esl-storybooks-blog

Teaching English Second Language Children to Write

Mon, 21 Nov 2011 17:41:19 +0100

English Second Language children need exciting content to stimulate their ideas. Written language can be difficult for children who are native English speakers but creative writing presents a special challenge for students learning to speak, understand, read and write simultaneously. How can we help them to express themselves on paper or online?

Let’s try by offering exciting scenarios that stimulate their interest and their imaginations. There are many children’s storybooks available in the stores. Although these are an important part of any program, a storybook written specifically for English Second Language children often includes a student workbook and a Teacher’s Guide. The workbook exercises sometimes have the students travel with the storybook characters. This allows for each child to interpret events in their own way and become involved by deciding what might happen next.

That personal involvement is the key to creative writing. We suggest that initially the children be encouraged to write their ideas without concern for grammar or spelling. Once they have an idea on paper they can be helped to correct the grammar and spelling. It is difficult to know the amount of emphasis to place on the corrections. If too much re-writing is required then the excitement of expressing their idea is lost. If too little comment is made then the learning is limited.

We suggest that first you CATCH THEM DOING IT RIGHT. Find any small part of what they did, it may only be their idea, and tell them it’s good. Then, if possible, choose an error that is repeated and offer help. Depending on their English level, it isn’t likely necessary to correct every mistake. Individual needs vary greatly.

As you read this you may be thinking that those ideas are fine but you have a class of 30 or 40 children. If that is your situation, then try to find volunteer help. Have the children helping each other, or invite parents or older students into your class. Do whatever works for you.

Try this activity with your class. You’ll find that science fiction is universally popular. Our young students in Eastern Europe taught us that!

Children’s creative writing in English can be fun!

Use the graphic at the top for this creative writing lesson.

Introduce the time period names and talk briefly about the most recent one and the one that was the longest time ago.

Have the students study the chart to identify when the dinosaurs lived.

Start a discussion of what it might have been like when the dinosaurs lived on Earth by asking:

"What would it have been like for you to live on Earth at that time?"

During the discussion write their ideas on the board.

Have them write a paragraph about what they would do or see if they lived at the time of the dinosaurs.

Their topic sentence might begin with:

If I lived during the __________ period I would...

When I was living with the dinosaurs I...

ESL Storybooks that Offer Thrilling Time Travel Adventures

Thu, 06 Oct 2011 23:27:57 +0100

ESL Storybooks provide action packed lessons for students between the ages seven and twelve. The students travel back in time with the story characters where they see huge plant eating dinosaurs and also encounter giant predators that emerge from dark caves. The wonders of today’s scientific age, allows them to contact a time capsule, a mysterious space traveler that may be able to help them escape from the hungry monster that is approaching.

Lessons alive with danger and adventure foster learning. If the content reflects up to date technology - because that’s cool! – and a stimulating story, the students will acquire English through context clues. They will see it as fun rather than “English lessons”.

ESL Storybooks have many advantages. They often present factual information about the time and place of the narrative adding to the general knowledge of the students. They also present imaginative space technology that might become reality at some time in the future.

The excitement of the story stimulates the students’ imaginations. If the teacher introduces brainstorming sessions at critical points in the story, the more imaginative children will spark new ideas for their classmates. This approach encourages inventive thinking and guides the students’ thoughts to unique creative writing.

In the example below, the storybook children have traveled back in time to the age of the dinosaurs. They ride with Harvey, a space capsule, but after a short flight they decide to leave the capsule to help an injured animal. While they are on the ground a great hungry dinosaur races to attack them. They run to the nearest tree and cling to the top while the dinosaur roars below.

“We just made it!” said Bob.

“That was too close!” answered Rachel. “My hand slipped when I was climbing up, and I nearly fell!”

“Hang on tightly now!” said Bob. “That huge dinosaur might try to shake the tree to make us fall.”

“Harvey will come and rescue us,” said Rachel.

“But how can he do that? If he lands anywhere near to pick us up, we have to run to the capsule and get in before we are safe. For sure, I’m not going to climb down while that creature is waiting for us!”

Have the children brainstorm what they think might happen next and write their own ending. They can share these with the small group or the whole class.

Factors in Choosing an ESL Children’s Curriculum

Thu, 06 Oct 2011 17:33:25 +0100

Given the right circumstances, children can learn English very quickly. Adults want to understand everything, but children can grasp the meaning of unknown words by using the context of the sentence.

A Children’s ESL class can be very rewarding in many ways if the ESL curriculum allows them to enjoy themselves in the classroom. The following article describes some of the activities that are lots of fun, and at the same time effective learning tools. These things should be included in an ESL curriculum.

Bingo Games
Bingo games are always popular. For the first couple of games with new cards, the students will find quite a few words that are new to them. They should be given clues by the teacher and they should be allowed to help each other. Their competitiveness will drive them on, and they will learn the words quickly, while having a good time.

Songs and Verse
Songs are always fun, and a good way to learn vocabulary, but many teachers would prefer not to lead the class in songs. If this is the case, try reciting verse with the class. Children love the rhythm of verse, and it can be just as effective as singing.

Puppets
Often shy children who are afraid to participate in oral work will do very well with puppets. We had good success with cardboard puppets mounted on a stick. The children like it if you make a moveable mouth that they can move up and down while they do their role play. The illustration shows an alien puppet that we used to go along with our ESL curriculum. The moveable mouth pattern is included. It fits in the slot cut below the mouth. If you make two or three puppets of each kind, the students feel more comfortable doing their role play in a group.

Drawing
Drawing is something that comes easily to most children. If they are asked to make a drawing about some part of their story / lesson, they will have time to think about the lesson while they work. We found that it is very effective if the teacher moves around the group and asks the children individually what their drawing is about. The children like to talk about their picture and it gives the teacher a chance to interact individually with them.

AnESL Curriculum that includes these activities will be effective for the teacher and enjoyable for the children.

ESL Storybooks Spark a Student’s Imagination

Thu, 06 Oct 2011 17:55:22 +0100

ESL storybooks facilitate learning when they offer exciting stories for the children to enjoy. People of all ages need to be interested in what they are studying. If you think of your own experience you’ll remember times when you were expected to learn material that held no interest for you. This article suggests ways in which storybooks can be used to spark imagination and stimulate creative writing.

How can we keep the kids interested and excited about learning English?

Thinking about what kids like will give us some clues. We suggest a few:

animals - friends – family – machines – space - wizards

adventure stories – mystery – stories - science fiction – videos - pictures puzzles

games – drawing – singing – sports – talking activities - making things

anticipating something - guessing the ending – rewards - success – praise - being accepted – belonging to a group

What should a storybook include?

The storybooks a teacher uses may be a part of the curriculum or they may be supplementary. The essential point is: How many of the above items do they include? A single storybook won’t provide all of the items but a series of books can involve many of them and the teacher can be the catalyst for many more.

Example:

If we choose “animals” then dinosaurs would likely be a popular choice. The story provided below includes an exciting adventure, pictures, and anticipated events. Other popular activities such as talking, drawing, guessing the ending, writing and working together are included.

Give each student a copy of the story excerpt. Do not give them the end of the story until they have done the following.

Explain:

Bob, Daniella, Nicholas and Sid are the children in this story. They have traveled back in time to the age of the dinosaurs. An enormous creature is attacking them but they are with the wizard, “Tempus”. He is a time traveler and has a sword with magic powers.

Story Excerpt:

Nicholas sees the terrible creature appear from behind a rock.
“Look at that!” he yells.
“Quickly, stand behind me!” commands Tempus. “I’ll need all the strength of my sword to protect us from this creature.”

The great reptile approached as Tempus raised his sword to protect them all.

Bob, Daniella, Nicholas and Sid watched as Tempus swung his sword and great clouds of smoke and sparks surrounded the creature. As Tempus worked to chase the creature away they could hear the roar of the angry reptile and the swishing of the sword.

Possible Class Activities:

- discuss what Tempus and the enormous creature might look like
- discuss their environment
- ask if they would want to travel back to the time of the dinosaurs
- discuss how they would feel
- have the children imagine the scene and draw it

Brainstorm what they think will happen next:

- Will the creature be too strong for Tempus?
- Will the children need to return to real time in a hurry?
- Will Tempus kill the creature or will he scare it away?

Student Work

Have the students write several sentences telling what they think will happen next.
Have them divide into groups according to what they think will happen. Then they are to tell the other groups why they made that decision.

Distribute the end of the story.

Explain that everyone’s ending was right because they were all storytellers and could create their own ending.

A Possible Ending:

    After many minutes had passed, the angry creature ran down over the rocks and away through the water. Tempus turned back and smiled at them all.

    “He’s scared,” he said. “He won’t come back.”

    “Wow! That was a blast!” they all shouted.

Storybooks are great for supplementary material. Every classroom has very capable students who finish ahead of the others. They are bored so they disrupt others who need to concentrate on finishing the exercise or activity. Try giving them a storybook. Perhaps you'll find that some of the others work harder because they want to join the storybook kids. Have fun with ESL Storybooks!

See also:
Successful ESL Ltd.

Teacher Productivity Power Tips

Using ESL Storybooks in Teaching English

Sat, 01 Oct 2011 18:50:28 +0100

In teaching in different parts of the world, we often found students who had taken English classes for years, and who still couldn't speak or understand an English conversation. The goal of all ESL classes must be to teach the students how to speak and understand English. Storybooks that stress creative writing are a wonderful help in achieving this goal. Stories that stimulate the children's interest make them forget they are working in a different language, and they will learn to model their speech from the examples in the stories.

Sentences
Of course William Shakespeare and Charles Dickens had very interesting ways of expressing things, but for the ESL student, there are some basic forms that can be applied almost universally. For example, each sentence must have a verb and a subject to be complete. The subject, or the noun tells who does the action, and the verb is the action word. From there, the student can put in the location of the action, and then the time of the action at the end of the sentence.

Paragraphs
In the story, the teacher can point out that the first sentence usually tells what the paragraph is about. It is the topic sentence. Next, the idea is developed, and the adventure is continued. Finally, the last sentence in the paragraph pulls the previous thoughts together. At the same time, it prepares the reader for what is to follow in the next paragraph. This linking holds the story together, and teachers may find that the students have to have some degree of maturity to grasp this point. Small children will write a story like a comic book, with a series of verbal pictures that are all separate from each other.

Vocabulary
The students will most likely find words that are not included in their ESL Curriculum. By seeing these new words in use, they can soon learn their meaning through the context of the story. If there are more than just a few new words, the teacher can help the students. We always found it surprising how fast the students learned new words when they were included in a story that was interesting to them.

By using storybooks, a teacher can teach the basic concepts of speaking English, by using the content of the story. This is an interesting and creative way to supplement the ESL curriculum.

See also>>