Stevye

Activities that help students improve English Skills

=Activities are so important for all students, but especially ESL students. Activities allow students to test their knowledge, and get students excited to learn. Below are several activities that are geared toward a classroom with ESL students.=

**Activites: **

=Ring-A-Word = = = The great thing about this activity is that it can be used for just about any subject, and there are so many different variations of the activity; there really isn’t a wrong way to do this activity. = = In this example, the objective for the students is to identify states by their shape (we are only going to be looking at the western half of the US). The teacher covers the white board with 15-20 western state shapes; California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Utah, Nevada, etc… (This is the part of the activity that can be changed to tailor any subject matter that is being studied. If you were studying the alphabet, you could put up letters.) When putting the material on the white board, you want to make sure that it is not in any specific order; for the states, we want them mixed up so that they are not geologically correct. The class is then divided into two teams and each team is given a dry erase maker, each a different color. The two teams should each form a line facing the white board, and the student that is at the front of the line for each team should be the one holding the marker. The teacher then will call out a state; For this example, we will say that California was the state the teacher called. The two students holding the markers will then try and locate that state the fastest and draw a circle around it. The student that circles the correct state first wins a point for their team. After the point is awarded, the students that just took the turn hand off the marker to the next student in line and then it is that student’s turn to find the next state that is called. One of the great things about this activity is that it can last as long as the teacher feels it necessary. After several turns, the teacher can rearrange the material on the board. Once the teacher is satisfied that the all of the students have a good understanding of the material, the activity is over and all of the points for each team are added up. The team with the most points wins. I feel that this activity is helpful for ESL students because of the repetition as well as the activity getting them involved. Students that are involved and get excited are much more likely to succeed in their studies. = = = = Teachers can also have the class practice the words as well. After the turn is over, the teacher can ask the class to say the state that was called out loud. This is another way that the student is able to be comfortable with the information; they are saying the word, hearing the word, and seeing the picture that the word corresponds too.

=Broken Sentences = 

This is a great activity that can be used multiple ways. I think that one of the best ways is to use it as a follow up after reading a book. This way it doubles as a vocabulary assignment as well as checks the student’s understood the reading material. This is a great activity for all students, including ESL students because it can be tailored to the students’ needs. This can be done in a group of 2 or more students, or it can be done individually. Materials:
 * Poster Board
 * Velcro
 * Several Typed Sentences (In this example, I am using sentences from the book Amelia Bedelia)

When using this after reading a book to the class, it allows the students to recall the information in the book and teaches them how to put sentences together. This activity can be simplified and does not have to go along with a book. If you are just working on sentence structure, you can simply type up 10 or more sentences, and cut them in half. You can have students put the sentences together on a table top so that poster board and Velcro are not used (This is an easier method if you are having the students do this activity on their own, or you have a large number of small groups.)

=Guess the Picture – Descriptive Clues =

<span style="display: block; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: left;">The goal of this activity is to get students to think outside the box and use descriptive words. This activity is great for ESL students because it allows them to practice and improve oral language. <span style="display: block; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: left;">In this activity, students are paired up into groups of 2. The students should sit with their backs facing each other so they cannot see the other person. One of the students will be given a picture of an object or an animal. The other student should never see this picture. The student that was given the picture then gives clues to their partner and based on those clues, their partner tries to guess the picture. <span style="display: block; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: left;">Example: If the picture given is of an elephant, some of the clues may be the following:
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">It is a large animal
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">It has a long trunk
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">It has big floppy ears
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">It can spray large amounts of water from its trunk

<span style="display: block; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: left;">Once their partner does guess the picture, then the turn ends and they switch places. <span style="display: block; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: left;">If you wanted to turn the activity into a game and have the objective be to give the best descriptive clues, you could have the winner be the student that gave the fewest clues or have the teacher or an aid be a referee and judge the descriptive clues given. <span style="display: block; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: left;">For older or more advanced groups, the pictures could be more detailed, and instead of the student guessing a single object, it would be a scene; they would not only guess the main item/items, they would also have to guess the action. <span style="display: block; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: left;">Example: Peter Pan being chased by Captain Hook

=<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">READING BINGO = =<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;"> =

<span style="display: block; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: left;">Create a minimum of 24 question and answer pairs (this would mean that each student would use everyone answer listed). If you would like to add difficulty to the assignment, you can create upwards of 40 question and answer pairs. List all of the ‘Answers’ on the board. Each student should be provided with a blank Bingo sheet (Free space in the middle.) The students should then fill in their own bingo card using the answers listed on the board. This helps students with their writing and reading skills. Once all of the students have their bingo cards filled out and have markers (this can be beans, a type of candy such as M&Ms, or really anything you would like to use), the instructor then begins by randomly selecting a question from a bowl and reads it aloud. If the student has the answer to the question asked on their bingo card, they are able to cover that word with their Example from the book Fancy Nancy and the Delectable Cupcakes: If the instructor reads the question that asks “What is the fancy word for smell?” the student would cover up the word Aroma on their bingo card. <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">The following are some examples of Question/Answer pairs from the Fancy Nancy and the Delectable Cupcakes. <span style="display: block; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: left;">Another great thing about Bingo is the prizes that the instructor can use. You can get very creative with this – Special privileges, a free book (to encourage further reading), pencils, etc… Students get very excited about activities such as bingo. When a student is excited to learn, they are much more likely to understand the information and remember the information for further use. One of the most important things to do for an ESL student is get them excited to learn the information. Other modifications can be made for a new ESL student; you could assign another student to assist them with their bingo card, you as the instructor could have a list of the answer words in their native language, and while the class is filling their card out, you could assist those ESL students with filling their cards out by also allowing them to write the answer word in their native language along with the English word.
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">Question: What was Bree bringing to the bake sale? Answer: Brownies
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">Question: What was Robert bringing to the bake sale? Answer: Red Velvet Cake
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">Question: What is the fancy word for smell? Answer: Aroma

<span style="display: block; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: left;">Animal Sounds <span style="display: block; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: left;">Now, this activity is really for the younger students, but like most of the other activities I have posted, this one can also be modified for all different age levels.

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">This activity is done through the website, but can easily be modified – Make/Bring a CD to class with multiple recognizable animal sounds on it (Examples: birds, cat, cow, dog, frog, duck, pig, etc…) – Give each student an activity/assignment worksheet to complete. At the top of the worksheet, have a list of all of the animals that are on the CD m at the top of the sheet (correct spelling – Also can have the animals written in the different languages that students in your class speak) – As you play each of the sounds, have the students write the animal that makes that sound on the correct number (Example: If the first sound you play the sound that a cat makes (meow), then the student will list that animal on the spot for animal #1)

=References:= <span style="display: block; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 110%; text-align: left;">//Englishclub//. (n.d.). Retrieved from [] <span style="display: block; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 110%; text-align: left;">//Bingo//. (n.d.). Retrieved from [] <span style="display: block; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 110%; text-align: left;">//Bingo//. (n.d.). Retrieved from [] <span style="display: block; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 110%; text-align: left;">School, K. (1999). Retrieved from [] <span style="display: block; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 110%; text-align: left;">Parish, P. (1963). //Amelia bedelia//. (pp. 1-65). New York, NY: HarperCollins Publishers Inc. O'Connor, J. (2010). //Fancy nancy and the delectable cupcakes//. (1st ed., pp. 1-32). New York, NY: HarperCollins Publishers. Yong Mei, Y. (2010, December 10). //Using games in efl classes for children//. Retrieved from http://english.daejin.ac.kr/~rtyson/fall2000/elt/games.html Vernon, S. (2006). //How to teach english for different learning styles//. Retrieved from http://www.teachingenglishgames.com/Articles/Learning_Styles.htm //Writing//. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://englishlearner.com/teachers/writing.html //Esl games//. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.englishclub.com/esl-games/ l