… To the teacher: I took the idea for this lesson from an ESL workbook that I used many years ago. Nothing remains of the book, but for this picture, which I now use as a prompt to get students to write a story together. My lesson is very different from the lesson that was…
… … Lesson One: Pick A Bale Of Cotton … To the teacher: Lesson One uses five handouts. If they are going to be printed and handed out in class, print them back to back to save on paper. If the students look at this lesson online, Handout Three could still be printed for students…
… Walking through Tompkins Square in New York City, I see red roses in the brisk air. I’ve been thinking about the present tense in English because that is what I will talk about with my students this morning, and here I am in the present looking at a blooming rose. Although we call four…
… If you were going to teach English to someone who was just beginning to learn it, what would you teach? There is a game I sometimes play with beginners, a kind of bingo with a die and some beans for markers. Call it Syntax. Student One rolls and everybody puts a bean on the…
… To the English Learner: If you want to learn English, begin with the verbs. That is where the action is. This is true with any language, and very true with English because what makes English English are its helping verbs. But let’s look at the main verbs first. … Main Verbs Main verbs in…
… In English we can take a noun and change it into a verb and the sentence still makes sense. I saw an example recently. There was a sushi restaurant on First Avenue near St. Mark’s that had a great box lunch special. For around ten dollars I’d get miso soup and salmon teriyaki with…
… Acquainted with the Night I have been one acquainted with the night. I have walked out in rain—and back in rain. I have outwalked the furthest city light. I have looked down the saddest city lane. I have passed by the watchman on his beat And dropped my eyes, unwilling to explain. I have…
… The five poems and poets that follow are for anyone who enjoys poetry, of course, but they are also for English or ESL teachers who are looking to do a class with some poetry. I made Vimeos to go with the poems. I made them for the fun of it—and I hope that they…
… What follows is an ESL lesson I use with Fog by Carl Sandburg. I present it from the point of view of a teacher talking. The objective is to get the student writing, and that process is divided into three parts. Students first examine the poem and answer questions about its structure. Then students…
… I love and yet have mixed feelings about a poem by Emily Dickinson, but it doesn’t stop me from using it in a poetry lesson for students who are learning the English language. I let the class memorize the first stanza to exercise their brains thinking about English and to better feel the rhythm…
Objective: Students will be able to recognize an adjective, and know its three forms: positive, comparative and superlative. They will also be able to recognize adverbs. Method: Groups of three Materials: Handout: “The Rabbit and the Turtle” Handout: Adjective Activities Handout: Adverb Activities Newsprint and markers PDF with the story and all activities included:…
.. The Objective: Spelling. In preparation for reading “The Rabbit and the Turtle,” students will spell the words the teacher says to them. These words are from the story. Defining. Each student will select one of the spelling words, define it, and use it in a sentence. Students will write their words on index cards….
