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Close Reading Knowledge Building

All of our students bring with them unique thoughts, ideas, and perspectives. When we give them opportunities to share, together they can grow their understanding of a topic. Check out this idea for a deep reading activity that can be used in both lower and more advanced levels alike. Read More

Jessica AggreyFebruary 13, 2019

Building Blocks – A lesson in Active Learning

Start your class off on the right foot with this community building activity that doubles as a lesson in how to be a successful language learner. Read More

Jessica AggreyJanuary 21, 2019

Schema Jigsaw Grid

Set students up to be successful with a challenging reading with this pre-reading activity. They’ll get some great speaking practice in the process. Read More

Jessica AggreyJanuary 18, 2019

CATESOL Reflections Part 2: Tech

Check out this list of interesting websites/apps I heard about at the CATESOL conference. Read More

Jessica AggreyDecember 20, 2018

CATESOL Conference Reflections: Part I

The annual CATESOL conference is a professional development event for ESL educators in California and Nevada. I attended this weekend and will summarize some tidbits I learned about critical thinking and also vocabulary strategies. Read More

Jessica AggreyDecember 9, 2018

Image of someone holding a can with a string for the telephone game.

Error Correction Telephone

Here’s another way you can structure error correction to liven up your class and put the fun in grammar.Read More

Jessica AggreyNovember 30, 2018

Quote Search Posters

Use this post-reading poster activity to help students dig into readings and prepare for a synthesis essay. Read More

Jessica AggreyNovember 21, 2018

Close Reading Folders

Get your students to work together to unpack and better understand key passages from a text you’re working on in class with this close reading group activity. Read More

Jessica AggreyNovember 19, 2018

Participation Stations

This activity structure is a great way to get all students in your class engaged and working, even the shy ones. I piloted it in my class today, and my students enjoyed it. I used it for a post-reading activity, but it could also work well for other topics as well. Read More

Jessica AggreyNovember 15, 2018

Grammar Baseball

Error correction activities are a useful way to help students learn to analyze language and fix common errors. Try grammar baseball to engage your class with this fun game format. Read More

Jessica AggreyNovember 1, 2018

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Review Grid

This evening at the beginning of class, I wrote a grid on the whiteboard. I asked students to write two …Read More

Jessica AggreyOctober 16, 2018

A Lesson on Topic Sentences

If you teach a class where writing is a focus, then you’ll most likely be covering topic sentences at some point. This post has a slide presentation that can help you introduce and your students learn all about writing clear topic sentences. Read More

Jessica AggreySeptember 9, 2018

Common Errors: Examples and Handout

Learning to self-correct is an important skill language learners must develop. Check out this list of common errors I’ve been collecting. Share it with your students to help them review the mistakes they make the most.Read More

Jessica AggreySeptember 6, 2018

Book Group Roles

Group work is a wonderful way to get students to collaborate and learn together. The best way to assure that everyone actively participates is to assign everyone in the group a specific task to be responsible for. If you put your students into book groups, check out these roles. Read More

Jessica AggreyAugust 30, 2018

Vocabulary Knowledge Share

Here’s an activity to help you introduce a new topic and get students to grow their vocabulary on it. It will get your students to activate their own schema about the topic and then share what they know with their classmates, helping everyone to expand their knowledge.Read More

Jessica AggreyAugust 22, 2018

Writing, Grammar, and Punctuation Tie the Knot at RACE-2-WRITE

Have you been looking for a great way to help your students practice writing? Learn about the game Race-2-Write that will get your students writing while at the same time helping them become more aware of grammar with its awesome color-coding function.Read More