May Themes and Topics

Be sure to check out some of the suggested themes and topics for the month of May here! The main topic most of us will be talking about are MOTHERS and their important role in the family and in society!

Depending on where you live, you might want to get your students talking about birds as it's International Migratory Bird Day on May 9th! Other mentionables that might give your students plenty to talk about are World Press Freedom Day, International Nurses Day, Purple for Peace Day, Victoria Day (Canada), Memorial Day (U.S.A) and International Amnesty Day held on May 28th.



April Topic: Earth Day!

Earth Day, not to be confused with Earth Hour, is an annual environmental event held on April 22nd. Worldwide celebrations and campaigns are held to honor our mother Earth and to create an awareness of key global issues our planet is facing today. Get your students to learn more about Earth Day here and have them talk about the world around them and what we can all do to help preserve and protect it for future generations!

See 2 Degree Celsius: A Critical Number for Climate Change video on here.

RECOMMENDED LINKS FOR ESL STUDENTS AROUND THE TOPIC OF EARTH DAY:

Bogglesworld ESL: A word building activity on the words Earth Day
My English Page: Reading comprehension activity on Earth Day
Earth Day: A reading on the history of the first Earth Day
History: Earth Day videos and articles
The Holiday Zone: Activities and worksheets on Earth Day
ESL Discussions: Discussion questions around the topic "Earth"
ESL Library: Earth Day lesson plan with activities  membership site
ESL Holiday Lessons: Earth Day reading with follow up activities
EL Civics: Earth Day picture vocabulary lesson
Little Explorers: Quiz on Earth Day using first letters
English Exercises: Earth Day vocabulary activity
LHRIC: Earth Day fill in the blanks quiz
Teach-Nology: Earth Day worksheets and activities
ESL Flow: Environmental issues and problems lesson plans and worksheets
Breaking News English: Reading lessons around the topic of the environment
DLTK-Kids: Earth Day songs, poems and quotes

April Topic: World Health Day

World Health Day, celebrated every year on April 7th, was created to raise awareness about key global health issues.  This year's theme is UNIVERSAL HEALTH CARE and raising awareness this issue worldwide. As a global issue, your ESL students may find this to be an especially interesting topic that can generate some lively discussion!

Watch short video on this year's theme here.

April Topic: Spring Cleaning!

SPRING CLEANING, is an annual ritual of deep cleaning that comes to us from several cultures; Chinese, Jewish and Iranian. The tradition of cleaning and refreshing one's home is tied to nature's springtime renewal. In Western culture, spring cleaning is not only a time to air out the home, but a time to clean, scrub and dust every corner of the house in order to get rid of all the germs and other toxins that build up during the winter. Your ESL students may enjoy learning about/reviewing the various verbs associated with cleaning. Talking about their own personal habits, routines or secrets for keeping their homes clean can help increase engagement and even make the conversation fun! 

WARM-UP CONVERSATION QUESTIONS ON THE TOPIC ON SPRING CLEANING By ESL Made Easy:

1. Do people engage in 'spring cleaning' in your home country? If so, what do most people typically do?
2. How important is a clean home to you? Do you enjoy cleaning your home? How does it usually make you feel when you have just finished cleaning your home?
3. Do you have a preferred day to clean your home? What do you usually do on a typical 'cleaning' day?
4. Do you usually clean alone or do you have other members of your family helping? Is it ever difficult to get yourself or others to clean the house?
5. What cleaning products and items have helped make your cleaning easier?

RECOMMENDED LINKS FOR ESL STUDENTS AROUND THE TOPIC OF CLEANING:

Learn English Feel Good: Fill in the blanks with cleaning verb exercise
ISL Collective: Worksheets on cleaning    donation site
ESL Fast: Cleaning rooms - 3 listening dialogues
Eng Vid: Video lesson on cleaning your houseESL-Literacy: Perminder's Cleaning Day learning activities 
5 Minute English: Listening activity on chores 
Breaking New English: Reading and follow up activities on housework  
Daily ESL: Listen and read about kitchen cleaning
English-Test: Online quiz on cleaning supplies
English Club: Housingkeeping vocabulary
ESL Pod: Listening podcast on spring cleaning with vocabulary
Drew's ESL Fluency Lessons: Cleaning the house vocabulary with listeningESL Holiday Lessons: Reading with follow up activities on Clean Up Your Desk Day 
Neat and Tidy: A PDF cleaning checklist
My Frugal Home: a PDF checklist for cleaning the house (lots of verbs)
How Stuff Works: The history behind spring cleaning The Free Dictionary: "Clean" idioms and expressions