Literacy Quick Activity Ideas
Magazine Dictionary
Set up small books of lined paper as dictionaries. Each page can be dedicated to a letter of the alphabet, a topic from Science or Social Studies, or another criterion. After a lesson on the target criteria, students search through magazines to find related words (e.g., words with CH, words related to landforms). Choose magazines that are more likely to contain words related to the search.
Write the Room
Students move around a space (e.g., classroom, library, nearby park) and record text they find on posters, books, or signs. The search can be focused on a specific reading skill that the students have been investigating, such as finding words with the letter B, words that are part of the word family AT, or compound words.
Felt Board Stories
Photocopy characters and speech bubbles from a familiar text and attach them to pieces of felt. Display them on a felt board for students to use to retell or create new stories.
Alternative: Attach magnets to the back of the characters to display them on a blackboard.
Suggested books: Piggy & Elephant (Mo Willems), I Don't Want to Be a Frog (Dev Petty), Bus! Stop! (James Yang), and Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! (Mo Willems).
Make a Silly Sentence
Students copy key words from their Literacy, Science, or Social Studies lessons onto post-it notes. They shuffle the words in a small plastic bag, then pick one or two. They use the words to make a full sentence using other familiar words. For example, for the word family 'at' - "The mat was on the cat." Next, they sketch a picture to match their sentence.
What Will the Ending Be?
Read the beginning of a story, poem, or song to the students. They draw or write what they predict will happen at the end of the text.
Listen and Read
Students listen to a recorded story while following along in the text. This can help students access texts that are outside their reading level.
Listen to a Story and Draw
Describe a short sequence of events. Students listen and sketch the actions on their paper. This activity can be extended by having the students retell the story orally or in writing.
Listen to the Directions
Describe a simple image and have the students draw the image on paper. For beginner-level dictations, describe basic shapes that together form a familiar item (e.g., a house). For advanced dictations, incorporate Science or Social Studies vocabulary (e.g., a blue jay sits on the branch of a maple tree). Compare the results with the original to assess listening comprehension (e.g., prepositions, vocabulary, etc.).
Story Order
Provide photocoStory Order
Provide photocopies of the pictures and/or text from a familiar story. Students glue the pieces in order on paper. As an extension, provide the text with errors and have the students edit the text at the end.pies of the pictures and/or text from a familiar story. Students glue the pieces in order on paper. An extension is to provide the text with errors and have the student edit the text at the end.
Language Rich Environment
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Personalized Learning
Picture Dictionary Bundle
Picture Dictionary Bundle
Picture Dictionary Bundle
Languages: Syrian Arabic, Pashto, Urdu, French, Swahili and Mandarin
These bilingual-picture dictionaries are a communication and language development tool for beginning ESL learners. The content focuses specifically on school-related language, such as locations in the school and class activities etc. Each entry contains a picture and the word/phrase presented in two languages (English & French). Space is provided for student-specific or school-specific vocabulary to be added.
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Picture Dictionary Bundle
Picture Dictionary Bundle
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Picture Dictionary Bundle
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Assessment
ESL Log Book
ESL Log Book
ESL Log Book
One of the biggest challenges is communicating with homeroom teachers about the progress of the students. The ESL Log Book was created as a tool to move with the student between classrooms. It can be filled in by the teacher or the student (depending on skills) on the spot as the lesson takes place. Meanwhile, the STEP expectations section can be used to set targeted goals with the student.
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ESL Log Book
ESL Log Book
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ESL Log Book
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