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1. Being People

   Format(s): Text

   Being People is a collection of short stories and poems that draws upon the multicultural nature of American society.

2. Literature and Language

   Format(s): Website

   Language arts resources including reading, literature, and poetry. Federal Resources for Educational Excellence (FREE).

3. Using Letters to Tell Stories in the EFL Classroom

   In: English Teaching Forum 2011, Volume 49, Number 4 Format(s): Text

   This article discusses how letter writing can be used as authentic language use. An activity for beginners involves an exchange of letters of introduction between the instructor and students. This serves a socially meaningful interactional purpose. The second activity is the construction of an story, one in which the plot is expressed in a series of letters. The writer suggests using letter exchanges for this creative writing project after using books such as The Color Purple. Letter writing is one way to enable and empower students to tell their own stories.

4. A Cycle of Life in Nature

   In: English Teaching Forum 2002, Volume 40, Number 3 Format(s): Text

   “A Cycle of Life in Nature" is based on a book of the same name in which the author provides information and facts about the Ipani, or the Eskimos who had lived in Alaska before the white man came a "long time ago." It presents how the Eskimo people supported their families as the seasons changed.

5. Making Reading Fun: Engaging Pre-Reading Activities for ELLs

   In: American English Webinars Format(s): Text, Video

   This session, “Promoting Reading Fluency with the ACTIVE Framework,” explores the six elements of the ACTIVE reading framework, designed to systematically enhance reading skills in the EFL classroom. We’ll demonstrate practical, adaptable activities for each framework component!

6. Planning for and Managing Small Group Instruction

   In: American English Webinars Format(s): Text, Video

   This session, "Planning for and Managing Small Group Instruction," shares creative tips for how to plan for small group instruction, practice routines with students, and monitor the whole class while working with small groups of students.

7. The Line Between: Questions, Responses, and Critical Reading

   In: American English Webinars Format(s): Text, Video

   This session, "The Line Between: Questions, Responses, and Critical Reading," introduces the Question-Answer Relationship (QAR) framework for building readers’ confidence in locating information in a text and turning to themselves to answer questions that require thinking beyond the text.

8. Creative Classroom Activities

   Format(s): Text

   Creative Classroom Activities is the second of a two-volume anthology of articles published between 1989 and 1993 in English Teaching Forum. Download the e-book or PDF.

9. What Mary Shelley Never Wrote: Using Basic Computer Skills to Enhance Student Writing

   In: English Teaching Forum 2003, Volume 41, Number 2 Format(s): Text

   This article describes an inspired, well-managed process writing class project for intermediate language learners. The author used Mary Shelley’s book Frankenstein as a creative writing tool in class to develop writing and computer skills. Students read and discussed the book. Working in a collaborative format, students wrote a short story sequel to the novel and offered revision advice in a workshop format. The sequels were then compiled and shared with beginner language learners. The author pointed out that the sense of audience was also established with this project.

10. Just Off Main Street

    In: English Teaching Forum 2004, Volume 42, Issue 3 Format(s): Text

    “Just off Main Street” is for learner use and is an account of the writer’s experience as an Arab American. It opens with a description of the writer’s childhood and the cultural divide between life inside and outside the home. Readers will be drawn into the vivid description of daily life. The article looks at the challenges of being bi-cultural, of keeping home life separate, of being “exoticized,” of becoming comfortable and proud of one’s heritage, and of finding community. The article provides opportunities for discussions of culture, identity, and activism.

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