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

Lots of fish in the sea! In this activity, my second-graders first added some drops of light and dark blue paint on one side of a sheet of paper and then folded the paper in the middle to make the ocean background for their fish. While the paint was drying, they drew their fish on a magazine page. I gave them many colorful circles to fold in the middle and glue onto their fish to be the scales and one googly eye. After the paint had dried and they had cut out their fish, they wrote that fish can swim and have tails and then glued their fish onto the ocean paper. The following class, each student came to the front of the class to share their fish and read their sentence.  I always love that although they are all doing the same activity, each one comes out just a little bit different. 🐟  

I had my third graders make these frogs to share their favorite part of a story called Frog Brings Rain. They first made the paper frogs and then drew their favorite part on a white sheet of paper to glue inside. Then, they had to write a sentence about what they drew. Finally, each student came to the front of the class to share their drawing and their sentence. They really enjoy sharing their work with their friends. Plus, I believe it's essential for their work to have a purpose besides just me collecting and checking what they do. I made videos of their presentations and posted the videos for their parents to be able to see on an online platform I use called  Seesaw  .  

As you can see, in this activity, we didn't use paper. Our driving question here is: how do we use water? I had students walk around their school and take pictures of how we use water at school. They used an app that allowed them to write on the photos. In the following classes, I used their photos to review the topic. They asked and answered questions about their own photos. Going out of the classroom is always a great way to get them engaged and create memorable moments. This activity was pretty easy and very student-centered, which is what we aim for in our classes.  

Here’s a game young learners can make and play to practice numbers, how many, there is/there are, colors, vocabulary words bees beetles flowers and have fun trying to balance bugs on a flower.                 

All you need is one sheet of creative paper to make this cat. First, fold the paper in half. Draw the arch in the middle, cut and use one part of the paper you cut out for the ears and tail and the other part for the head. Then just get creative with the details.  I had my class send me a photo of their cat around the house, on the couch, the bed or a table, in the bedroom or living room. I used their pictures the following class to ask: Where's John's cat? and had them give me complete answers. One mother filled a wall with the cats with speech bubbles singing our hello song. So sweet and cute. 💓💓💓

We are learning about parts of the house and where certain objects of the house belong. My first grade class was able to make this paper couch by following step by step instructions from my Google Slides and I also did it along with them. This is couch is made the same way I made the bed from this post . They each presented their couches and I asked them where the couch is in their house. I asked them questions about the colors and how many cushions they placed on their couch as well. One student is using the couch for her tiny dolls. 😊                                                                               

This dog was really simple to make. My first grade bilingual group was learning about how they could help around the house. One of the chores was give the dog a bath. We made the dog in one class and the bathtub the following class. When both are ready, all you have to do to give the dog a bath is place him on the paper with the drawing of the tub. They are going to show their complete project and I’ll ask them, how can we help around the house? I expect them to answer I can wash the dog or I can give the dog a bath. There is a lot of vocabulary to practice with this simple project. After 3 months of online classes, this group still gets excited about making these paper activities. Can’t wait to get back to our classroom to see them in person ❤️

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.

Today my Teens group made paper food. I wanted them to be able to practice naming food and food related objects. I first showed them some pictures of food hidden behind shapes. They had to guess what the food was before I removed the shape. After discussing what their favorite dishes were, they made paper food. Next class, they're going to share their work with the group by answering the question: What is on your table? Their answers can be something like: On my table,  there is a fork, a knife, a cup and a plate with some salad, spaghetti, meat and a fried egg. I love how colorful their dishes are! Anybody up for some blue spaghetti?