If I could choose only one activity to have prepped and ready to use at all times- it would be this. Why? It’s just so functional. Once you do the minimal prep, its always at your fingertips. Do you have 5 minutes left before the end of class? – Pull it out! Do you need a quick activity to transition with? Pull it out! Do you have a few fast finishers? Put them in a group and pull it out! Do you just need your students to practice speaking? Pull it out! ESL Kids Question Jar Activity – 150 questions…
Author: Brooke Hamler
Brooke Hamler
Brooke is a curriculum designer, educational publisher, and former ESL and ELA teacher with 15+ years of classroom experience. She is the founder of Hot Chocolate Teachables, where she creates engaging resources that help teachers save time while improving student learning outcomes. Her materials are used by educators worldwide and focus on ESL, ELL, EFL, grammar, speaking, vocabulary, literacy, phonics, and critical thinking instruction. Browse more teaching resources at Hot Chocolate Teachables or explore classroom ideas and teaching strategies on the blog.
These Valentine’s bookmarks are so easy to create! Hopefully it’s not the day before Valentine’s Day and you are frantically scrambling for an activity to do with your kids/class! Even if it is, these will work great for you! By clicking here to sign up for my monthly newsletter, you’ll get this freebie sent right to your inbox! We hope you’ll stick around and join us every month for new tips, freebies and resources designed for parents and teachers alike! Sign-up here! What’s required? printer card stock or colored printer paper (astrobrights work great) crayons, colored pencils or markers scissors…
Here are my BACK TO SCHOOL signs for Australia and the Australian school system. (They just updated for 2022 and 2023) AUSTRALIA: (This resource has been updated for the 2022/2023 School Year) If you’re looking for the United States /American version of this sign – you can purchase it HERE Enjoy & Happy Teaching! xoxo Brooke
I love using simple flap books with my students for a number of reasons. This Valentine’s Day flap book has been a valuable classroom resource for years. Since I teach a wide variety of age and skill levels, I find that flap books are an activity that can be easily differentiated based on those two factors. Also, as an English as a Foreign language teacher, parents are so curious to know what their kids are doing. “Is my child learning anything?” – “Is my child able to communicate or recognize English words”. That’s why flap books are a wonderful way…
Here are some engaging Valentine’s Day activities that kids of all ages love doing! From board games to charades, I’ve put together some go my go-to Valentine’s activities in this post. I’ve divided them by age/ability level for all of you that have mixed age/level learners. Valentine’s Day is always a fun time in the classroom. Kids love all of the activities and treats that come with the celebration. VALENTINE’S DAY BOARD GAME TEMPLATE FOR ANY SUBJECT WITH EDITABLE GAME CARDS Create your own engaging Valentine’s Day board game to practice and review any subject! The game board template…
Writing a Dear Santa letter can be tricky for lower level ESL students. This guided writing activity gives students the tools they need to be able to write the letter independently. Level 1 – Fill-in -the-blanks: Even newcomers with extremely limited language skills can fill-in these simple sentences and draw a picture of what they’d like for Christmas. Level 2: Wh-Questions: Have your more advanced students use the Wh-word guide to answer the questions within their writing and create a more engaging and detailed letter. Do your students need help writing friendly letters to Santa this Christmas? In ESL classrooms with limited…
These games and activities will give your students all of the practice they need telling the time. This skill can be tricky for students that speak English as a new or foreign language. It’s a skill that involves calculations and language. Often our brains just aren’t wired to make that split second calculation while we look at a watch or clock! I can speak from personal experience. I learned my second language (Italian) as an adult. I remember many years ago, traveling in Italy trying to communicate train times, timetables, a time to meet someone. Believe me, it wasn’t easy.…
Have you signed up for your FREEBIE? Join the list to get this great set of pocket sized keyring COMPARATIVE & SUPERLATIVE ADJECTIVE SPEAKING STRIPS. Encourage your students to use complete sentences while comparing and contrasting with these fun and engaging printable prompt strips! These make a great addition to your unit on comparative adjectives.