Lateral Thinking Stories for the ESL Class

Cockroaches and Ladybugs: Lateral Thinking Stories for the ESL Class: What is lateral thinking?  In 1973 Edward De Bono developed the term “ Lateral Thinking ”. Lateral thinking involves looking at a situati...





In ESL, Lateral Thinking Puzzles are a great resource for thinking, speaking and writing because they are often strange situations which require an explanation.

Teaching English Creatively

Cockroaches and Ladybugs: Teaching English Creatively: 10 creative ways to teach English that deliver outstanding results is an article that Anna Warren published in The Guardian ...

As a ferver defender of project working and open curriculums, I really like the idea of teaching Language through arts: through painting, music composition, a film project, in role drama or sculpture, always having a real purpose in mind. I was happy to find such a clear article like this because some of the approaches are right now in my teaching portfolio.

Teaching Maths Through English or English Through Maths: A CLIL approach

Cockroaches and Ladybugs: Teaching Maths Through English or English Through ...:



Are you thinking in doing some CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning) next year? Is Maths your favourite subject to do it but the staff of your school thinks that this is a too tough for to be taught in English? Need some good reasons to convince parents and teachers? Or, are you not sure about some "language" issues when teaching maths...?

Here you are some good "references" may help you!

Web 2.0 tools... How to choose the right one?

Start working with Web 2.0 tools in the classroom can be a hard and painful process that can lead to throw in the towel, before getting some...

How to build our “Web 2.0 Tool Kit”? You won't want to teach a lesson with a technology part if you don't feel confident using technology.

Cockroaches and Ladybugs: Web 2.0 tools... How to choose the right one?:

Thinking Global, Being Global

"By introducing children early on to concepts of globalization, we stand a greater chance of the next generation utilizing technology and creativity to create a healthier and happier world"

Have you ever visited the pyramids? Do you like sushi? Can you say “hello” in Swahili? Discover what it means to be global in this sweet and lighthearted book and iPad app.

Cockroaches and Ladybugs: Thinking Global, Being Global:

GETTING TO KNOW YOU:Classroom Activities for Starting off the School Year

Cockroaches and Ladybugs: GETTING TO KNOW YOU:

As a new school year begins, teachers and students renew relationships after the long summer break, see new faces, and establish their routines for the year.

Back to school ideas for primary and ICT

Today I hurry off to school, to work and learn and play. I'm in a brand new grade this year. What a happy day!     

Cockroaches and Ladybugs: Back to school ideas for primary and ICT

My City, Project Based Learning or Content Based Learning in the ESL class

One of the most important topics in the Primary Social Science Curriculum at Cicle Mitjà and Cicle Superior is the city, the town or the village where the students live.

The city landscape of Vitebsk

Knowing the city is a way to know many aspects of the social, cultural and civic around us. But it is also a way to know about museums, interesting places, monuments, history, famous people, unique buildings and curiosities of the town.

In this project, students will conduct a research on one or more aspects of their city (or another one, if we consider it more appropriate). The main aim is to develop a graphic support with varied information to orally show in front of the class and to make a display in the school corridors.


These are just some examples of outputs produced within the project. Power Points and scaled models are probably the most used resources among primary students, but they also used Prezi, Glogster or Issuu.

My city project from Enric Calvet

And this is the complete Unit Plan.

Unit plan my city from Enric Calvet

If you want to know something else about this project, the proposal, the basic skills it covers, or to download a Rubric for the assessment of communication, a peer assessment or a self assessment grid, please visit ARC (Aplicació de Recursos al Currículum). The project is fully published in this link: My City.

This project has been developed by TLEinC. ICE UAB Teacher trainers group work, 2013. Authors: Núria Biosca Perich, Enric Calvet Tomàs, Ana M. Esteban Nieto, M. Emília Masdeu Chimeno, Manuela Moledo Nores, M. Carmen Pérez Martin, Antonio Orihuela Lechuga.

Summer Homework? A suggestion...

Cockroaches and Ladybugs: Summer Homework? A suggestion...

What can we do about English? Is there any way we can help our child? “I do not know much English but, I would like to help my children maintaining  the language learnt in the school...”

These, and other worries, are typical among parents when Summer is coming and they have to face a “long leisure time” with not much homework to do.

Who said that we cannot do PBL in ESL teaching?

Cockroaches and Ladybugs: Who said that we cannot do PBL in ESL teaching?:

Today, a group of secondary school teachers have questioned the fact that elementary students cannot learn proper English grammar through project work...

How to develop CBLT units

Cockroaches and Ladybugs: How to develop CBLT units:

According to the theory of language learning, " CBLT is based on function and interaction of language, what means that language is taught taking into account the social context and the communicative needs of students".

When talking about the objectives and the syllabus that are going to be implemented in a course, CBLT focuses on competencies.

What can you do with clothes?

Cockroaches and Ladybugs: What can you do with clothes?: Today I like to share with you all some activities I use when I am introducing and practicing the topic “ Clothes ” to my elementary ESL students.

Fashion show in primary esl class from Enric Calvet

 Read more about at Cockroaches and Ladybugs: What can you do with clothes?

Do you Understand the Size of the Universe?

Cockroaches and Ladybugs: Do you Understand the Size of the Universe?

Several weeks ago, I was surfing the net looking for some resources to explain the size of the Universe. This is a really tough topic, specially when the learners are above 10 and you need some "interactive help" to answer this difficult question in English as a Second Language!

Effective Spontaneous English Speaking Activities

Cockroaches and Ladybugs: Effective Spontaneous English Speaking Activities:
Speaking is probably the most important skill in learning English as a second language and it is the most difficult one that primary English...

A spontaneous speaking activity is not synonymous to “speak whatever you want”. "Spontaneous speaking means that students have the chance to use the language resources they consider to be necessary or useful to achieve the task”.

Get the most of videos in the ESL Class

Cockroaches and Ladybugs: Get the most of videos in the ESL Class

There are many things we can do with videos in the ESL class to actively involve children into the language learning.

When I grow up, I want to be...

Talking about the future and the jobs students plan to do, it is always very rewarding. Children like to imagine how things will be like in their lives and, what’s more, you as a teacher can learn a lot about the personality of your pupils.

In my year 4 Primary ESL class we were involved during three sessions in practicing some research, reading, talking and writing to do a final display on the window corridor about future jobs

This is the way we did in our class, and it was a complete success.

When I grow up I want to be from Enric Calvet

As main objectives I planned:

• Students will practice their writing skills by writing about what they want to be when they grow up.
• Students will learn about their profession of choice by researching it.
• Students will read, choose and write positive comments for their mates and their future jobs
• Students will practice small motor skills by making a flower for a big display of what they want to be when they grow up.

Materials Needed:

• The corridor wall or a window for the display
• Coloured Papers Pencils
• Crayons/Markers
• Glue (or other ways to attach finished products to the window)
• Posters, books or Internet finding on various professions
• 100 ways to praise a child poster

You can start by leading a group discussion on different jobs…have the students discuss things like what jobs their parents have and what they think they want to be when they grow up.

Show the students the blank space where the project will be displayed. Explain that they are going to fill it up with their writings and pictures (or flowers with a positive comment in each petal).

Invite them to write a paragraph on what they want to be when they grow up. For struggling students, you can make the writing assignment shorter; for advanced ones, you can have them write more. They may go to the school library to get a book on that profession or have a research in Internet in order to know some basic characteristics on it. Then, ask students to draw a picture of themselves in their chosen profession.

You can either post on the display their drawing and writing, or the flowers with nice and praising sentences (this was the way we did!).

To do it more challenging:

• Put all of the writings together in a class book about jobs.
• Invite other classes to come take a look at our jobs display.

Please share any new ideas or resources on this topic!

A cooking workshop in the ESL class

Cockroaches and Ladybugs: A cooking workshop in the ESL class

Carnival is a festival of immense cultural and historical significance:   “There are many advantages in holding a nursery or school carnival ...

You must strongly think on the idea to do some cooking projects in English. They are a great resource of vocabulary and grammar in a rich context, full of motivation, fun and hands on activities.

Cockroaches and Ladybugs: Pretend Play in Teaching ESL to VYL

Pretend play (or symbolic play) is a vital experience of childhood that allows transform and create other worlds, other lives to live,play at being other, learn to think and to feel as others and, ultimately, know that there are ways of thinking and feeling different from their own.

"As children develop the ability to represent experience symbolically, pretend play becomes a prominent activity. In this complex type of play, children carry out action plans, take on roles, and transform objects as they express their ideas and feelings about the social world" (Garvey, 1984)

Cockroaches and Ladybugs: Pretend Play in Teaching ESL to VYL

Writing Prompts

Learning English as a Second Language benefit greatly from interactive writing activities . Writing provides ESL students a way to combine their speaking, listening and reading experiences into a creative expression of learning English.

Read more about at Cockroaches and Ladybugs: Writing Prompts

100 Formas de Animar Grupos: Juegos para Usar en Talleres, Reuniones y la Comunidad

This is a resource material that has been developed to encourage participation in practice.

It is a compilation of animation techniques, icebreakers and games that can be used by anyone who is working with a group of people, either in a workshop, in a training group, in a meeting or in the community.

Teachers must use games for several different reasons, including to help children to know each other, increasing energy levels and enthusiasm, encouraging the development of co-operation or children think about a particular problem.

The games that help children to know each other and help to relax are called icebreakers.

When they look sleepy or tired, animation techniques can be used to get them moving and to give them more enthusiasm (stirrers).

Other games can be used to help children think about problems and can help solve problems that people may face when they work together.

Games can also help children to think creatively and laterally.

Although this is a material developed for adult groups, most of the games can be easily adapted to primary or secondary levels.

100 formas de animar grupos from Enric Calvet