ESL Kid Stuff
Likes & Dislikes
Everyone has different preferences when it comes to food. Kids discuss the foods they like and dislike in a series of activities that include magazine cut-outs, singing a song about cheese, playing a group game, and reading a short story...
August House
The Little Red Hen
The Little Red Hen is a wonderful story to teach youngsters about the value of teamwork and sharing responsibilities. As you read through the story, ask comprehension questions to check for and enhance understanding in your class. Kids...
Curated OER
The Blend Game
Students become stars of their own educational video in this project that allows learning in several different styles.
Curated OER
Phonics Monster Game Suggestion: Change It
Students play the game "Change It" and practice making words from phonic monster cards. In this "Change It" lesson, students read words and phrases that are used as functional print with visual cues. Students respond to icons, pictures,...
Curated OER
"Cool Cats Counting"
Students listen to the book "Cool Cats Counting" and demonstrate how to count from one through ten in English and Spanish. They count objects in bags, then place the bags in numerical order, and play a memory matching game using images...
Curated OER
Reading
Primary readers read books in order to practice word recognition, rhyming, and play reading games. They will "read" simple books to reinforce basic reading skills in order to create a foundation. Readers are available to print out along...
PBS
Blue Ribbon Readers: Determining Important Ideas
Brenda Z. Guiberson’s nonfiction book, Cactus Hotel, launches a series of activities that model for readers how to determine the main idea in a passage. Class members engage in an online interactive game to test their understanding. The...
PBS
Blue Ribbon Readers: Questioning
Model for your class how to become a better reader through questioning. After conducting a picture walk that introduces prediction strategies, learners play an interactive questioning cube game. Complete directions for the game and...
Curated OER
Introduce /o/
The best way to get your scholars familiar with the alphabet is to expose them to each letter in multiple contexts. This strategy incorporates letter recognition, sound, word examples, and pronunciation, and emerging readers will feel...
Curated OER
Reintroduce /s/
What letter is this? As you introduce pre-readers to letter sounds, keep them entertained with this fun game. Start by drawing the letter s on the board, large enough for all to see. Once you've demonstrated the sound it makes, use these...
Curated OER
Round-Robin Reading Quiz
Small groups of learners read text round-robin style, and then work individually to answer three questions based on the text. Next, they share their questions and responses and add ideas from the group. The reading strategies detailed...
Curated OER
"Feathers"
Students examine the character traits of kindness and responsibility using the book "Feathers" by Heather Forest. They play a "Mystery Bag" game with feathers, and answer story comprehension questions. Students then complete an acrostic...
Curated OER
Long Vowels
Now here is a great set of activities that will make learning about long vowel sounds a snap. The activities cover two days and include vowel identification, reading, and several great games. Kids will hunt for long vowel words, play...
Curated OER
Understanding a Story
Reading comprehension is the name of the game! After listening to the teacher model and share personal prior knowledge about small children and what they do with food, the class discusses how they too can use prior knowledge to...
Florida Center for Reading Research
Alphabet Borders
Help young scholars name the letters of the alphabet. They use the provided alphabet border and letter cards to take turns saying and finding various alphabet letters. This simple game can be extended by having learners focus on the...
Curated OER
Introduce /m/
Start by drawing a large letter m on the board for scholars to see. Do they know what letter this is? Once you've demonstrated the sound it makes, use these tips to help them make the same sound. There is even an audio pronunciation...
Curated OER
Introduce /f/
Hook your scholars by drawing a large f on the board; do they know what letter this is? Once you've demonstrated the sound it makes, use these tips to help them make the same sound. Although the audio function is neat, it may not be...
Curated OER
Introduce /d/
Give youngsters a better grasp of the letter d by combining letter sounds, pronunciation, recognition, and word examples. Scholars examine the letter shape then listen to you make the /d/ sound and try it on their own. Kids brainstorm...
Curated OER
Introduce /u/
As scholars are learning about letter sound correspondence use this activity to help them with the /u/ sound. Learners examine a large u on the board, identifying it if they can. They listen to you make its sound, explaining to them what...
Curated OER
Introduce /g/
As your emerging readers are learning the alphabet, set them up for success with strategies like these that incorporate multiple contexts and learning styles. Focusing on the letter g, write it clearly on the board. Model the /g/ sound,...
Curated OER
Reintroduce /t/
Use these strategies to connect letter pronunciation, sound, word examples, and recognition, focusing on the letter t. Emerging readers examine the letter and listen to you say the /t/ sound. As you explain how to do it, they try...
Curated OER
Reintroduce /i/
As your scholars begin learning letters of the alphabet, help them connect sound, pronunciation, word examples, and letter recognition using these strategies. Focusing on the letter i, begin by drawing it on the board. Can scholars...
Curated OER
Reintroduce /f/
Draw a large letter f on the board to begin this letter recognition and sounds activity, asking kids to identify it if they can. Demonstrate the /fff/ sound and explain how you are making it as learners try it out. What words can they...
Curated OER
Reintroduce /r/
The /r/ sound can be a difficult one, but scholars use some helpful tips to get it right. After examining the letter shape they listen to you pronounce this phoneme and describe what you are doing to create the sound. They try on their...