Film English
Real Beauty
Consider the theme of beauty with discussion about what makes person beautiful and the well-known short film put together by Dove skin care. Class members examine some of the images from the film and discuss the message of the film as...
Curated OER
A News Story of Your Own: Sentence and Lexical Variety
Given the two-sentence skeleton of a news story about a car theft/joy ride, budding writers create their own version of the story varying diction and sentence structure to heighten interest and complexity in their writing. Resource...
Perkins School for the Blind
Conversation Skills
It is so important for learners with multiple disabilities to learn how to communicate for both social and functional reasons. Each child will choose a topic from the list and generate five questions related to that topic. They'll split...
Annenberg Foundation
Making an Issue-Based Video
Encourage class members to become engaged citizens by researching an issue they are passionate about and then producing a video to present to policymakers, the public, and their peers. Everything needed for the unit is contained in...
Curated OER
Lesson Four: Comparatives and Superlatives
Put on your best smile, or a least a better one, for this instructional activity on superlatives and comparatives. English language learners first fill out a graphic organizer by finding other people in the class who are taller than they...
Curated OER
Analyzing a Writer's Stance
Should college admissions decisions be based on whether whose family members attended? Secondary students read and respond to a New York Times article on the issue of 'legacy preferences' in college admissions. Following class...
Curated OER
Local Heroes
High schoolers investigate heroes in their community by presenting a story of a true hero to their class. In this storytelling instructional activity, students interview a local person who has performed a heroic deed and create a...
Curated OER
Intermediate Paragraph Correction #8
If you are looking for a worksheet to challenge intermediate English learners on verb tense, syntax, and punctuation, you might want to check out this worksheet. Readers select the correct revisions to a passage in eight multiple choice...
San José State University
Parentheses and Brackets
Practice using parentheses and brackets with your class using this handout and short exercise. This could also be used as a reference sheet, since it lists several different proper ways to use parentheses and brackets, with examples of...
Shmoop
ELA.CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.11-12.6
Sometimes it's all too easy to slip into informal language, ya know? Help your class master code-switching with the activity and drill provided here. The activity is a literature discussion where formal language is required. The...
3C Skills Collaborative
Skill 9: Converse One-on-One
In one period, your class can gain a better understanding of the importance of quality conversation. To begin, they brainstorm a list of what makes for a good conversation, and then work in pairs to present a skit of a hypothetical...
College Writing Center
Reported Speech & Direct Speech
Provide your class with this reference page on direct and indirect speech. The page includes definitions of direct speech and reported speech (also known as indirect speech). When writing, pupils can check the sample sentences provided...
Shmoop
ELA.CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.11-12.6
Here's an exercise designed for the Common Core Literacy Standard L.11-12.6 that asks learners to demonstrate their ability to put together all they have learned about language. The first activity is based on a passage from Rosencrantz...
Curated OER
Word Roots 2: FIN, SED, FER Advanced Definition Match 3
Looking for a vocabulary list and activity? This online exercise, which provides instant feedback, asks participants to match a list of words with their definitions using a drop-down menu for each word. This could work as a review or...
Smarter Balanced
Aztec Empire
To set the stage for a study of the Aztec Empire, groups use the provided definition of civilization and generate a list of elements that make up our modern day civilization. The whole class then examines an image of an Aztec city and...
Curated OER
"Flip-it" - Where Do I Go From Here?
Twelfth graders interview themselves reflecting on various topics. In this self-reflection lesson, 12th graders video tape four different interviews throughout the year of themselves discussing various topics, with the last prompt being...
Curated OER
Taking a Closer Look (Critical Viewing)
Young scholars explore persuasive writing in advertisements. In this advertisements lesson, students evaluate tobacco advertisements for persuasion techniques. Young scholars then create a counter advertisement against smoking.
Curated OER
Xmas Traditions Bluff
For this holiday worksheet, students, working in teams, try to bluff the other team in making statements associated to traditional Christmas traditions that could not possibly be true. Students complete a grammar assignment at the end of...
Curated OER
Present Perfect Interview (Since/For)
While these questions are tailored for use with a specific class, they could be rewritten for use with any students in the upper grades. The 12 questions provide a short answer format for practicing question formation and the use of the...
Curated OER
Understanding Human Rights Through One Woman's Struggle: Aung San Suu Kyi
Students analyze human rights in the international community. In this human rights lesson, students explore the United Nations, and the Declaration of Human Rights. Students read about Aung San Suu Kyi and watch a video about human...
Curated OER
BBC Learning English -working abroad: listening
In this listening learning exercise, students will complete a chart identifying which of 5 speakers communicated each of the 18 statements. The corresponding radio broadcast can be found...
Curated OER
Verb Review 1 (Present/Past)
Using a fill-in-the-blank format learners explore the use of present/past/future verbs. This 41-question activity upper elementary and older students in an ESL class would get a good background in the use of verbs.
Curated OER
Breaking English News: Children Into Computers Younger Than Ever
In this ESL/ELL reading and listening comprehension activity, students read or listen to an article entitled, "Children Into Computers Younger Than Ever." They complete discussion activities, and matching, true or false, fill in the...
Curated OER
Faulty Parallelism
Practice using parallel structure. Learners correct faulty parallelism in an extensive list of sentences. The faults in each sentence are sometimes subtle, so scholars will need solid background knowledge on parallel structure to catch...