Posts describing lessons or activities for the ESL classroom.

Activities

<p>In the US, October 28 is National Chocolate Day. Like World Chocolate Day in July, it is an annual celebration of one of the world&#39;s most beloved sweet treats. Chocolate, however, also has its dark side. The use of slave labor for production is one example of the issues that plague the industry. Whether exploring the good or bad side of chocolate, students will find plenty to learn.&nbsp;Here are some activity ideas to try in class.</p>

<h2>1. How Many in the Jar?</h2>

<p>This is a great warm-up activity to start and end the class with. Fill a large mason jar with button-shaped candy, like M&amp;M&#39;s or&nbsp;Cadbury Smarties, or chocolate coins. Be sure to count them!</p>

<p>Put&nbsp;students into pairs and hand each pair a strip of paper. Ask them&nbsp;to write down their names and their guess for how many candies are in the jar and collect the strips. At the end of the lesson, read out the guesses and reveal the correct answer. The team with the closest guess wins the jar!</p>

<h2>2. A-choc-stic Poems</h2>

<p>Acrostic poems are a fun and easy way to get young learners and beginners writing! Review how to create an acrostic poem with students and show them some examples. Then have them write their own using the word&nbsp;&ldquo;chocolate.&rdquo;&nbsp;</p>

<div class="whiteBox"><span class="label hangingLabel">Related Lesson</span>

<p class="circleThumb"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/74/lessons/2026"><img src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/1823/content_74_Poem.png" /></a></p>

<h2><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/74/lessons/2026">How to Write a Poem</a></h2>

<p>This <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/74/lessons">Writing in English</a> lesson includes a section on acrostic poems. Students will learn how to write one and then practice writing their own.</p>
</div>

<h2>3. Chocolate Quest</h2>

<p>This is a fun, adaptable activity for in-person or online classes. Prepare a set of questions ahead of time related to chocolate, like &quot;Where does chocolate originate from?&quot; and &quot;Which country has the most cocoa farms?&quot;&nbsp;</p>

<p>Put the class into pairs or groups and give each team a copy of the questions. To get students up and moving,&nbsp;teachers can&nbsp;display the questions around the class (on the board or using posters).</p>

<p>Each team must work to find the answers to the questions using materials found in the classroom (textbooks, handouts, posters, etc.) or&nbsp;on the internet, or both!&nbsp;</p>

<h2>4. Recipe Scramble</h2>

<p>Choose several chocolate-based recipes to print or make copies of. Cut each recipe&nbsp;up so that every step of the instructions is on its own strip of paper. Have students work in pairs and give each team their own set of paper strips. Have them sort through the steps and decide on the correct order.</p>

<p>Give each team a different cut-up recipe so they can&nbsp;swap with each other between rounds, or turn it into a race by giving each team the same cut-up recipe.</p>

<p>Our&nbsp;<a href="https://ellii.com/courses/127/lessons/3300">Following a Recipe</a> lesson&nbsp;is a handy resource for reviewing how to identify parts of a recipe with learners.</p>

<h2>5. News Report</h2>

<p>This is a great activity for advanced levels and Business English students. Choose some newsworthy topics related to chocolate, like the use of <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/72/lessons/1254">child slavery in cocoa fields</a>&nbsp;or the effect of climate change on cocoa&nbsp;production. Organize the class into groups, and assign each group one of the topics.</p>

<p>Each group will research their topic, prepare a short report on it, and then present&nbsp;their report&nbsp;to the rest of the class.&nbsp;When the class &quot;news report&quot; is complete, have students discuss the different news items.</p>

<h2>6. Video Discussion</h2>

<p>Choose a chocolate-themed movie or documentary to watch and discuss as a class. Teachers can also have students write a review. Here are some examples.</p>

<ul>
	<li><a href="https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/willy_wonka_and_the_chocolate_factory">Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory</a> (1971)</li>
	<li><a href="https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/chocolat">Chocolat</a> (2000)</li>
	<li><a href="https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/charlie_and_the_chocolate_factory">Charlie and the Chocolate Factory</a> (2005)</li>
	<li><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1773722/">The Dark Side of Chocolate</a> (2010)</li>
	<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibjUpk9Iagk">The History of Chocolate&mdash;Deanna Pucciarelli</a>&nbsp;by TED-Ed&nbsp;</li>
	<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPe1jMuX32s">How Chocolate is Made</a> by Tasty&nbsp;</li>
</ul>

<h2>7. Design a Candy Bar</h2>

<p>Inspire your students&#39; creativity with this fun challenge. Bring in different candy bars&nbsp; to show and discuss with students in class. Get them talking with questions such as &quot;Which has the best name?,&quot;&nbsp;&quot;Which has the best flavor concept?,&quot;&nbsp;and&nbsp;&quot;Which wrapper has the best design?&quot;<br />
<br />
Put students into pairs or groups and have them design their own candy bar. Have them describe their creation and its main ingredients&mdash;either in writing or as an oral presentation.</p>

<h2>Related Lessons:</h2>

<ul>
	<li>
	<p><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/95/lessons/1846">Health Matters: Chocolate</a></p>
	</li>
	<li>
	<p><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/117/lessons/2568">Discovery: Chocolate</a></p>
	</li>
	<li>
	<p><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/82/lessons/1440">Famous Things: Cocoa</a></p>
	</li>
</ul>


7 Activities for Chocolate Day

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<p>Halloween is a great time&nbsp;to help students unlock&nbsp;their creativity. This fun class activity, based on the popular Unconventional Materials Challenge episodes&nbsp;on the hit reality&nbsp;show&nbsp;<em><a href="https://www.bravotv.com/project-runway" nofollow="" noreferrer="" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Project Runway</a>,</em>&nbsp;will increase students&#39; motivation and get them in the Halloween spirit.</p>

<p>These particular episodes take place at least once each season. The contestants, who are all aspiring fashion designers,&nbsp;must create a garment out of&nbsp;materials from a source not typically associated with fashion.&nbsp;Past sources have included pet shops, hardware stores, and garbage heaps.</p>

<p>If you aren&#39;t already familiar with the show and the concept behind it, take a look at this YouTube clip from Lifetime.</p>

<div class="video-wrapper"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/JxptPZWgBC0" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></div>
<p class="caption">YouTube</p>

<h2>Preparation</h2>

<p>The classroom version of this challenge requires a bit of preparation, but the results are well worth it!&nbsp;First, decide on a set number of groups and then prepare a bag for each group. Fill each bag with an assortment of crafting materials, such as colored paper, string, and glitter.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Recyclables work especially well for this! Think newspapers, magazines, toilet paper tubes, and cardboard boxes. If your budget allows, you can also throw in a few dollar or thrift store finds, such as wigs, masks, and other basic accessories.&nbsp;</p>

<p>You will also need to provide a few tools, like scissors, glue, and tape, for students to use during the activity (if they don&#39;t have their own).&nbsp;</p>

<h2>Instructions</h2>

<h3>1. Discuss</h3>

<p>Prepare some pictures or videos of Halloween costumes to show students. Then ask students a few questions to get the conversation going. Why do people dress up for Halloween? What are the most popular costumes every year? How do they differ from country to country? Let them discuss.</p>

<h3>2. Organize</h3>

<p>Once students are comfortable talking about the topic, divide them into their groups, explain the activity, and hand out the bags. Teachers can play a clip from <em>Project Runway</em> to help students understand the concept better and to get them excited about the challenge.</p>

<h3>3. Create</h3>

<p>Now for the fun part! Each group must create a costume for one of its members to model using the given materials&nbsp;within a specified time frame. This can be anywhere from 5 to 30 minutes, depending on the class. Teachers could also opt to have&nbsp;multiple rounds with students switching bags in between.</p>

<h3>4. Present</h3>

<p>When the time is up, each group will have the chance to present their costume to the rest of the class. Students should be prepared to say a few sentences about their costume. They may need extra time to write out and/or practice their sentences first. If you think your students would be comfortable, the presentation can be done in the form of a fashion show.</p>

<h3>5. Vote</h3>

<p>After the presentations are complete, have students <a href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/104/resources/2312" target="_blank">vote</a> on which costumes they liked&nbsp;best.<strong>&nbsp;</strong>This is a great chance to practice <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/116/lessons/2532" target="_blank">superlatives</a>!&nbsp;Teachers can open up the voting to other classes in the grade&nbsp;or even the entire school.</p>


Costume Challenge: A Halloween Activity

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<p>People learn new languages in order to share&nbsp;ideas and opinions. However, communicating effectively in another language can be&nbsp;challenging for low-level students&nbsp;who don&#39;t yet have confidence in their ability to express their thoughts. But why not turn that challenge into a game?</p>

<p>One of my favorite lower-level&nbsp;activities is something I like to call the &quot;Silent Film Challenge.&quot;&nbsp;This is a great activity for practicing both speaking and listening skills. Here&#39;s how it works:</p>

<h2>Preparation</h2>

<p>Choose two short videos or films that contain little or no dialogue. The videos should be no longer than five minutes. (YouTube is a treasure trove for&nbsp;short clips.) Make sure you don&#39;t choose something well known that the students will already be familiar with&nbsp;or the activity will be too easy.&nbsp;The activity works&nbsp;best if the two videos are completely unrelated to each other.</p>

<h2>The Activity</h2>

<ol>
	<li>Divide the class into pairs (Student A and Student B). Have all the Student Bs step into the hallway. Make sure they can&#39;t see or hear what&#39;s happening in the classroom.</li>
	<li>Play the first video for the remaining students in the classroom. Students can request to watch the clip again, if needed, but they should not take notes. The idea is to rely entirely on their memories&nbsp;as well as their speaking skills.</li>
	<li>Bring the Student Bs back into the classroom and tell them to find their partner. Now, it is each Student A&#39;s job to explain the video clip to their partner. Give them a few minutes to do this.</li>
	<li>After the Student As have described the video&nbsp;to the Student Bs, choose a Student B at random to describe the clip, which&nbsp;they haven&#39;t seen themselves, based on their partner&#39;s description.&nbsp;After they&#39;ve explained a small chunk of the clip, point to&nbsp;a different Student B and have them continue the explanation&nbsp;until all the Student Bs have had a chance to add to it.</li>
	<li>Play the video again with&nbsp;all the students&nbsp;present. (Student Bs tend to particularly enjoy this part&nbsp;since they can compare their understanding with what actually happens in the video.)</li>
	<li>Have partners switch roles. Repeat the activity using the second video, but this time, have the Student Bs stay in the classroom while the Student As wait outside.</li>
</ol>

<p>I like to end this activity with a little self-assessment. Ask your students which parts of the videos they found easy to explain or describe. Which parts were difficult? Ideally, you can repeat the activity several times throughout the term and ask students if they see any improvement in their own skills.</p>


The Silent Film Challenge

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Stay up-to-date with ELT trends and ideas with articles from experts and teachers in the field.

Articles

<p>You&rsquo;re probably already familiar with Australia&rsquo;s national animal, but have you ever heard of &ldquo;kangaroo words&rdquo;? The word game&nbsp;by writer Ben O&rsquo;Dell&nbsp;gained popularity in the 1950s when it was first published in <em>The American Magazine</em>, then later reprinted in <em>Reader&rsquo;s Digest</em>.</p>

<p>In this post, we&#39;ll explore different types of kangaroo words and how they can be useful in the ESL Classroom. Scroll to the end for a fun activity idea!</p>

<div class="whiteBox"><span class="label hangingLabel">Related Lesson</span>

<p class="circleThumb"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/117/lessons/2601"><img src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/emails/monthly-newsletter/thumbs/117_Kangaroos.png" /></a></p>

<h2><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/117/lessons/2601">Kangaroos</a></h2>

<p>Students learn all about kangaroos through reading, speaking, listening, and vocabulary tasks in this <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/117/lessons">Discovery</a> lesson for young learners.</p>
</div>

<h2>Kangaroo Words</h2>

<p>In logology, or recreational linguistics, a kangaroo word is an English word that contains the letters of a synonymous word that appear&nbsp;in the correct order within it.</p>

<p>The synonymous word is known as a &ldquo;joey word,&rdquo; in reference to how kangaroos carry their offspring in their pouches.</p>

<p>Take the word &ldquo;chicken,&rdquo; for example. Can you spot the synonym hiding in this kangaroo word?</p>

<blockquote>
<p>C<strong>H</strong>ICK<strong>EN</strong></p>
</blockquote>

<p>That&rsquo;s right! The joey word is &quot;hen.&quot;</p>

<p>Here are some more examples of kangaroo words:</p>

<ul>
	<li>astound (stun)</li>
	<li>capsule (case)</li>
	<li>catacomb (tomb)</li>
	<li>charisma (charm)</li>
	<li>destruction (ruin)</li>
	<li>fragile (frail)</li>
	<li>encourage (urge)</li>
	<li>instructor (tutor)</li>
	<li>observe (see)</li>
	<li>precipitation (rain)</li>
</ul>

<h2>Twin Kangaroo Words</h2>

<p>Some kangaroo words contain more than one joey word. These are known as &quot;twin kangaroo&quot; words.</p>

<p>For example, the word &quot;community&quot; contains both the synonyms &quot;county&quot; and &quot;city.&quot;</p>

<blockquote>
<p><strong>CO</strong>MM<strong>UN</strong>I<strong>TY</strong></p>

<p><strong>C</strong>OMMUN<strong>ITY</strong></p>
</blockquote>

<p>Here are some more examples of twin kangaroo words:</p>

<ul>
	<li>complaisant (compliant; pliant)</li>
	<li>container (tin; can)</li>
	<li>chariot (car; cart)</li>
	<li>deteriorate (die; rot)</li>
	<li>diminutive (minute; mini)</li>
	<li>feasted (fed; ate)</li>
	<li>frangible (fragile; frail)</li>
	<li>loneliness (loss; oneness)</li>
	<li>perambulate (ramble; amble)</li>
</ul>

<h2>Grand Kangaroo Words</h2>

<p>When a kangaroo word contains a joey word that has another joey word inside it, it is known as a &quot;grand kangaroo&quot; word.</p>

<p>For example, in the kangaroo word &quot;alone,&quot;&nbsp;the joey word is &quot;lone.&quot;&nbsp;Within &quot;alone,&quot; there is the&nbsp;synonymous word &quot;one&quot;.</p>

<blockquote>
<p>A<strong>LONE</strong>&rarr; L<strong>ONE</strong></p>
</blockquote>

<p>Here are some more examples of grand kangaroo words:</p>

<ul>
	<li>amicability (amiability&rarr;amity)</li>
	<li>complaisant (compliant&rarr;pliant)</li>
	<li>expurgate (purge&rarr;pure)</li>
	<li>frangible (fragile&rarr;frail)</li>
</ul>

<h2>Anti-Kangaroo Words</h2>

<p>Some kangaroo words contain an antonym instead of a synonym. These are known as &quot;anti-kangaroo&quot; words.</p>

<p>The word&nbsp;&quot;friend,&quot; for example, contains its opposite, &quot;fiend.&quot;</p>

<blockquote>
<p><strong>F</strong>R<strong>IEND</strong></p>
</blockquote>

<p>Here are some more examples of anti-kangaroo words:</p>

<ul>
	<li>courteous (curt)</li>
	<li>covert (overt)</li>
	<li>fabrication (fact)</li>
	<li>feast (fast)</li>
	<li>she (he)</li>
	<li>threaten (treat)</li>
	<li>there (here)</li>
	<li>veto (vet)</li>
	<li>wonderful (woeful)</li>
</ul>

<h2>Activity Idea</h2>

<p>Using kangaroo words in the ESL classroom is a great way to introduce new vocabulary to students and/or revise synonyms and antonyms.</p>

<p>It can also make for a&nbsp;fun, supplemental activity to a lesson&nbsp;on Australia or&nbsp;<a href="https://ellii.com/courses/113/lessons/2430" target="_blank">Australian Animals</a>.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Here is a fun activity to try that&#39;s&nbsp;based on a popular Japanese card game.</p>

<h3>Kangaroo Karuta</h3>

<p>Prepare some cards with kangaroo words written on them and divide students into pairs or groups. Each pair or group should be given their own set of cards.</p>

<p>For each round, read out a joey word and set a timer. The goal is for students to correctly identify which kangaroo word the joey belongs to and grab that card.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The first student to grab the correct&nbsp;card within the given time frame&nbsp;wins the round and gets to keep the card. At the end of the game, the student with the most cards wins.</p>

<p>This game can be easily adapted to include twin, grand, and anti-kangaroo words too. Try it out and let us know how it goes!</p>

<div class="whiteBox"><span class="label hangingLabel">Related Lesson</span>

<p class="circleThumb"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/90/lessons/1646"><img src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/emails/monthly-newsletter/thumbs/90_Synonym-and-Antonym-Stories.png" /></a></p>

<h2><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/90/lessons/1646">Synonym &amp; Antonym Stories</a></h2>

<p>In this intermediate <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/90/lessons">Grammar Stories</a> lesson, students read three stories that use synonyms and antonyms in context and match the words that they&#39;ve learned.</p>
</div>


Fun with Kangaroo Words

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<p>National Limerick Day is observed annually in the US on May 12 to celebrate the birthday of English writer&nbsp;Edward Lear.</p>

<p>Lear was an author, poet, illustrator, and artist, but he is best known for popularizing the limerick. This type of poem is characterized by its unique rhyming scheme and witty or nonsensical humor.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Here&#39;s a fun activity on limericks to try in class! In pairs or groups, students will write their own limerick while reviewing common nouns, adjectives, and verbs and their different forms.</p>

<h2>Step 1</h2>

<p>Introduce students to the structure of a limerick poem. It contains five lines, with the first two and last being slightly longer than the third and fourth.</p>

<p>The rhyming scheme is AABBA:</p>

<ul>
	<li>The last word of the first line should rhyme with the last word of the second line</li>
	<li>The last word of the third line should rhyme with the last word of the fourth line</li>
	<li>The last word of the fifth line should rhyme with the last word in the first and the second lines</li>
</ul>

<p>Here&rsquo;s an example:</p>

<blockquote>
<p>There was an Old Man with a <u>beard</u>,</p>

<p>Who said, &quot;It is just as I <u>feared</u>!&mdash;</p>

<p>Two owls and a <u>hen</u>,</p>

<p>Four larks and a <u>wren</u>,</p>

<p>Have all built their nests in my <u>beard</u>!&quot;</p>

<p class="attribution">&mdash;Edward Lear, 1920</p>
</blockquote>

<div class="whiteBox"><span class="label hangingLabel">Related Lesson</span>

<p class="circleThumb"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/74/lessons/2026"><img src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/emails/monthly-newsletter/thumbs/74_Poem.png" /></a></p>

<h2><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/74/lessons/2026">How to Write a Poem</a></h2>

<p>This <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/74/lessons">Writing in English</a> lesson for intermediate includes a section on how to write a limerick poem with a practice exercise.</p>
</div>

<h2>Step 2</h2>

<p>Divide students into pairs or groups and ask them to name their team. Give them a category for naming if you like; it&#39;s a good opportunity to practice previously learned vocabulary, like days of the week, <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/113/lessons/2411" target="_blank">animal families</a>, or <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/113/lessons/2798" target="_blank">colors</a>.</p>

<p>Draw a grid on the board and fill in the team names.</p>

<table>
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<th>Lions</th>
			<th>Tigers</th>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>&nbsp;</td>
			<td>&nbsp;</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<th>Whales</th>
			<th>Bears</th>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>&nbsp;</td>
			<td>&nbsp;</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

<h2>Step 3</h2>

<p>To fill in the grid on the board under each team name, ask students who are <em>not</em> in that team to provide the following words:</p>

<ul>
	<li>3 nouns</li>
	<li>2 verbs</li>
	<li>1 adjective</li>
</ul>

<p>Write the nouns, verbs, and adjectives suggested for each team on the grid.</p>

<table>
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<th>Lions</th>
			<th>Tigers</th>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>
			<p>n: <strong>boy</strong>, <strong>soup</strong>, <strong>New York</strong></p>

			<p>v: <strong>fall</strong>, <strong>flow</strong></p>

			<p>a: <strong>silver</strong></p>
			</td>
			<td>&nbsp;</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<th>Whales</th>
			<th>Bears</th>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>&nbsp;</td>
			<td>&nbsp;</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

<h2>Step 4</h2>

<p>Have each team come up with their own limerick using the nouns, verbs, and adjectives assigned to them.</p>

<blockquote>
<p>There once was a <b>boy</b> from <b>New York</b></p>

<p>Who ate all his <b>soup</b> with a fork</p>

<p><b>Falling</b> rivers of brine</p>

<p><b>Flowed</b> through <strong>silver</strong> tines</p>

<p>Splattering everything with pork!</p>
</blockquote>

<h2>Step 5</h2>

<p>When students have completed their limericks, have them practice reading it aloud with the other members of their team and then present their poem to the rest of the class.</p>


Fun with Limericks

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<p>In the US, May is Mental Health Awareness Month. Introduced&nbsp;in 1949 by the community-based non-profit, Mental Health America, the observance is dedicated to addressing the needs of people living with mental illness and promoting mental health overall.</p>

<p>Today, worldwide, it&rsquo;s <a href="https://www.who.int/activities/Improving-the-mental-and-brain-health-of-children-and-adolescents#:~:text=Worldwide%2C%2010%2D20%25%20of,by%2014%20years%20of%20age." rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_bank">estimated</a> that 10&ndash;20% of children and teens experience mental health conditions, including depression and anxiety. Half of these start by age 14, with suicide being the leading cause of death in 15&ndash;19 year olds.</p>

<p>With the added weight of a global pandemic, increased time spent online, and a looming climate crisis, it&rsquo;s important now, more than ever, to destigmatize mental illness.</p>

<p>An important space for that to happen is the classroom. Many teachers and schools around the world are turning to the practice of mindfulness as their approach.</p>

<p>This post&nbsp;explores the benefits of mindfulness in schools and classrooms and looks at five activities teachers can try with their students.</p>

<h2>What is mindfulness?</h2>

<p>Practicing mindfulness is learning how to maintain awareness of your thoughts, emotions, and experiences in a given moment without interpretation or judgement. A mindful activity is one that helps calm and center the body and mind.</p>

<h2>Mindfulness in schools</h2>

<p>When I was teaching in Japan, every morning at our high school began the same: students and teachers would close our eyes, correct our posture, and listen to a short guided meditation that played with music over the PA system.</p>

<p>This practice is known as &ldquo;sei-shi.&rdquo;&nbsp;&ldquo;Sei&rdquo; (正) means &ldquo;correct&rdquo; or &ldquo;positive,&rdquo;&nbsp;and &ldquo;shi&rdquo; (姿) means &ldquo;form&rdquo; or &ldquo;posture.&rdquo; It worked to help calm and quieten the minds of even the most troubled students.</p>

<p>On the other side of the world in the US, a <a href="https://www.oprah.com/inspiration/baltimore-city-elementary-meditation-with-kids#ixzz4Kuv2yKd0" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_bank">similar practice</a> is employed at an elementary school in Baltimore: every day begins with a breathing exercise broadcast over the PA system. Punishments for acting out&mdash;like detention or being sent to the principal&rsquo;s office&mdash;have been abandoned. Students are instead sent to the &ldquo;Mindful Moment&rdquo; room, where they are able to breathe and calm down.</p>

<p>In the UK, the government recently committed to investing public funds into mindfulness and mental health education for the first time.</p>

<p>In Canada, mindfulness is taught to both teachers and students, with some high schools even offering yoga as a physical education credit.</p>

<h2>Benefits of mindfulness in the classroom</h2>

<p>Schools that implement mindfulness practices have seen a drop in suspension rates and an increase in attendance. <a href="https://mashable.com/article/what-are-the-benefits-of-mindfulness-meditation/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_bank">Studies show</a> that practicing mindfulness has many other social, physical, and psychological benefits, including:</p>

<ul>
	<li>Reduced feelings of anxiety, stress, and depression</li>
	<li>Improved mood</li>
	<li>Decreased physical pain</li>
	<li>Increased sense of compassion</li>
	<li>Reduced bias</li>
</ul>

<h2>Mindfulness in the classroom</h2>

<p>There are many different ways teachers can bring the practice of mindfulness into the classroom. Here are some ideas with related lessons and resources from ESL Library.</p>

<h3>1. The 5-4-3-2-1 technique</h3>

<p>Teach your students a popular coping technique for anxiety. When they are feeling anxious or overwhelmed, have them take a deep breath, take in their surroundings, and answer the following questions:</p>

<ul>
	<li>What are 5 things you can see?</li>
	<li>What are 4 things you can feel?</li>
	<li>What are 3 things you can hear?</li>
	<li>What are 2 things you can smell?</li>
	<li>What is 1 thing you can taste?</li>
</ul>

<div class="whiteBox"><strong><span class="label hangingLabel">Related lesson:</span></strong>

<p class="circleThumb"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/117/lessons/3575"><img src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/emails/monthly-newsletter/thumbs/117_Five-Senses.png" /></a></p>

<h2><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/117/lessons/3575" target="_bank">The 5 Senses</a></h2>

<p>In this <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/117/lessons" target="_bank">Discovery</a> lesson for beginners, students review the five senses through reading, speaking, listening, and vocabulary tasks.</p>
</div>

<hr />
<h3>2. Mindful movement</h3>

<p>Exercises performed with awareness, such as walking, running, yoga, or dance, are excellent ways to practice mindfulness. In the classroom, yoga is especially beneficial as it doesn&#39;t require too much space and is easy enough for beginners.</p>

<p>Teach students some basic moves like Dandasana (Staff Pose) and Balasana (Child&rsquo;s Pose) and create your own daily or weekly routine together for class.</p>

<div class="whiteBox"><strong><span class="label hangingLabel">Related lesson:</span></strong>

<p class="circleThumb"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/97/lessons/1990"><img src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/emails/monthly-newsletter/thumbs/97_Yoga.png" /></a></p>

<h2><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/97/lessons/1990" target="_bank">Yoga</a></h2>

<p>This <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/97/lessons" target="_bank">Sports &amp; Leisure</a> lesson for intermediate includes an explanation of the Yoga Sutra and fun activities like Guess the Yoga Pose.</p>
</div>

<hr />
<h3>3. Drawing and&nbsp;coloring</h3>

<p>Drawing and coloring activities are great for improving fine motor development, but they also reduce stress and anxiety, stimulate creativity, and allow students to express themselves.</p>

<p>In the ESL classroom, drawing and coloring activities can be used to test students&#39; understanding of new words or concepts. For younger learners or those with limited vocabularies, they can help students build confidence while they are learning to express themselves in words.&nbsp;</p>

<div class="whiteBox"><strong><span class="label hangingLabel">Related resource:</span></strong>

<p class="circleThumb"><a href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/126/resources/2650"><img src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/emails/monthly-newsletter/thumbs/120_Drawing.png" /></a></p>

<h2><a href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/126/resources/2650" target="_bank">Sailboat</a></h2>

<p>Students draw a picture of a sailboat and answer a few questions in this <a href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/126/resources" target="_bank">Young Learner Activities</a> resource for beginners. Explore the Drawing section of this category for more topics.</p>
</div>

<hr />
<h3>4. Discussion</h3>

<p>A good way to destigmatize conversations about mental illness and mental health is to start one. Do your students feel anxious or stressed? How are they coping with those feelings?</p>

<p>Students are more likely to seek help for mental health conditions if they feel safe and equipped to talk about what they&#39;re experiencing.</p>

<div class="whiteBox"><strong><span class="label hangingLabel">Related lesson:</span></strong>

<p class="circleThumb"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/95/lessons/1851"><img src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/emails/monthly-newsletter/thumbs/95_Depression1.png" /></a></p>

<h2><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/95/lessons/1851" target="_bank">Depression</a></h2>

<p>In this <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/95/lessons" target="_bank">Health Matters</a> lesson, students learn ten ways to support a friend struggling with depression. The lesson includes vocab practice and a discussion on health-related issues.</p>
</div>

<hr />
<h3>5. Journaling</h3>

<p>Writing daily (or weekly) paragraphs about their feelings and thoughts can help students better identify and process their emotions. Writing is also a therapeutic activity that helps calm the body and mind.</p>

<p>Here are some writing prompts for students:</p>

<ul>
	<li>What do if I feel anxious/stressed/worried about today?</li>
	<li>What good thing happened today?</li>
	<li>What am I grateful for today?</li>
	<li>What about myself makes me most proud?</li>
	<li>What about myself do I need to work on?</li>
</ul>

<div class="whiteBox"><strong><span class="label hangingLabel">Related resource:</span></strong>

<p class="circleThumb"><a href="https://ellii.com/flashcard_genres/4/flashcard_categories/39"><img src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/emails/monthly-newsletter/thumbs/04_Feelings-and-Conditions.png" /></a></p>

<h2><a href="https://ellii.com/flashcard_genres/4/flashcard_categories/39" target="_bank">Feelings &amp; Conditions</a></h2>

<p>Teach or review vocabulary for expressing feelings and conditions with <a href="https://ellii.com/media/flashcards/grammar-punctuation/feelings-conditions" target="_blank">this handy flashcard set</a>.</p>
</div>

<hr />
<p>I hope this inspires you to create or continue your own mindful practices for the classroom. How do you help your students cope with feelings of anxiety, depression,&nbsp;and stress? Let us know your thoughts!</p>


Practicing Mindfulness in the Classroom

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Find fun games and activities for teaching English to young learners and middle schoolers. 

Young Learners

<p>On April 28, 1995, employees at Marvel created National Superhero Day to celebrate everyone&rsquo;s favorite superhero. This now-annual holiday honors both the real and fictional people that inspire us in our daily lives.</p>

<p>In this fun group project, students design their own superheroes and then work together to create a comic book story based on their characters.</p>

<p>This is a highly adaptable activity that can be used to teach or review many different language&nbsp;topics, including conditionals, describing people, parts of the body, exclamations, and onomatopeia.</p>

<hr />
<h2>Step 1&nbsp;</h2>

<p>Begin the project with some background information about comic books and superheroes in pop culture. Our Famous People lesson on Marvel comic creator, <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/80/lessons/2833">Stan Lee</a>, is a great place to start!</p>

<h2>Step 2&nbsp;</h2>

<p>Once students are comfortable with the topic and new vocabulary, divide them into groups of four or five. Ask each group member to design their own superhero. Students can draw their character, use&nbsp;magazine or photo cutouts, design it on the computer, or create a model&nbsp;or puppet.</p>

<p>Ask students to write a description of their character. Depending on their level, this can include names, superpowers, personality traits, or the character&rsquo;s background story.</p>

<p>Here are two examples from our talented illustrators at ESL Library:</p>

<h3>Dino-Boy</h3>

<p><img alt="dinoboy" height="650" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/1440/content_dinoboy.png" width="650" /></p>

<blockquote>
<p>&quot;This is Dino-Boy. His &#39;suit&#39; is made of super unbreakable material and he can roll around like Taz from the Looney Tunes. He&#39;s got high energy and can bite things with his dinosaur teeth. Lol.&quot;</p>

<p class="attribution">&mdash;Steve</p>
</blockquote>

<h3>My Mom</h3>

<p><img alt="Superhero Mom" height="650" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/1441/content_superhero-mom.jpg" width="650" /></p>

<blockquote>
<p>&quot;My father worked in Japan for years when my brother and I were young, so we basically grew up without him. In Brazil, my mom had to take care of everything herself&mdash;the house, the finances, and us. Years later, when our family reunited, my mom read for her degree in Gastronomy at 62 years old, along with my brother. While in college, she was diagnosed with bowel cancer, but even the chemo didn&rsquo;t stop her from going to class every night. It&rsquo;s been almost five years now of medical follow-up. Here&rsquo;s hoping that soon she will be officially cancer-free. She may not have superpowers, but my mom is determined and a true fighter. My mom is my superhero.&quot;</p>

<p class="attribution">&mdash;Saori</p>
</blockquote>

<h2>Step 3&nbsp;</h2>

<p>Next, students take turns introducing and describing their superheroes to the other members of the group and brainstorm story ideas that would include each character.</p>

<p>Once each group has drafted their story, show them how to write it in the style of a&nbsp;comic&nbsp;book. Teachers can photocopy pages from an old comic book and white-out the text, or search for free templates online.</p>

<h2>Step 4</h2>

<p>When each group has completed their story, have them present (or act out!) their comic books to the rest of the class. Teachers can&nbsp;display each group&#39;s&nbsp;comics around the classroom, or photocopy and distribute a copy for each member of the class.&nbsp;</p>

<hr />
<p>Depending on class size, student level, time, and resources, this project could&nbsp;be completed over the course of several classes or an entire academic term. We hope your students will have fun either way&mdash;try it out and let us know what you think!</p>


Superheroes Group Project

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<p>The United Nations dedicates a day every year to one of the organization&rsquo;s six official languages: Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, and Spanish. The purpose? To celebrate multilingualism and cultural diversity, and promote the equal use of these languages throughout the organization.</p>

<p><a href="https://www.un.org/en/observances/english-language-day" target="_blank">English Language Day</a> is observed on April 23, which is also considered to be the birthday and date of death of William Shakespeare. His works serve as the first recorded use of more than 1,700 words in the English language, many of which were invented by the playwright himself.</p>

<p>In the spirit of celebrating the history, culture, and achievements of English, here&rsquo;s a list of interesting facts about the language to share with students, including relevant activity ideas for the classroom. Be sure to also check out our&nbsp;new Famous Things lesson on <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/82/lessons/3591">The English Language</a>&nbsp;(includes a video you can also view at the end of this post)!</p>

<hr />
<h3><strong>1. English is the only language that capitalizes first-person pronouns</strong></h3>

<p>But nobody really knows why. The capital &ldquo;I&rdquo; first made an appearance in Old and Middle English. Then, the word for &ldquo;I&rsquo; was closer to its German cousin, &ldquo;ich,&rdquo;&nbsp;which was often spelled &ldquo;ic.&rdquo; As pronunciation changed over time, so did the spelling, and the &ldquo;c&rdquo; was eventually dropped. The new word &ldquo;i&rdquo; was left lowercase until the 1300s when it appeared slightly taller in Chaucer&#39;s&nbsp;<em>The Canterbury Tales</em>.</p>

<p>The<em>&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/03/magazine/03wwln-guestsafire-t.html" target="_blank">New York Times Magazine</a></em> explains that, at first, distinctions were made between graphic marks denoting an &ldquo;I&rdquo; at the beginning of a sentence and first-person pronouns in mid-sentence. This is common in other languages, like French or Spanish, where personal pronouns are also capitalized when they open a sentence. In English, however, these variations were eventually dropped, leaving the all-purpose capital &ldquo;I.&rdquo;</p>

<p>According to <em><a href="https://www.thesaurus.com/e/grammar/whycapitali/" target="_blank">Thesaurus.com</a></em>, historians now offer two reasons for the continuation of this capitalization: it gives added weight to the pronoun used to describe the individual writer,&nbsp;and because &ldquo;I&rdquo; is the only single-letter pronoun in English.</p>

<p><strong>Activity Idea:</strong>&nbsp;<br />
It&rsquo;s common nowadays for people not to capitalize &ldquo;I&rdquo; in informal writing, such as texts or emails. Why is that? Divide students into groups and have them debate the question.</p>

<hr />
<h3><strong>2. English has &quot;ghost words&quot; and &quot;nothing articles&quot;</strong></h3>

<p>Do you know what a &ldquo;<a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/dord-a-ghost-word" target="_blank">dord</a>&rdquo; is? What about&nbsp;an &ldquo;abacot&rdquo;? These are examples of &ldquo;ghost words,&rdquo;&nbsp;a term first coined in 1886 by philologist Walter Skeat to describe &ldquo;words which have no real existence.&rdquo;</p>

<p>According to the publication&nbsp;<em><a href="https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/69880/7-fake-words-ended-dictionary" target="_blank">Mental Floss</a></em>, &ldquo;abacot&rdquo; was first printed in the second edition of <em>Holinshed&rsquo;s Chronicles</em> (1587) and then made its way into <em>Spelman&rsquo;s Glossarium</em> (1664). It took almost 300 years for the then-editor of the <em>Oxford English Dictionary</em> to discover that the word was actually a misspelling of &ldquo;bycoket,&rdquo;&nbsp;a cap or kind of headwear. By then, &ldquo;abacot&rdquo; had taken on a meaning of its own, referring to the stately caps worn by the ancient Kings of England.</p>

<p>&ldquo;Ghost words&rdquo; are not to be confused with &ldquo;Nihilartikel,&rdquo;&nbsp;which translates from the Latin and German to mean &ldquo;nothing articles.&rdquo;&nbsp;These are deliberately phony words employed by lexicographers to catch out potential plagiarists.&nbsp;</p>

<p><strong>Activity Idea:</strong><br />
Let students play lexicographers for the day! Divide the class into pairs or groups and have each come up with their own made-up English word and definition for a new class dictionary. Display each group&rsquo;s word to the class and have the other students guess what each means.</p>

<hr />
<h3><strong>3.&nbsp;The longest word in English is 45-letters long!</strong></h3>

<p>If <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/origin-supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" target="_blank">supercalifragilisticexpialidocious</a>&nbsp;first came to mind, you&rsquo;re not far off, but the word popularized by the 1964 <em>Mary Poppins</em>&nbsp;film is only 34 letters long. The longest word in the <em>Oxford English Dictionary</em> is <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/medical/pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis" target="_blank">pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis</a>―a chronic lung disease more commonly referred to as silicosis.&nbsp;</p>

<p><a href="https://www.rd.com/article/shakespeares-longest-word/" target="_blank">Honorificabilitudinitatibus</a>, at 27 letters, is the longest word in English that features alternating consonants and vowels, and the longest word to appear in Shakespeare&rsquo;s works (<em>Love&rsquo;s Labour&rsquo;s Lost</em>, Act V, Scene I).</p>

<p>The <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7F0JWhHRa8s&amp;t=2s" target="_blank">chemical name</a> for titin is the longest chemical name in English at 189,819 letters long, although it is disputed as to whether this counts as an actual word or not. If said aloud, it would take more than three&nbsp;hours to pronounce correctly.</p>

<p><strong>Activity Idea:</strong><br />
Now that students know the longest word in English, test their general knowledge with a fun superlative quiz! Prepare questions such as&nbsp;&ldquo;What is the tallest mountain in the world?&rdquo; or&nbsp;&ldquo;Which country has the smallest population?&rdquo; and have them compete in teams for the winning answers.</p>

<hr />
<h3><strong>4. English is full of fun things like pangrams and palindromes</strong></h3>

<p>Wassamassaw is the name of a swamp in South Carolina, US. It is also an example of a palindrome―a word, phrase, or verse that reads the same backwards as it does forwards. The word, &ldquo;palindrome&rdquo; comes from the Greek roots &quot;palin,&quot; meaning &ldquo;back,&rdquo;&nbsp;and &quot;dromos,&quot; meaning &ldquo;running.&rdquo;</p>

<p>The longest English palindrome is the onomatopoeic &ldquo;tattarrattat,&rdquo;&nbsp;first coined by James Joyce in <em>Ulysses</em> (1922) to imitate the sound of one knocking on a door. Other examples of single-word palindromes include wow, racecar, kayak, and level.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Here are some examples of multi-word palindromes:</p>

<ul>
	<li>Was it a cat I saw?</li>
	<li>No lemon, no melon.</li>
	<li>A man, a plan, a canal―Panama!</li>
</ul>

<p>A pangram is a sentence or phrase in which all 26 letters of the English alphabet appear at least once. If each letter only appears once, it is called a &ldquo;perfect pangram.&rdquo;&nbsp;The word comes from the Greek root &ldquo;pan,&rdquo;&nbsp;meaning &ldquo;all,&rdquo;&nbsp;and &ldquo;gram,&rdquo;&nbsp;meaning &ldquo;something written or recorded.&rdquo;<br />
<br />
&ldquo;The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog&rdquo; is a well-known example, but here are a few more:</p>

<ul>
	<li>The five boxing wizards jump quickly.</li>
	<li>Amazingly few discotheques provide jukeboxes.</li>
	<li>The lazy major was fixing Cupid&rsquo;s broken quiver.</li>
</ul>

<p><strong>Activity Idea:</strong><br />
Print free <a href="https://www.madlibs.com/printables/" target="_blank">Mad Lib cards</a>, or create your own, and have students see how many of the blanks they can fill in using only single-word palindromes.</p>

<hr />
<h3><strong>5. English is the official language of air travel</strong></h3>

<p>Language barriers and miscommunications have caused some of the deadliest accidents in aviation history. That is why, in 2008, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) declared English as the standardized language of air travel.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Pilots, flight crews, and air traffic controllers must now pass an English language proficiency test to work in aviation. <em><a href="https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/55677/what-universal-language-skies" target="_blank">Mental Floss</a></em> explains that applicants are required to know appropriate terminology, understand instructions in English over radio, and develop an accent that is &ldquo;intelligible to the aeronautical community.&rdquo;&nbsp;</p>

<p>Aviation English, as it is now known, consists of roughly 300 terms that are a combination of professional jargon and plain English.</p>

<p><strong>Activity Idea:</strong><br />
Review the dialogues from our <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/122/lessons/2787" target="_blank">At the Airport: Part 1</a> and <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/122/lessons/2788" target="_blank">Part 2</a> lessons with students, then divide the class into air travellers and airport workers for roleplay practice. For added fun, organize some props for students to use, such as boarding passes, rubber stamps, clipboards, and passports.</p>

<hr />
<h3><strong>6. English has over 160 different dialects</strong></h3>

<p>English is recognized as an official language in 67 countries, and for every place that it is spoken, there are different ways to speak it. As of January 2021, the International Dialects of English Archive has 1,570 samples in their <a href="https://www.dialectsarchive.com/" target="_blank">collection</a>.</p>

<p>In the UK alone, there are roughly 40 different dialects, including Cockney, Scouse, Geordie, Yorkshire, and Essex. The US has roughly 30 of its own dialects, including Pennsylvania Dutch, Appalachian English, and Ozark English.</p>

<p><strong>Activity Idea:</strong><br />
Display maps, posters, or flags around the classroom to represent different regions or countries. Read out different words or phrases from different dialects, or use a free <a href="https://sounds.bl.uk/Sound-Maps/Accents-and-Dialects" target="_blank">sound map</a>, and have students walk around and decide which region or country they would hear it in.</p>

<hr />
<h3><strong>7. The English language is constantly evolving</strong></h3>

<p><em><a href="https://www.rd.com/article/how-words-get-added-to-the-dictionary/" target="_blank">Reader&rsquo;s Digest</a></em> reports that more than 1,000 new words are added to the English dictionary every year. In January 2021, alone, <em>Merriam-Webster</em> added <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/new-words-in-the-dictionary" target="_blank">520 new words</a>, including cancel culture, hard pass, ASMR, flex, reaction GIF, and second gentleman.</p>

<p>As globalization expands, the amount of loan words&nbsp;in English increases. The advent of the internet is responsible for many new additions&nbsp;too, as are other new inventions and technologies. As&nbsp;the world continues to evolve, old words take on new meanings.</p>

<p><strong>Activity Idea:</strong><br />
Divide the class into pairs or groups and assign each a year. Have students use <em>Merriam-Webster&rsquo;s</em> free, online <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/time-traveler/" target="_blank">Time Traveler</a> tool to look up the words that first appeared in that year and present their findings to the class.&nbsp;</p>

<hr />
<h3>Video: The English Language</h3>

<div class="videoWrapper"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="564" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/539835565" width="640"></iframe></div>

<hr />
<p>English may be one of the most difficult languages to learn, but its many complexities and oddities make it one of the most interesting&nbsp;too. What about the English language fascinates you and your students?</p>


7 Interesting Things about English

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<p>While attending this year&rsquo;s TESOL sessions, I noticed two contrasting themes: the increased use of media and tech in the classroom, and the challenges of teaching students in homes or schools with little to no technological access.</p>

<p><strong>Media is a powerful tool for English teachers</strong> as it targets all kinds of language learners. A music video, for example, can stimulate visual learners with its imagery, auditory learners with its sounds, and kinesthetic learners who are free to emulate the movements they see.</p>

<p>Students interact with different kinds of media in their daily lives, making learning with it <strong>more relatable and fun</strong>. A lesson on ordering food, for instance, becomes far more engaging when you include real menus from a popular restaurant or have students use a food delivery app. In this way, media also lends <strong>authenticity</strong> to a classroom setting.</p>

<p>The traditional classroom as we once understood it, though, is no more.</p>

<p>Modern language teachers are navigating new educational landscapes: in-person teaching, hybrid models, online lessons, and also considering&nbsp;the importance of creating more inclusive and culturally conscious classrooms.</p>

<p>This got me thinking: As we rise to meet these new challenges in education, how do we adapt the use of media for new classrooms?</p>

<p>I&rsquo;ve shared some media activities below that I&rsquo;ve used with students, and I&rsquo;ve included suggestions on how they can be modified for online or low-tech teaching.</p>

<hr />
<h2>1. Character redub</h2>

<p><strong>Media used:</strong> Video<br />
<strong>Language targets:</strong> Listening, speaking, writing, vocabulary, pronunciation, intonation, slang, idioms, colloquial language<br />
<br />
In this group activity, students choose a scene from a movie (or TV show) to redub. Each group member will play a different character in the scene and must listen to, write down, and learn to say those lines. When each group is ready, the scene is played for the rest of the class and each group voices their respective parts out loud.</p>

<p><strong>Online version: </strong>Choose a video clip that is available online or can be downloaded and shared. Students can voice their character live in class while the video is played on a shared screen, or you can have them record the audio in advance either with a cell phone or free online voice recorder.<br />
<br />
<strong>Low-tech version: </strong>If watching a movie in class is not possible, ask students to choose something they&rsquo;ve already seen and take a guess at the original lines. This free collection of <a href="https://imsdb.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">movie scripts</a> might spark some ideas!</p>

<hr />
<h2>2. Mood board match</h2>

<p><strong>Media used:</strong> Photographs<br />
<strong>Language targets: </strong>Vocabulary, grammar, writing, spelling<br />
<br />
In this individual, pair, or group activity, students review new vocabulary by creating a mood board to match a given word or phrase.</p>

<p>A mood board is a board covered with images, materials, and pieces of text to convey a particular theme or concept. This works especially well for adjectives and abstract nouns.</p>

<p>Once the mood boards are complete, display them in class and have students decide which words or phrases belong to each board.<br />
<br />
<strong>Online version: </strong>Have students take their own photos with a cell phone or camera, or use an online board like <a href="https://www.pinterest.com/esllibrary/" target="_blank">Pinterest</a> to curate images from the web.<br />
<br />
<strong>Low-tech version:</strong> Bring in some magazines and newspapers for students to cut up, or have them draw pictures instead.</p>

<hr />
<h2>3. Flashcards up!</h2>

<p><strong>Media used: </strong>Flashcards<br />
<strong>Language targets: </strong>Vocabulary, grammar, listening, speaking, reading, spelling</p>

<p>In this group or class activity based on a popular app, students take turns holding up a blind flashcard and guessing which word or phrase it contains based on verbal descriptions given by other students. Students earn a point each time they correctly identify a word in rounds of 30 seconds or more, depending on the level of the class.<br />
<br />
<strong>Online version:</strong> Create your own <a href="https://ellii.com/flashcard_sets" target="_blank">Flashcard Set</a>, present it to the class on a shared screen, and have students type their name in the chat if they can identify the word. Whoever types their name first has a chance to say the word. If correct, they earn a point; if not, another student tries for the point.<br />
<br />
<strong>Low-tech version: </strong>Print ready-made <a href="https://ellii.com/flashcard_genres" target="_blank">Flashcards</a> or have students design their own as a prior class activity.</p>

<hr />
<h2>4. What&#39;s on the menu?</h2>

<p><strong>Media used: </strong>Restaurant or take-out menus<br />
<strong>Language targets:</strong> Reading, speaking, listening, vocabulary, spelling, grammar<br />
<br />
In this pair or group activity, students read menu descriptions of different food and drink items and decide which restaurant or take-out menu they belong to. Teachers hang up the different menus as posters (with select descriptions removed beforehand) and students walk around and decide what matches where.&nbsp;<br />
<br />
<strong>Online version: </strong>Prepare a list of descriptions from popular restaurants or fast-food menus that are available online. Have students use a search engine (e.g., Google, Yahoo!, Bing, etc.) to try and find which menus each description belongs to.<br />
<br />
<strong>Low-tech version:</strong> Cover the food and drink descriptions on different menus with washi tape, sticky notes, or whiteout before photocopying. Remove and make a second photocopy to use for cutting up the descriptions.&nbsp;</p>

<hr />
<h2>5. Where&#39;s Panda?</h2>

<p><strong>Media used: </strong>Maps<br />
<strong>Language targets: </strong>Grammar, speaking, listening, reading, vocabulary, pronunciation<br />
<br />
In this class activity, students discover the hidden locations of a character named Panda (you can use any popular character or create a class mascot as a prior activity).</p>

<p>Students are divided into two groups. Students in Group A take turns reading out directions to students in Group B, who take turns following the directions on a map. After several rounds, the groups swap.&nbsp;<br />
<br />
<strong>Online version:</strong> Create a shareable Google Map and divide students into pairs or small groups. Give each pair or group the same directions and have them save the location they find on the map using a designated color or symbol. Whichever group is closest to the right location wins the round.<br />
<br />
<strong>Low-tech version:</strong> Use a projector to display a map on the board and give students magnets to show locations, or use photocopied maps with tokens from an old board game.</p>

<hr />
<p>I hope these examples will be useful or inspire your own creativity. With a bit of out-of-the-box thinking, almost any activity can be adapted to suit online or low-tech classrooms. There are also dozens of examples of media that can be used with students&mdash;I&rsquo;ve included a few lists below.&nbsp;</p>

<table align="center">
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<th><strong>Online</strong></th>
			<td>
			<ul dir="ltr">
				<li>websites</li>
				<li>software</li>
				<li>databases</li>
				<li>audiobooks</li>
				<li>e-books</li>
				<li>e-mags</li>
				<li>emails</li>
				<li>podcasts</li>
				<li>social media</li>
				<li>digital video</li>
				<li>digital audio</li>
				<li>gifs</li>
				<li>blogs and&nbsp;vlogs</li>
				<li>holograms</li>
				<li>video games</li>
				<li>virtual reality (VR)</li>
				<li>non-fungible tokens (NFTs)&nbsp;</li>
			</ul>
			</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<th><strong>Traditional</strong></th>
			<td>
			<ul>
				<li>television</li>
				<li>movies</li>
				<li>radio</li>
				<li>books</li>
				<li>newspapers</li>
				<li>magazine</li>
				<li>photographs</li>
				<li>brochures</li>
				<li>digests</li>
				<li>newsletters</li>
				<li>handbills</li>
				<li>playbills</li>
				<li>flashcards</li>
				<li>business cards</li>
				<li>board games</li>
				<li>menus</li>
				<li>maps</li>
				<li>how-to guides</li>
				<li>flyers</li>
				<li>leaflets</li>
			</ul>
			</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<th><strong>Out-of-home</strong></th>
			<td>
			<ul>
				<li>billboards</li>
				<li>wallscapes</li>
				<li>placards</li>
				<li>posters</li>
				<li>signage</li>
				<li>realia (coffee cups, pizza boxes, shopping bags, bus tickets, etc.)</li>
				<li>projections</li>
				<li>pop-up installations</li>
				<li>wrapped vehicles</li>
			</ul>
			</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

<p>How do you use media in the classroom? How have you adapted the use of media for online or low-tech classrooms? What kinds of media do you wish to see on Ellii? We&rsquo;d love to hear your thoughts!</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>


Adaptive Media Activities for Every Classroom

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Learn how to make the most of your Ellii subscription with tips from our publishing team.

Teaching with Ellii

<p>Will you be talking about Easter in class this week? Hop to it and try our&nbsp;<a href="https://ellii.com/courses/113/lessons/2394" target="_blank">Easter</a> vocabulary lesson&nbsp;with brand-new illustrations that kids will love! This nine-page <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/113/lessons" target="_blank">Word Bank</a> lesson&nbsp;includes a colorful picture dictionary with images related to Easter. Activities such as a matchup, word choice, word search, word scramble, and spelling bee help make this lesson engaging and fun. Discussion questions at the end allow your students to use the new vocabulary in context. This lesson also has a listening activity. Our Word Bank lessons all come with a set of printable flashcards at the end. Hang them around your classroom for ready-made Easter decorations, or use them to elicit the vocabulary before the lesson or to quiz your students after the lesson. Find this lesson in the <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/113/lessons" target="_blank">Word Bank</a> section.</p>

<h1>Related</h1>

<ul class="resources">
	<li class="resource"><a href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/visual-learning/resources/2147-spring-easter-idioms-poster" target="_blank">Spring &amp; Easter Idioms</a></li>
	<li class="blog-post"><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/english-skit-for-ells-spring-fever" target="_blank">English Skit for ELLs: Spring Fever</a></li>
	<li class="collection"><a href="https://ellii.com/collections/7/lessons" target="_blank">Spring &amp; Easter Collection</a> (includes Easter lessons for all levels)</li>
</ul>

Easter Vocabulary Lesson

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<p>Many countries will celebrate Valentine&#39;s Day on February 14. In some schools, it&#39;s common to participate in Valentine&#39;s Day activities like giving out cards and candy in class. Your students will also love our colorful&nbsp;<strong><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/113/lessons/2616" target="_blank">Valentine&#39;s Day</a></strong> vocabulary lesson! This lesson is suitable for young learners and literacy students. Our nine-page <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/113/lessons" target="_blank">Word Bank</a> lesson includes a colorful picture dictionary with 12 Valentine&#39;s Day words. Activities such as a matchup, word choice, word search, word scramble, spelling bee, and listening activity help make this lesson engaging and fun. Finish up with the discussion questions so that your students can try using the new vocabulary in context!</p>

<p>Check out our <a href="https://ellii.com/flashcard_genres/21/flashcard_categories/107" target="_blank">Valentine&#39;s Day Flashcards</a> for even more theme-based vocabulary.</p>

<h1>Related</h1>

<ul class="resources">
	<li class="collection"><a href="https://ellii.com/collections/4/lessons" target="_blank">Love &amp; Relationships Lesson Collection</a></li>
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/93/lessons/1959" target="_blank">Valentine&#39;s Day &ndash; Beg </a></li>
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/93/lessons/1863" target="_blank">Valentine&#39;s Day &ndash; Low Int </a></li>
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/93/lessons/1862" target="_blank">Valentine&#39;s Day &ndash; High Int </a></li>
	<li class="resource"><a href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/107/resources/2145" target="_blank">Love Idioms Poster</a></li>
	<li class="blog-post"><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/valentines-day-interview-a-love-story" target="_blank">Valentine&#39;s Day Interview: A Love Story</a></li>
</ul>


Valentine's Day Vocabulary Lesson & Flashcards

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<p>American Thanksgiving is this Thursday! Have you tried Ellii&#39;s Thanksgiving-themed (US) <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/113/lessons/2445"><strong>Word Bank</strong></a> lesson? We also have a new Fun Grammar Lesson on the <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/116/lessons/2502"><strong>Simple Future</strong></a>. Try both of these lessons before you try this follow-up Thanksgiving listening&nbsp;activity.</p>

<h1>Listening Activity</h1>

<p>Play the recording of the story <em>Grateful Girl</em> in class or have your students listen to it for homework. Ask your students to listen for the informal pronunciation&nbsp;(<em>gonna</em>).</p>

<p><iframe frameborder="no" height="166" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/233659999&amp;color=ff5500&amp;auto_play=false&amp;hide_related=false&amp;show_comments=true&amp;show_user=true&amp;show_reposts=false" width="100%"></iframe></p>

<h2>Transcript</h2>

<blockquote>
<p><strong>Grateful Girl</strong></p>

<p>Thanksgiving is coming up next week. I am going to go to my grandma&rsquo;s house with my family. For Thanksgiving dinner, my dad and grandma are going to make turkey with cranberry sauce, yams, and pumpkin pie. Before dinner, my brother and I will set the&nbsp;table.</p>

<p>Before we eat, we&rsquo;ll all say what we are thankful for. I&rsquo;ll go first. I am going to say that I am thankful for my family, my friends, my house, my school, my health, my city, my country, and our universe. My grandma is going to call me &quot;Grateful Girl&quot; like she always does. My brother will say that he is thankful for his cat and our&nbsp;TV.</p>

<p>After dinner, my brother and I will wash the dishes. We will not fight as we do the dishes! At least, I won&rsquo;t fight. The day after Thanksgiving, we are going to take Grandma to the mall. On Black Friday, Grandma will buy candy, desserts, and fashion magazines. I&rsquo;ll buy a gift for my best friend. It&rsquo;s going to be a great&nbsp;weekend.</p>

<p>What are you going to do for Thanksgiving? Where are you going to go and what are you going to eat? Will you go shopping? What will you buy? Most importantly, what will you be thankful&nbsp;for?</p>
</blockquote>

<h2>Vocabulary</h2>

<ul>
	<li>Thanksgiving</li>
	<li>mall</li>
	<li>grateful/thankful</li>
	<li>turkey</li>
	<li>cranberry sauce</li>
	<li>yams</li>
	<li>pumpkin pie</li>
	<li>set the table</li>
	<li>wash/do the dishes</li>
</ul>

<h2>Questions</h2>

<p>Here are some questions you can ask your students after they listen to the&nbsp;story.</p>

<ol class="spaced-list">
	<li>Where is Grateful Girl going to go for&nbsp;Thanksgiving?</li>
	<li>What will Grateful Girl have for dinner on&nbsp;Thanksgiving?</li>
	<li>Why will the grandmother call her granddaughter <em>Grateful Girl</em> at the dinner&nbsp;table?</li>
	<li>What will Grateful Girl and her brother do before and after dinner?</li>
	<li>What is Grateful Girl NOT going to do after Thanksgiving&nbsp;dinner?</li>
	<li>What is Grateful Girl&#39;s family going to do on Black&nbsp;Friday?</li>
	<li>What will Grateful Girl&#39;s grandma&nbsp;buy?</li>
</ol>

<h2>Answers</h2>

<ol class="spaced-list">
	<li>Grateful Girl is going to go to her grandma&#39;s house for&nbsp;Thanksgiving.</li>
	<li>Grateful Girl will have turkey with cranberry sauce, yams, and pumpkin pie for&nbsp;Thanksgiving.</li>
	<li>The grandmother will call her granddaughter &quot;Grateful Girl&quot; because the girl will say that she is thankful for many&nbsp;things.</li>
	<li>Grateful Girl and her brother will set the table before dinner. After dinner, they will wash the&nbsp;dishes.</li>
	<li>Grateful Girl won&#39;t fight with her brother as they do&nbsp;dishes.</li>
	<li>Grateful Girl&#39;s family will go shopping at the mall on Black&nbsp;Friday.</li>
	<li>Grateful Girl&#39;s grandma will buy candy, desserts, and fashion&nbsp;magazines.</li>
</ol>

<h1>Writing Challenge</h1>

<p>Invite your students to write a similar story about their plans for Thanksgiving using the simple future. If your students don&#39;t celebrate Thanksgiving, they can make up some characters who do. Record your students reading their stories out&nbsp;loud.</p>

<h1>Related</h1>

<ul class="resources">
	<li class="flashcards"><a href="https://ellii.com/flashcard_genres/21/flashcard_categories/92">Thanksgiving Flashcards</a></li>
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/113/lessons/2445">Thanksgiving Word Bank Lesson</a></li>
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/116/lessons/2502">Simple Future Lesson</a></li>
</ul>