All You Need is Paper (and a little love) ESL/EFL activities

      My third grade bilingual group was studying living things that create their own light - bioluminescence. Isn't that a beautiful word!? We read about squids, jellyfish, mushrooms, glowworms, and of course, fireflies. The students had to write a very short text about one of these living things, so I decided they could use a paper jar filled with fireflies to get them into the activity. These students are still online, so as usual I had to think about the material they have at home. I showed them my model using an oatmeal box to draw the jar with the fireflies. They all had some kind of box at home that they were able to use. I also let them know that if they wanted their jar to stand up after they were done writing, they could fold a paper and glue it to the back, like in the picture above. When they were all done, each student shared their jar and read their text to the class. It was a different way to them engaged in a writing activity, plus they could use it to decorate thei

 My third grade class was studying how animals hide in nature to protect themselves. We all drew a colorful chameleon on a a colorful background. Students each shared their chameleons with the class and were able to practice vocabulary words like hide and camouflage. We also talked about which other animals are great camouflagers such as katydids and owls. Can you think of more?