Kids 4 the World Fair

It is a project we have with the children from the last level of Kids track. A country is assigned for each Kids 4 group and the students, together with the teacher, have to prepare the exhibition which is held on a certain day near the end of the semester. This year, it is going to be tomorrow(10/12/2010). Here you can see some of the pictures I took from my students during the preparation. In these photos, the students were making the flag of the country using the mosaic technique.

Site Recommendation

Hi Everyone,

Spelling in English is hard even for those who are native or have been practicing the language for years. So I have a great site recommendation for you: www.spellingcity.com.

It is a free site that can make teaching spelling very exciting. Spellingcity  provides a simple online way to practice spelling. I hope you enjoy it.

Fairy Tales

We had a topic on the book about Fairy Tales. Within this topic, we should analyse the elements of the story such as PLOT, SETTING etc.
I decide to make a Fairy Tale Project and I asked us my Adult 6 students to explore the world of fairy tales. First we chose the wonderful Cinderella and part of our Guided Reading program. We learned about the "elements" ~ the ingredients ~ of a fairy tale and then looked for them in Cinderella. I found a wonderful site which did the work for me.
Learn all about the elements of a fairy tale,here.
After having learned the elements of a fairy tale. I divided my students into smaller groups and assigned each a different story. The students were supposed to read, analyse and produce a poster.

Here is what they produced:

It was a very rewarding activity. The students could benefit from the vocabulary, the grammar and also the messages each story brings.

I have a Dream - Martin Luther King

Dear High Intermediate Students. Watch the video and then answer the following questions.

01. When and where did this speech take place?
02. According to M.L. King, what is the problem with blacks? What does he want to tell them?
03. Explain why he said: " There will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights." 

Comic book project

I had a very enhancing experience at the BRAZTESOL conference in São Paulo. It was equally exciting and productive. I have learned how to use a couple of online tools and I think any ESL/EFL teacher could use them to engage language learners in creative mini projects. I would like to share the one I have tried with my students and which was very rewarding:

Online Comics Generator: http://www.makebeliefscomix.com/ The students had to choose as many characters as they wanted, give them a "mood", add a thought or a talk balloon and create a story. The results were of great fun. Here is a picture of the characters one can find when accessing the site.

Enjoy it!

This activity was used to review reported speech and also to bring some culture to the classroom. I wish We had this kind of celebration here in Brazil. Only the Language Schools celebrate it. I would love to see my kids wearing funny costumes and going from door-to-door saying trick or treat. It would be really wonderful.

Gerund or Infinitive

This is the worksheet used to teach/practice this topic, after showing the power point on the same subject.

                                                             Click here to download

Gerund or Infinitive

Click here to download

This is a power point to present and practice gerund and/or infinitive. It is followed by a worksheet about the same subject.

American Slang 01

This is a serie of 7 lessons on this topic. In this video students are exposed to situations in which the use of slang is appropriate. The aim of the video is to help students to understand English when it is spoken informaly.

Fairy Tales

Adult 6 students only.

You have to download the worksheet below, choose three of the fairy tales from the link given in it and complete the table. Don't forget to insert it in your e-folio.

Click here to download the worksheet

Warm up - Adjectives

This warm up can be used/done with any subject.
The teacher devides the students into smaller groups and hands out the Word search below.
Teacher says/mimes/ shows a flashcard with the word he/she wants the students to look for.
Volunteers from each groups has to look for the word, circle and say finish to score a point for his/her group.

It's is lots of fun!!

IM - Instant Message Game

Click here to Download this file.