Website # 6

http://www.eslgamesworld.com/


 Using this website is a great way to mix things up in the classroom. it is proven that students learn a lot better when they are involved in activities they enjoy. The website offers hundreds of games aimed at improving students' grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation. The games are grouped by students' proficiency levels, which will be helpful when differentiating instruction. The website can be a valuable resource for educators, since it is geared towards younger learners, who, as we know, need a variety of activities to sustain their attention.

Along with the games, the website also offers plenty of exercises, puzzles, and quizzes. There are also templates for Powerpoint and printable games that will allow teachers to add the desired content. Eslgamesworld is a high quality tool that teachers can use to supplement instruction and reinforce academic skills. Teachers can choose to dedicate the whole lesson or part of the lesson to working in the computer lab. If there is a computer available to students in the classroom, a teacher can use it with students who need exrta practice, or provide challenge to the students who are slightly ahead. Teachers can also use this website as a tool for alternative assessment.

Colorful, high quality graphics  used in games make this website very attractive to users. Adding games from this website to daily classroom activities is a great motivational strategy. However, students will need clear instructions how to navigate the website, as there are a lot of choices and ads that are rather distracting.

Website # 5

http://www.manythings.org/

This is a free study site for ESL students with games, quizzes, puzzles, MP3 files with transcripts, listening practice, pronunciation practive, etc. It is many things indeed!
To begin, there are hundreds of vocabulary lists and more than 20 games to play with each one. For example, you can do crossword puzzles, match definitions to words, unscramble the letters, insert the correct word - just to name a few. This is a great way for the students to build their vocabulary in a fun way.

Besides providing countless opportunities to practice grammar, vocabulary, and pronuciation, this website also has an extensive collection of short stories for listening and reading. Listen and Read Along section can be used with lower-level students to help them build reading fluency by listening to the recording and reading along. Stories in other sections are longer, but they are also accompanied by a recording which will aid comprehension and improving fluency for ELLs.

I find it very useful that in some sections the texts are categorized by the author, and in some, by topic (e.g. health, colors, occupations, etc.).  The texts used on this website are very informative; they can be used for content instruction as well as for language learning. The section on American history is just amazing! This website also provides plenty of opportunities for assessment, that I would incorporate in my lesson for student self-assessment.

Inquiry question # 3

What are good educational strategies that promote the literacy of students learning English?
Source # 2


In her article "Scaffolds to Help ELL Readers" Barbara Fagan explains two strategies that she uses to help her ELLs develop literacy: T-charts and sticky notes. The author has faced the challenge of her students merely decoding the text without much comprehension. In her classroom she used the strategies targeted at helping her students recall critical information and then synthesize that information.
The first intervention strategy used to help students stop and think about what they have just read is  "T-charts."  Students will read the designated passage silently and then write the main idea sentence on the left-hand side. Students would share in class the sentences they wrote and the whole class would talk about the maion idea. The passage would be re-read for reinforced comprehension. Students would list 2-3 words that were unknown or unfamiliar on the right hand-side of the chart. T-chart would help students organize information and focus on what was important in that passage, as well as reinforce the concept of the main idea. This scaffold will help students think about how they have learned and remember new information.
Once the students are comfortable with using T-charts, they can graduate to using sticky notes. After reading a segment, instead of writing down a sentence about the main idea, students would write a few key words on the sticky notes that would constitute their "tracks" in reading. They would share and discuss their key words as a whole class. Then, using their sticky notes, students would write a short summary of what has been read so far. The sticky notes would help the students retell the events in sequence focusing only on the main events. Using sticky notes is  a scaffold to help ELL's do what independent readers do - actively respond or question text as they read. Sticky notes is a way to train students to stop and gather important information. Once the skill is developed - the notes will be no longer needed, as pausing and reflecting will become internalized as a part of their reading process.

Fagan, B. (2003). Scaffolds to Help ELL Readers. Voices from the Middle. 11(1).     

Website # 4

http://www.englishclub.com/ref/

This page of englishclub.com addresses such notoriously hard for ELL's aspects of the language as idioms, slang, and phrasal verbs. The concept of figurative language seems to be hard for ELLs of all ages. However, adequate competency in this area can be achieved through continuous practice and exposure to the language. This page provides references to thousands of idioms, proverbs, phrasal verbs, and slang of modern English language.

For ease of navigating, idioms, proverbs, and slang words are grouped alphabetically, as well as by category. Each item is accompanied by explanation and is linked to examples and a short quiz. There is also a separate link to more extensive assessments, where you get a choice of quizzes on a certain topic or containing mixed items.This website can be an excellent supplement for instruction on figurative language or a reference source for students that they can refer to when running into an expression they are not familiar with. The links to Sayings and Quotes can be used by students as a tool for enhancing their writing.

Website # 3

http://myschoolhouse.com/

My schoolhouse is a quality educational resource created by Educational Deigners in Weyauwega, WI. On the left-hand side of the homepage one can find a list that gives you a good idea about the content and organization of the website.  ESL link will take you to the page that contains excellent resources for English Language learners such as Language Arts, Spelling, and Reading . The language arts section can be used to supplement classroom instruction. It provides lessons and practice exercises on a variety of topics (synonyms, metaphors, idioms, etc. as well as grammar topics), so teachers can incorporate these activities to reteach and practice the skills that present difficulties for ELLs.

The Reading section provides some sample reading selections supplemented by comprehension exercises. The texts and exercises vary in length and the degree of difficuly, which allows for differentiation for ELLs of various levels of language proficiency. I think it is a great idea to use internet texts from time to time to introduce students to various forms of print.

Another source that I can use with more proficient learners is The Writing Circle, which will give my students an opportunity to contribute to a community story writing activity. Submitted pages will be reviewed, and, if approved, published by the website. Publishers will later supplement the text with assessment exercises. Anonymously the students can try their hand at writing a story that can later be used for reading activities in their own school or around the world!