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

 These explosion books are amazing! There are lots of tutorials on YouTube teaching us how to make them and they can be used for several different activities. I used one of these tutorials with my 5th-grade students and after they had made the shape for the book, we used it to do an activity about the story Treasure Island. They first had to answer some questions about the story and then create their own character to add to the story. They had to draw their character, describe it, and draw objects their characters would own or use in the story. Also, because they weren't really able to get into the story, this was a way to get them to get more excited about it. In the end, the trickiest part was folding the book but they got the hang of it faster than I did.   

 This year, I'm going to make sure I use exit tickets more often. It's a way to wrap up your class and also to assess your students on what you did that day. I made this simple sample paper booklet for the students to use as a model and make their own.  At the end of a class, they have to write or draw something new they learned or found interesting that day. They can add the date and be creative with the information they add.  They write their names on the little paper boat that is tied to the booklet and dangles on the side. If you're already back in the classroom, it would be best if students left their booklets at school, so everybody is sure to have theirs to work in. When you hand them back at the end of the month, students will be able to share with their parents what they experienced that past month. I'll be using this with my early teens group.