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

 So, here we go again! It’s another first day of school with new students, and the butterflies in our stomachs have once again come alive. For me, the first day of class is about building connections. We want to get to know our students’ likes and dislikes, not only to have them practice the English language, but also so that we can show them that we care about who they are. The first day leaves an impression on them. I want to let them know that they are seen, remind them that I’m on their side, and show them that I want them to come back the next day. With my younger students, I’m going to have them write their names and draw, inside their names, things they like. Then, we’ll sit in a circle, and they’ll each share what they drew with the class. I want to use the information they give me on this first day to test their memory on the second day of class. For example, I might ask, “Who has a dog named Jack?” and they will have to tell me the name of that student. Here’s what I wi...

On the first day back to school, I had my new 5th-grade bilingual group talk about their lives. They then wrote their names, decorated the letters, cut them out, folded them and then glued them on yellow craft paper. I asked them to write a positive word for each letter of their name that would describe a liitle who they are. I emphasized that they had to write positive words. When they were done, each student came to the front of the class to share their work. One of the most creatives characteristics was "not dumb" for the letter N. 😊 They were really excited to take their 3D names home to show their families.   

The first day of class is always crucial to set the tone to what kind of teacher you are and how you hope the semester will unfold. I remember the butterflies which frantically flew around my stomach on the many first days of school I had as a child. This year with the many different kinds of classes, online, in class or even hybrid (some students online while others are in our classroom), students might be even more anxious than ever. Here are some ideas and suggestions to make your students feel welcome and to immediately get to know your students better. Remember the ideas have to be adapted to fit your age group. If you live in a country where you are already in the classroom with all your students, tape a slip of paper under their desk or chair with a personal message for them. It can be something like: John, I'm so happy you are my student this year/semester or Alice, I can't wait to learn what your favorite pet/color/cartoon is. They really get excited when you tell the...

 In Brazil, the new school year starts in February, so once again we're about to have the first day of class. One thing that has helped me a lot teaching online is having these different mouths I can use at the beginning of the class as I ask students or they ask each other how they are. I have a happy, sad, excited or wonderful, and hungry mouth. I've showed these cardboard props here on the blog before. We made them when we were learning about different parts of our face: eyes, nose and mouth but I was able to use them the whole year to start the class. They also come in handy if you have to wear a mask and students can't see your mouth. I keep them right next to my computer along with my pens and pencils. If there's one thing I will for sure use again this year, it's these cute funny mouth props.

This is an activity to be done in a classroom but which can be easily adapted to online classes. In a classroom, you can tape papers like these with different letters of the alphabet for fast finishers. When they are done with an activity, let them pick a word from the little brown bag and draw it. If they don’t know the meaning of the word, let them ask a friend or look it up. The little brown bag can be made with a toilet paper roll. Write around 10 words on slips of paper and place them in the little bag. The letter can be written on a small piece of creative paper and glued on. To adapt the activity to online classes, you can use Wordwall to make a wheel which students spin. Add letters to the wheel, whichever letter the wheel stops on, students have to draw an object which begins with that letter.

Unboxing videos are all over the Web, so I decided to make my own unboxing video to show my students on the first day after our break. I collected things I did on my time off to share with my class on their first day back. I only wrote the word  unboxing  on the box so I could use the box again with other topics. The words  my vacation  can be taped on and then taken off and replaced.  If we were in a live classroom, I’d do the unboxing in the classroom but since we’re still online, I thought a video would be best. I asked them to create their own vacation unboxing vídeos to share with the class. Let’s hope they do! .

These Story Wheels can be used in several different ways. I used them in 2 different classes as first day activities. In one class, students were very young, around 8 years old, so I had students draw and talk about their likes and dislikes. They shared their circles in small groups. In another class, students' average age was 12 years old and they were at an intermediate level. I had them draw and then talk in pairs about important moments in their lives. The circles are easy to make. You just need to circles of the same size, one has an opening so you can see the drawings on the other circle. After students have made their drawings, you put the circles together using a brad. There are just soooo many ways you can use these circles and it really lets students get creative.

And so we are back again! I made these paper bracelets for the first day of my second grade group. The intention was for the students to have a fun reminder of their every so often scary first day. I used a heart shape puncher for the word love and wrote the rest, of course, you can also print the bracelets and have the kids color them. The best part of the class was while I was placing the bracelet on a little boy and explaining to him what it meant, he said, "It's true. I really did love it." Aaaawwwnnn heart melt :)

We know now, although most teachers tend to do little about it, that movement helps us remember and/or actually learn something new. I won't go into details about that but here's a link if you want to do some extra reading. It all makes sense now why kids, being little learning machines, cannot sit still. We know they can't but that's still what we want them to do. ( Me included but I have been trying to change and it has made a difference.) But it's not only small kids who need to move, it's all ages. Well, bearing that in mind here's an activity for the first or second day of class when you are letting students know your classroom rules. Last semester, I made a Keynote presentation with these rules and showed my students on the first day of class. Later, maybe 2 months into the semester, when I reminded them of certain rules, some were very surprised and had an "Ihavenoideawhatyouaretalkingabout" look on their faces. So, this next semester, I...

This activity can be used as an icebreaker or a warm up activity for a specific unit in which the title and/or topic is love. You can also do this in February around Valentine's Day. I cut out a heart for each student around the size of my hand. My hearts were red but you can use any color your heart desires. Each student is given a heart and asked to write 2 things they like about themselves and two things they like about the person to their right. It can be one word or how they like the way the person does something. Each thing is written on a round "tip" of the heart, 2 on the front and 2 on the back. Tell your students they are not supposed to let anyone see what they are writing. When they are done, collect the hearts and tape them up on the walls with the back tips folded back (sort of like a butterfly on a wall). Ask your students to get up and go up to the hearts and try to find out who the hearts are referring to. It's a nice way for them to get to kn...