December 31, 2013
December 16, 2013
Informal - Formal Vocabulary - Phrasal Verbs & Academic Vocabulary
Hi everyone,
I wanted to share with you my latest product for teaching vocabulary:
Informal and Formal Vocabulary - Phrasal Verbs & the corresponding Academic Vocabulary
You say put off,
We say postpone,
You say call up,
We say phone.
Meet Common Core standards and raise the vocabulary level of your students with this 102-page unit on Informal and Formal Vocabulary - Phrasal Verbs & the corresponding Academic Vocabulary.
This unit covers 32 different Phrasal Verbs and the Academic vocabulary that corresponds with each one. Phrasal verbs are verbs that contain more than one word and there are hundreds of English Phrasal Verbs such as: think over (consider), set up (establish), and put up with (tolerate).
This comprehensive unit contains color and black & white word wall cards, game cards, activities, a song and games based on phrasal verbs and their academic language equivalents.
Reproducible black lines included in this package:
• 32 Phrasal Verb word wall cards
• 32 Academic Vocabulary word wall cards
• Game cards and board
• Song lyrics
• Assessments
• Lesson plans and activities
Word cards are reproducible in color or print in black and white.
Since Phrasal Verbs are very common in oral English, their understanding is essential for communication and reading comprehension. However, when writing formally there are two reasons we strive to use the academic or formal equivalents of Phrasal Verbs. First, Phrasal Verbs are highly idiomatic. Formal writing uses Standard English and avoids figurative language and slang. Secondly, when writing formally in English precise vocabulary is expected. Since Phrasal Verbs often have multiple meanings they can be difficult to understand and impede the meaning. Teaching your students the Academic vocabulary for Phrasal Verbs will enlarge their vocabulary and improve their formal English writing!
Click on over to my store at Teachers Pay Teachers to see this great new package!
Happy Teaching,
Fun To Teach


December 13, 2013
Fun websites and apps for ELD teachers!
Hello everyone,
Can you believe it is mid-December already? Suddenly the year seems like it is going by quickly!
With that in mind I thought I should be using a few more fun apps and website activities in my class to jazz up the wintertime. If you are feeling the same way, check out the short list of fun ELD websites and apps below. You might want to try some of these with your kiddos. I would love to hear about some of your favorite websites or apps for teaching ELD. Let me know what they are.
Happy Teaching,
ELL
tab - www.soesd.k12.or.us
Interactive
Smart Board -
Math
Lingo -
Grammar
Gallery -
Google
Translator -
http://translate.google.com/
(free language
practice)
Dragon
Dictation -
ManyThings.org
December 9, 2013
The Third Wheel Idiom
Here is a cute video on being the third wheel.
Aren't idioms fun!
The Third Wheel from Melissa Kumaresan on Vimeo.
Happy Teaching!

The Third Wheel from Melissa Kumaresan on Vimeo.
Happy Teaching!

December 5, 2013
Teaching Math to Second Language Learners
Hi everyone,
As we all look forward to planning for the classroom after the holiday vacations, many of us will be thinking about effective ways to teach second language learners.
Teachers want to include the instructional strategies that will increase comprehension in second language learners. Here is a list compiled by Virginia Department of Education Division of Instruction back in 2004. These are tried and true methods that still hold true today.
Integrate the four language modes (listening, speaking, reading, writing) into mathematics class.
Model the process. Talk aloud while solving problems on the overhead or chalkboard to show the thinking process and common errors.
Have students explain their thinking process aloud to a classmate while solving a problem.
Integrate reading and writing through the use of journals, learning logs, poems, literature, etc.
Give explicit instruction and practice in reading and writing word problems. Teach students to identify key words in word problems that indicate a certain mathematical operation.
Begin class with warm-up activities using mathematical language to give students practice in sentence construction.
Write a cloze exercise (a short paragraph with key words missing) or sentence starters (i.e., Perimeter is the…) on the board for students to copy and complete when they enter class.
Give students a computation problem to solve, and then have them write the steps they used to solve it in complete sentences.
Post labels and vocabulary cards around the classroom on completed word problems, number lines, rulers, fraction diagrams, and/or objects in the class.
Have students paraphrase and write complex concepts in their own words (individually, pairs, or whole class).
Review mathematical vocabulary and concepts using games such as TIC TAC TOE, BINGO, Concentration, Charades, etc.
Use a variety of modes of instruction
Design multi-sensory lessons (visual, auditory, tactile, kinesthetic).
Use visuals whenever possible to reinforce auditory instruction (i.e., charts, graphs, manipulatives, diagrams, models, real objects).
Use graphic organizers to visually represent mathematical concepts.
Design hands-on activities.
Vary groupings throughout the lesson (i.e., independent work, pair work, small groups, whole class).
Use real-life problem-solving situations to teach new concepts.
Make interdisciplinary connections whenever possible.
Click here to view their article!
Happy Teaching!
December 2, 2013
Idioms
Hello everyone,
I recently was searching through Vimeo and found some great idiom videos to show my high school kids. I wanted to share this one...I think they did a great job.
A great lesson would include the students having to write down the idioms as they appear in the video and then having them do a survey throughout the school to try and find out their meanings.
I would love to hear your ideas of lessons you would use with this video!
Idioms from Oh My! on Vimeo.
Happy Teaching!

Idioms from Oh My! on Vimeo.
Happy Teaching! Lori
I recently was searching through Vimeo and found some great idiom videos to show my high school kids. I wanted to share this one...I think they did a great job.
A great lesson would include the students having to write down the idioms as they appear in the video and then having them do a survey throughout the school to try and find out their meanings.
I would love to hear your ideas of lessons you would use with this video!
Idioms from Oh My! on Vimeo.
Happy Teaching!

Idioms from Oh My! on Vimeo.
Happy Teaching! Lori
November 29, 2013
Teachers Pay Teachers Cyber Sale!
Hello everyone!
The big Teachers pay Teachers cyber sale is another thing to celebrate this time of year!
Click on over to the Fun To Teach Store and save big on December 2nd and 3rd.
All of our products are 20% off and TPT is offering another 10% off that discount!
Happy Teaching,

Click here to go to our Teachers Pay Teachers' Store!
The big Teachers pay Teachers cyber sale is another thing to celebrate this time of year!
Click on over to the Fun To Teach Store and save big on December 2nd and 3rd.
All of our products are 20% off and TPT is offering another 10% off that discount!
Time to shop!
Happy Teaching,

Click here to go to our Teachers Pay Teachers' Store!
November 18, 2013
I Just Barely Made It!
Hi
everyone,
During
the previous year I noticed that a group of my intermediate speakers of English
were struggling with the phrases ‘just barely’. They were substituting ‘just hardly’ for it. I put together a one day ELD lesson and then created this chant
to practice continued practice, until they became fluent with the phrase. I want to share the call back with any
of you who might be able to use it.
So here is the little call back chant I wrote to practice the phrase
“just barely”.
I Just Barely Made It!
I just got out of bed,
and barely touched my
breakfast.
I just grabbed my books
And headed out the door!
WHEW!
I just barely made it.
I just barely made it.
I just barely made it, to
school on time!
Happy
Teaching,
November 11, 2013
ESL RESOURCES FOR YOU!
Helllo everyone!
I am excited about being listed in an article by Masters in ESL.
They compiled a list of resources and included the Fun To Teach Blog! Yahoo!
The best part is all the great resources they list for teaching ESL. Take a minute and check it out!
Happy Teaching! Lori
I am excited about being listed in an article by Masters in ESL.
They compiled a list of resources and included the Fun To Teach Blog! Yahoo!
The best part is all the great resources they list for teaching ESL. Take a minute and check it out!
Happy Teaching! Lori
November 7, 2013
200 ways to say went
Hi everyone,
I found a great pin that has 200 words to replace the word 'went'.
I want to make an anchor chart for my class using some of these!

Click Here to see the pin!
Happy Teaching!
Lori
I found a great pin that has 200 words to replace the word 'went'.
I want to make an anchor chart for my class using some of these!

Click Here to see the pin!
Happy Teaching!
Lori
November 4, 2013
Milestones of Language Acquisition
Hi everyone!
I was doing a little research on language acquisition and came
across this Table. (Note. From Language Disorders From Infants Through
Adolescence: Assessment and Intervention, by R. Paul, 2001, Philadelphia)
As I read through it I started comparing it to the language levels
of the ELD matrix. It was very
interesting to compare native language acquisition according to the below table
against second language acquistion by language level.
If you are interested in doing the same here is a link to the ELD
matrix.
Table 1 Milestones of Language Content
Typical Age Content Milestones
8–12 mos. Understand 3–50 words.
First
words are used for names of familiar people and objects; communicative games
and routines; to talk about appearance,
disappearance,
recurrence.
12–18 mos. Average expressive vocabulary size: 50–100 words
at 18 mos.
Semantic
roles are expressed in one-word speech, including agent, action, object,
location, possession, rejection, disappearance, nonexistence, denial.
Words
are understood outside of routine games; still need contextual support for
lexical comprehension.
18–24 mos. Average expressive vocabulary size: 200–300 words
at 24 mos.
Prevalent
relations expressed: agent–action, agent–object, action–object,
action–location, entity–location, possessor–possession, demonstrative–entity,
attribute–entity.
24–30 mos. Understanding and use of questions about objects
(What?), people (Who?), and basic events (What is
x doing? Where is x going?).
30–36
mos. Use and understand Why? questions.
Use
and understand basic spatial terms (in, on, under, etc.).
36–42 mos. Use and understand semantic relationship between
adjacent and conjoined sentences,
including additive, temporal, causal, contrastive.
Understand
basic color words. Use and
understand basic kinship terms.
42–48 mos. Use and understand ‘‘when’’ and ‘‘how’’
questions.
Understand
words for basic shapes (circle, square, triangle).
Use
and understand basic size vocabulary (big, small).
Use
conjunctions and and because to conjoin sentences.
48–60 mos. Knowledge of letter names and sounds emerges.
Knowledge
of numbers and counting emerges.
Use
conjunctions when, so, because, and if.
5–7 years Reorganization of lexical knowledge from episodic
to semantic networks occurs.
Average
expressive vocabulary size: 5,000 words.
7–9 years School introduces new words not encountered in
conversation.
Pronouns
used anaphorically to refer to nouns previously named.
Word
definitions include synonyms and categories. Some words understood to have multiple meanings.
Capacity
for production of figurative language increases.
9–12 years Vocabulary in school texts is more abstract and
specific than that in conversation.
Students
are expected to acquire new information from written texts.
Can
explain relationships between meanings of multiple-meaning words.
Begin
using adverbial conjunctions.
Understand most common idioms.
12–14 years Abstract dictionary definitions given for words.
Can
explain meaning of proverbs in context.
15–18 years Average vocabulary size of high school graduate:
10,000 words.
Note. From Language Disorders From
Infants Through Adolescence: Assessment and Intervention, by R. Paul, 2001,
Philadelphia:
Happy Teaching!
October 29, 2013
Favorite Structured Language Practice Activities!
Hi everyone,
Recently
I was asked for a list of my favorite structured language practice
activities. There are so many that
it was hard to choose just a few.
I began to compile a list of these tried and true old favorites and I
thought I would share them here with you.
Each Tuesday for a while I will post a couple of fun activities to
promote language practices. Many
you will recognize or remember and hopefully you will find one or two to use
with your class! I would love to
hear what some of your favorites are!
Happy
Teaching!
Stay
and Stray
1.
Divide the class into groups.
2.
Pick interesting subjects for the groups to speak about.
3.
Post sentence frames for prompts and replies you want
students to practice.
4.
Students practice the language frames in their group.
5.
One or more members of the groups move to other groups
and practice and share the language.
Read
Aloud/Think Aloud
1.
Divide the class into groups.
2.
Readers read a section of text or passage out loud to
their group.
3.
Read then thinks aloud about the contents of that
section.
4.
The group members use strong questioning strategies to
ask the reader questions about the passage.
October 22, 2013
Favorite Structured Language Practice Activities!
Hi everyone,
Recently
I was asked for a list of my favorite structured language practice
activities. There are so many that
it was hard to choose just a few.
I began to compile a list of these tried and true old favorites and I
thought I would share them here with you.
Each Tuesday for a while I will post a couple of fun activities to
promote language practices. Many
you will recognize or remember and hopefully you will find one or two to use with
your class! I would love to hear
what some of your favorites are!
Happy
Teaching!
Talking
Chips
1.
Pass out the same number of chips to each student.
2.
Pick an interesting subject for group to speak about.
3.
Post sentence frames for prompts and replies you want
students to practice.
4.
Each time a student wants to speak, they put a chip in
the middle of the table.
5.
When an individual has used up their chips, they can no
longer speak.
6.
Process continues until every student has used up all
chips.
Numbered
Heads
1.
Divide students into teams.
2.
Give each team member a number.
3.
Pick an interesting subject for group to speak about.
4.
Post sentence frames for prompts and replies you want
students to practice.
5.
Each time a student’s number is drawn the student uses
the prompts or responses to respond.
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