Southern Illinois Professional Development Center
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
AH 0138 Campus Box 1128
Edwardsville, Illinois 62026-1128
Phone: 618-650-2254
Vol.4 Issue 1
March 2007
ESL NEWS YOU CAN USE
Hello everyone! Spring is on its way…and it can’t come
too soon with the winter we’ve had this year!
We hope your year is going well so far. Here are some ideas
for classroom activities. As always, we try really hard to come up
with new ideas and approaches to learning, but we need YOUR
help. We draw on a number of published and unpublished
resources, but we’d like to hear from YOU about what you’ve used
successfully in your classroom so we can share your ideas and
experiences with everyone who receives this newsletter!
Please help us by sending us YOUR ideas, suggestions,
and any activities you’ve used successfully in your classrooms
to include in future editions of ESL News You Can Use. Just
contact me, Linda Cox, at [email protected] or by phone at
618/596-8109 (home) or 559-3576 (cell), anytime. I’d be happy
to include your submission in the next edition! We sincerely
appreciate your submitting any lesson plans and/or activities you
have used in your ESL classroom so we can share with everyone in
our next edition of ESL News You Can Use.
Remember… we’re on the web: www.siue.edu/SIPDC
The Southern Illinois Professional Development Center can
provide workshops for your staff at your site. Just call us and let
us know what you need.
READING, WRITING AND OBSERVATION
SKILLS
“Cooking up some English!”
This activity builds conversational skills and rapport between students from
diverse cultures and varying levels of English skills.
1. Ask students to bring cookbooks or recipes from home. You might
bring some as well.
2. Discuss the categories of cookbooks. They are usually divided into
main dishes, desserts, vegetables, etc.
3. Ask students to write out a recipe for one of their favorite foods or
dishes.
4. Ask if the students want the recipe corrected for grammar.
5. Students can also illustrate the recipes or directions (this is a good
one for practicing sequence!)
6. Assemble the recipes into the agreed upon categories. Copy and
staple them together so that everyone gets a set.
7. Encourage the students to try one of the recipes at home and report to
the class on how it went and if their family enjoyed it.
Source: adapted from Dave’s ESL Café Idea Cookbook, www.eslcafe.com
LANGUAGE SKILLS:
Changes for spring and Arbor Day
Note to instructors: Here are some discussion topics about the change of
seasons:
What foods are traditional in the spring?
What changes in the weather can you expect in your area?
What do people like about the spring?
In the spring, what kinds of clothing do people wear?
What kinds of flowers bloom in early spring?
How is spring different here than it is where you are from?
What kinds of outdoor games might your family enjoy in the spring?
What special events or celebrations take place?
Students are always interested in learning about our holidays, special events
and celebrations. This is one that is frequently overlooked but is interesting
to talk about.
Ask students if they have a day to celebrate tree planting in their home
country. If so, have them tell you something about this. Read and discuss
the story below about the U.S. holiday. It’s traditional for public officials to
participate in a tree-planting ceremony on this day. If possible, bring in a
news story from a past Arbor Day to show students. And if you can arrange
to do so, have students plant a tree.
ARBOR DAY
Have you ever heard of a festival for planting trees? Many
countrieshave this festival. For example, Australia, Japan, Israel,
Korea, Yugoslavia and India have a day like this. We have one
in the United States, too. It is called “Arbor Day.”
National Arbor Day is on the last Friday in April. Some states
celebrate Arbor Day at a different time. On this day, many
people will plant a tree. Children in school will have a
celebration about trees. The newspaper will have a story about
tree planting.
Arbor Day started in Nebraska. The settlers who came there
needed trees for building and for fuel. They also needed trees for
shade and for shelter from the wind.
Many holidays are about the past. This holiday is about the
future.
______________
Discussion: Have you ever planted a tree? Where? Is the tree
still there?
1. How long does it take for a tree to grow large?
2. Do we need trees today? Why?
3. Do you know what kind of trees grow in your city?
4. Tell a story about a tree in your life.
Writing: You are the mayor of this city. You will be speaking to
some children on Arbor Day. Write a short speech to tell them
something about this holiday. Then, read your speech to the
class.
Sources: adapted from an article in Hands-On English. See www.arborday.org for
additional information.
A new feature…for the ESL teacher…
We thought you all might like this one. We found it challenging and a
valuable learning experience!
SPELL IT! Words from New World Languages
and Japanese
Match these words with their language of origin and meaning.
Example:
__6_ 1.
condor
1. Spanish- dried and preserved beef
____ 2.
iguana
____ 3.
hurricane
____ 4.
hogan
____ 5.
____ 6.
____ 7.
____ 8.
jerky
muskrat
hominy
wigwam
____ 9.
____10.
____11.
____12.
____13.
____14.
____15.
____16.
____17.
____18.
____19.
____20.
pampas
coyote
tamale
caribou
toboggan
persimmon
quinine
sushi
powwow
bayou
toucan
poi
2. Algonquin - hut of poles covered with bark,
mats, or skins
3. Japanese - member of a military class in
feudal Japan
4. Algonquin - a bushy-tailed mammal with
Black fur and white stripes
5. Japanese - a hairy, perennial vine
6. Spanish - large vulture
7. Algonquin- corn hulled and coarsely ground
8. Mexican-Spanish - food made of corn meal and
minced meat
9. Spanish - a compound used in treating malaria
10. Choctaw - inlet or outlet of a lake
11. Brazilian - a common garden annual flower
12. Hawaiian - feast generally held outdoors
13. Spanish (Peru) - same as cougar
14. Algonquin - North American groundhog
15. West Indian - a violent tropical cyclone
16. South American - treeless plains
17. Algonquin - a long narrow, flat sled
18. Algonquin - ceremony or tribal council
19. Hawaiian - food made from the taro root
20. Brazilian - a tropical tree bearing an edible,
kidney-shaped nut
21. Algonquin - a tree whose tough wood was used
to make switches
____21,
shogun
____22.
____23.
____24.
____25.
____26.
____27.
____28.
____29.
____30.
____31.
____32.
____33.
____34.
____35.
____36.
____37.
____38.
____39.
____40.
petunia
22. Japanese - dish consisting of meat dipped in
soy sauce and broiled
honcho
23. Japanese - former title of the emperor
cashew
24. Japanese - a huge sea wave caused by an
underwater disturbance
karate
25. Navajo - a dwelling built of earth walls
supported by timbers
luau
26. Algonquin - a rat-like water animal
totem
27. Mexican-Spanish - a small wolf
samurai
28. Japanese - a former hereditary commander-inchief of the army
hickory
29. Portuguese - a brightly colored, fruit-eating
bird with large beak
skunk
30. Japanese - chief, headman, boss
teriyaki
31. Japanese - method of fighting with side of
Open hand
woodchuck 32. Spanish - a paste, powder, syrup or bar made
from cacao
sashimi
33. Japanese - appetizer of thin slices of raw fish
tsunami
34. Algonquin, any of several large North
American deer
chocolate 35. Japanese - thin strips of raw fish wrapped
around cold rice
haiku
36. Algonquin - a tree producing an orange-red
fruit
muumuu
37. Algonquin - object taken as the emblem of a
tribe
Mikado
38. Japanese - a poem of 17 syllables
puma
39. Hawaiian - a long, loose-fitting cotton dress
kudzu
40. Spanish - large family of lizards
Source: St. Louis Post Dispatch, December 15, 2006. www.nie.post-dispatch.com/Bee
Answer Key: 1-6; 2-40; 3-15; 4-25; 5-1; 6-26; 7-7; 8-2; 9-16; 10-27; 11-8; 12-34; 13-17;
14-26; 15-9; 16-35; 17-18; 18-10; 19-29; 20-19; 21-28; 22-11; 23-30; 24-20; 25-31; 2612; 27-37; 28-3; 29-21; 30-4; 31-22; 32-14; 33-33; 34-24; 35-32; 36-38; 37-39; 38-23;
39-13; 40-5.
MATH SKILLS (FOLLOWING DIRECTIONS)
Follow these directions to do this math activity. See example
for help.
1. Divide this year by the day of your birth. If there is a
remainder, round off to the next highest number.
2. Add the number of years you have lived.
3. Subtract the number of the month in which you were born.
(January = 1, February = 2, March = 3, etc.)
4. Multiply by the number of days in the month in which you
were born.
Example:
This year is 2007.
My birthday is on the 13th day of April.
I am 37 years old.
The month of April is the 4th month in the year.
The month of April has 30 days.
2007 divided by 13 = 154 and 5/13, so use 154
154 + 37 = 191 - 4 =187 x 30 = 5610
Ask students:
Who has the highest number in their answer?
Who has the lowest number?
Why doesn’t everyone have the same answer?
That’s it for this time!
Hope to see you all at IACEA in Springfield, March 7-9, 2007!