January Topic: Puzzle Day!

Get your ESL students to honour puzzles of all shapes and forms by having them do one on Puzzle Day (January 29th)! While the reason behind this day may be a bit unclear, it does mean something for the millions of puzzle fanatics around the world.

The mighty CROSSWORD puzzle and the latest craze of SUDOKU are just a few popular ones that continue to entertain, challenge and sharpen minds. For many, puzzles have been a creative and entertaining way to pass the time and relief boredom. 

In the ESL world, using puzzles can add some fun and liven up any classroom. Puzzles can also be a great way to reinforce vocabulary words, build on certain grammar points or review teaching topics.

See links to puzzles for the ESL classroom here!

January Topic: Global Belly Laughing Day!

It's Global Belly Laughing Day on January 24th! Who knew?  Share a laugh with your ESL students and get them talking about the benefits of laughing with a free lesson by ESL Made Easy on:

 

Laughter is the Best Medicine!  

Click here to download!

 

RECOMMENDED LINKS FOR ESL STUDENTS ON THE TOPIC OF LAUGHTER:

Heads Up English: Listening and reading worksheet: Laughter

ESL Discussions: Discussion questions on the topic of laughter

ITESLJ: Lesson plan with follow up activities on laughter - Good for your Heart

ESL Bits: Listening - Why Do We Laugh?

Listen A Minute: Reading with follow up activities on Laughing

ISL Collective: Worksheet on What is Laughing Yoga?:  donation site

Breaking News English: Reading with follow up activities on Humour

The Free Dictionary: Laugh "idioms"

January Topic: Civil Rights Day

January 19th is Civil Rights Day in the United States. It is a day to celebrate and honor all those who took part in the American Civil Rights Movement (video) in the 1960's. It also celebrates the contributions of activist Martin Luther King, Jr., who was well-known for his campaigns to end racial segregation and to promote black equality in the United States and globally.

Your ESL students may find this topic interesting as it will give them an insight into America's history of human rights.

 

Listen to Martin Luther King's Famous Speech "I Have a Dream" - Have your students take notes and then discuss as a class.

FIND RECOMMENDED LINKS FOR YOUR ESL STUDENTS HERE!

January Topic: Thesaurus Day!

January 18th is THESAURUS DAY! It's a day that commemorates the birthday of Peter Roget (Jan 18th, 1779), the author of  Roget's Thesaurus.

The thesaurus has been an invaluable reference resource for millions of students and other writers around the world who use it to spice up their language with synonyms (different words that have the same or similar meaning). For ESL students, using synonyms not only helps develop and strengthen English skills, it increases confidence and motivation while learning this "tricky" language.
 

Thesaurus.com, Merriam Webster.com and Synonyms.com are just a few online sites that are both easy to find and use. So why not challenge your ESL students to explore and practice new and interesting words daily!

Find recommended links for your ESL students here!

Conversation Plus: Adult Colouring!

Get Your Students Talking

about Colouring as a Form of
Art Therapy!
 

WARM UP QUESTIONS by ESL Made Easy:

1. As a child, did you use to colour in colouring books? If so, what were some of your memories of using crayons and colouring books?
2. Are colouring books popular in your home country?
3. Why do you think most children love to colour in colouring books?
4. What might child educators say about the benefits of using colouring books?
5. Recently, adults have been going "crazy" over colouring books as a form of therapy. What do you think this might mean?


Colouring Books for Adults Top Amazon Bestseller List
Print PDF lessons on One Stop English - The Guardian
Beginner
Intermediate
Advanced

Youtube: Inside the Colouring Book Craze - have students listen to this 5 minute video and then summarize the key points to this latest trend.

CNN News: Why Adult Colouring Books are Good For You

Extension: Print off a design and get your students to fully understand how colouring can be a form of meditation and a great way to de-stress here!