 4-6 people.
The second is on Mons. & Weds. (morning) and is a beginning ESL class taught at a YMCA. This class has brand new learners with a handful of intermediate learners. This class is consistently 18-22 people (with a total enrollment of about 25).
The third class is a family literacy class that just began that has a current enrollment of 48!!! (But I expect, as normally happens with community classes that it will level off around 25-30).
I have previously taught in Thailand and most recently in the Dominican Republic. I am delighted to find that teaching ESL in community workshops (like the YMCA or at a Public School in the evenings) is very much like teaching overseas! And, generally, the students are excited to learn and willing to try all the silly things that we do in class.
My class at the YMCA is primarily housewives and retired women (so the age varies from 20 to late 60's.) We were working on prepositions and I brought in bathroom cups (the kind you use when you brush your teeth) and hershey's kisses. We practiced our prepositions by putting the chocolate in the cup, on the cup, under the cup, beside the cup, against the cup, beneath the cup, above the cup, etc. They all loved playing with the cups and kisses. It is so different than teaching highschool students. Adults who are in class WANT to learn and they ENJOY the things we do! This lights up my whole day.
It is so rewarding to help provide the way for a person to 'go further' in our culture!
The second is on Mons. & Weds. (morning) and is a beginning ESL class taught at a YMCA. This class has brand new learners with a handful of intermediate learners. This class is consistently 18-22 people (with a total enrollment of about 25).
The third class is a family literacy class that just began that has a current enrollment of 48!!! (But I expect, as normally happens with community classes that it will level off around 25-30).
I have previously taught in Thailand and most recently in the Dominican Republic. I am delighted to find that teaching ESL in community workshops (like the YMCA or at a Public School in the evenings) is very much like teaching overseas! And, generally, the students are excited to learn and willing to try all the silly things that we do in class.
My class at the YMCA is primarily housewives and retired women (so the age varies from 20 to late 60's.) We were working on prepositions and I brought in bathroom cups (the kind you use when you brush your teeth) and hershey's kisses. We practiced our prepositions by putting the chocolate in the cup, on the cup, under the cup, beside the cup, against the cup, beneath the cup, above the cup, etc. They all loved playing with the cups and kisses. It is so different than teaching highschool students. Adults who are in class WANT to learn and they ENJOY the things we do! This lights up my whole day.
It is so rewarding to help provide the way for a person to 'go further' in our culture!
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