Kids' Book Review From the front of the choir: Singing is all about listening I wrote last week about people who think they can’t ‘sing’ because they think they need training or singing lessons first (Your singing voice: if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!). We focus so much on our mouths and what comes out of them, that often we forget one of the most important aspect of singing: listening. listening to your own voice This is what we tend to do the most of. The problem is, if we focus too much on ourselves and the production of sound, we stop being part of the choir or the song and become a self-centred island. When we’re new to this choir lark or when we’re particularly nervous, our tendency is to focus inwards and worry about ourselves. listening to others in your part This is the first stage of focusing outwards and it’s a check-in to make sure we’re singing in tune, not singing too loudly (or softly), blending well with the other voices, getting our part right (and making sure we’re actually in the right part!). listening to your part against another harmony
Free Books & Children’s Stories Online | StoryJumper PricesSchoolsLoginSign-up Library New Purchased Books Most popular by language: EnglishEspañolFrançaisPolski Popular topics: minecraft magic math fairy friend adventure animals Make your own book (FREE) He runs with animals in the forest, pilots an airplane, and rides a wild horse. by lgrimm A Life Cycle Adventure This story is about a little caterpillar's journey to discover what it is and what it does. by RubySue The Very Hungry Caterpillar This book is about a Caterpillar who's very very hungry. by snowpie E the Elephant Overcomes A lonely Elephant finds confidence within by meeting new friends ! by academyjenna What Makes You a Super Hero? This book helps remind kids that through every day actions of being kind, helpful and thoughtful, they have the "powers" to be a Super Hero. by DanikaGordon Wings About a girl who gets wings. by Nightpelt12 A sweeter version of "Hansel and Gretel". by bannisterz Charlie the Hotdog Charlie the hotdog learns that no amount of condiments can make you feel special.
Music Longlist Who deserves APRA song of the year? PETER VINCENT 11:02am Songs by Vance Joy, Flume, Gurrumul Yunupingu, Nick Cave and Sarah Blasko are among those to make the longlist for 2014 song of the year, as voted by members of Australia's music rights and royalties organisation. AC/DC to split: report Caroline Zielinski and Bernard Zuel 1:55pm AC/DC may be announcing their retirement as soon as Tuesday, according to media reports. Mental notes Bernard Zuel Chet Faker opens up on his debut album. Two's company when cellists go travelling Clarissa Sebag-Montefiore When two-time Grammy Award winner Lynn Harrell takes a flight, he always books two seats: one for himself and one for his multimillion-dollar, centuries-old cello. Keep the peace Samuel J. Life in the slow lane Bronwyn Thompson After a hectic stint on the road, Jordie Lane is looking for balance once more. Doobies forever History repeats
Top 10 Blogs for Writers 2015 We’re delighted to announce the winners of our 9th annual Top 10 Blogs for Writers Competition! It’s exciting to see such an array of excellent blogs for writers. Make sure you visit all the ten blogs to get to know the new top crop of writing blogs. How were the winners selected? Initial qualification: A site must have been nominated more than once by multiple individuals. Goins, Writer The blogger behind this blog is Jeff Goins. Positive Writer Bryan Hutchinson has created a dynamic blog with a positive vibe and has built a substantial readership in a relatively short time. Tara Lazar: Writing for Kids Children’s fiction author Tara Lazar has turned her blog into a lively resource for picture book writers. Helping Writers Become Authors Katie Weiland’s blog is a great place for fiction writers. The Write Practice Created by Joe Bunting, the Write Practice is the place to go if you want to kick-start your writing practice. Live Write Thrive Terrible Minds The Write Life Jennifer Blanchard
7 Easy ESL Visual Aids to Teach Anything Effectively A picture is worth a thousand words. Nowhere is this truer than in the ESL classroom. Suppose after a verb game or during some reading comprehension exercise, one of your curious students wants to know the difference between “He danced at the party” and “He was dancing at the party.” What will you do? You could probably give a really clear explanation about how one sentence states what happened at a specific place or time, and the other gives background information to establish a scene in the past. And then maybe you’d give a couple more examples prior to showing how the two very similar tenses—past perfect and past perfect continuous—do in fact differ. Or, you could draw a picture of two timelines, one representing each sentence, and have the students describe them. Which would be more effective? The Benefits of Using Visual Aids in the ESL Classroom Visual aids, like those two timelines, are so perfect for the ESL classroom. Helps students understand and remember concepts more easily 1. 2. 3.
20 Strategies for Motivating Reluctant Learners | MindShift | KQED News Kathy Perez has decades of experience as a classroom educator, with training in special education and teaching English language learners. She also has a dynamic style. Sitting through her workshop presentation was like being a student in her classroom. Perez says when students are engaged, predicting answers, talking with one another and sharing with the class in ways that follow safe routines and practices, they not only achieve more but they also act out less. “If we don’t have their attention, what’s the point?” She’s a big proponent of brain breaks and getting kids moving around frequently during the day. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. NED’s GREAT EIGHT I feel OKIt mattersIt’s activeIt stretches meI have a coachI have to use itI think back on itI plan my next steps 9. Build a safe environmentRecognize diversity in the classroomAssessment must be formative, authentic and ongoingInstructional strategies should be a palette of opportunitiesNew models 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20.
The Seven Best Short Animated Films for the Language Classroom - Kieran Donaghy Animated films are ones in which individual drawings, paintings, or illustrations are photographed frame by frame. Traditionally animated films have been associated with children, however, nowadays they are designed to appeal to everyone. With the increased ease of creating animations, there has been a huge rise in the number of animated films being produced, and the vast majority of these are short animations. Many of these short animated films can be exploited in the language classroom as they are short enough to be used in a single session, offer a complete narrative in a short space of time, have a unique capacity of grabbing and holding students’ attention, and deal with contemporary subjects and issues, such as bullying, racism, sexism, homelessness, and human rights, which are relevant to students’ lives. Here are my seven favourite animated short films for the language classroom. Paperman Paperman is an Oscar-nominated short film by John Kahrs which went viral. Head Over Heels
Top 10 TEFL Games and Activities TEFL games and other fun activities play an important part of the English class, and not only when teaching English to children. While a class based around tefl games would lack balance [and create certain problems], an English class without any games would also lose a lot. It is important to choose esl games which practice English intensively, and avoid 'empty' ESL games which, while fun, only involve minimal practice of English. Good games for teaching English should involve most of the students using English for most of the time. By involve, I don't mean that students have to be talking nonstop. A silent student may be very actively listening and thinking in the language, and a very noisy student may not be thinking at all. Many of these TEFL games I've been shown by other teachers over the years I've been teaching. 1 - Word Tennis This English teaching game is an ideal warmer when teaching English to kids , especially 6 to 8 year olds, and is an excellent way to review vocabulary.
50 Essential Resources for ESL Students Learning a new language is always daunting, especially when that language is as full of weird rules and contradictions as English. Even native speakers sometimes have trouble mastering the nuances of tense and grammar. Fortunately, if English is not your first language, there are a variety of ESL resources online to help you master the English language. Grammar and Usage Use these sites to boost your grammar skills, from verb tenses to noun placement. Purdue Online Writing Lab: The OWL offers a comprehensive repository of practice sheets and linguistic primers for learners at all levels.Dave's ESL Cafe: ESL teacher Dave Sperling's in-depth site provides numerous lessons about sentence structure, word use, and more. Spelling and Pronunciation These sites will help ESL online students learn how to speak or spell the English words they've been learning. Vocabulary and Writing Building a vocabulary is one of the most important parts of mastering any language. Quizzes and Worksheets Podcasts
Exploring the World in Your Classroom: 45 Travel Lesson Plans You can't take your students with you on vacation as you travel the world, but you can take them on virtual trips as you explore different cultures together. Lesson plans on travel give you the opportunity to delve into topics like culture, geography and even math as you plan for travel expense. With a travel theme, you can dig into literature, help students embrace their inner artist and give them a love and passion for a new and exciting location. Grades K - 5 Benefits of Cycling Lesson Plan (Grades K-5) - Teach students about the benefits of traveling by cycling using this curriculum outline. Middle and High School Spain: A Cultural Profile (Grades 11-12) - This lesson touches on the main geographic features of Spain. All Grades
Teenagers and UK culture | TeachingEnglish | British Council | BBC Why bring UK culture to the teen classroom? We can introduce UK culture into the English classroom to help our students improve their English and at the same time learn about values and ways of doing things which may be different to theirs. Learning about life and culture in the UK can be very motivating as it brings the language alive for learners and creates a link between language and real life. ‘We need to avoid reinforcing erroneous British stereotypes to our teenagers. ‘Culture is the fifth skill in addition to reading, writing, listening and speaking. ‘I try to make British culture "real" to my students. What materials can I use to introduce UK culture? Life in the UK In this section teenagers can read about topics with a British connection. Using Life in the UK and Video UK with your learnersHere are some ideas for ways to use the texts, videos and activities in the Life in the UK and Video UK sections in class and for homework. By Sally Trowbridge
New Zealand Kiwis are flightless birds native to New Zealand, and have become a symbol and nickname for New... Whether exploring New Zealand's iconic bird, the kiwi, watching the haka, or learning about poi... Scroll down for our collection of famous New Zealanders notebooking pages and mini printable... Take a trip to New Zealand with us by printing and enjoying our New Zealand colouring pages! You... These printable New Zealand postcards make a fun writing activity for the classroom - or for a... Useful for a New Zealand theme, Waitangi Day or even prior to a visit to this lovely country, our... You can visit some of the sites of New Zealand in your imagination - or write about an actual visit... Here is a small collection of useful map worksheets and fact worksheet - perfect for studying New... Here you will find a collection of New Zealand flag printables including a New Zealand flag... With its interesting and unique birds and the rich culture of the Maoris, a New Zealand theme...
Boudreault - The Benefits of Using Drama in the ESL/EFL Classroom The Internet TESL Journal Chris Boudreaultsolartrees [-at-] gmail.com(Lac La Biche, Canada) As an English teacher, I have often been amazed at how effective drama is to capture the attention of the students in the ESL/EFL classroom. Drama activities would sometimes have surprising and unexpected results. ESL/EFL professionals need to use this medium more because the artificial world of the classroom can be transformed into a quasi-real language situation and provides an endless amount of opportunities for student’s personal growth. We cannot only teach grammar and phonetics with drama but also it has the power to transform the actors as well as the audience. Introduction William Shakespeare claimed that All the world's a stage,And all the men and women merely players;They have their exits and their entrances,And one man in his time plays many parts,His acts being seven ages.As You Like It Act 2, scene 7, 139–143 If so, then maybe we need to use drama more in the schools. References