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1. Cross Cultural Activities and Lesson Plans

   Format(s): Text, Website

   Activities and lesson plans based on Peace Corps Volunteers’ cross-cultural experiences.

2. Word Bricks-Brick Bingo

   In: Activate: Games for Learning American English - Word Bricks Format(s): Text

   Brick Bingo helps students make connections between the spoken and written forms of words in a fun, low-stress game. Download the game and instructions!

3. U.S. Time Periods

   Format(s): Text, Video, Website

   Teaching and learning resources on U.S. time periods, from the Department of Education.

4. Notes for Teachers

   In: Why English? Comics for the Classroom Format(s): Text

   This section includes a table of contents, information about the project, and how teachers can use these comics in their classrooms.

5. The Lighter Side

   In: English Teaching Forum 2003, Volume 41, Number 1 Format(s): Text

   Blue is a common word found in American idioms. For example, “Once in a blue moon” means something happening rarely. And “Blue in the face” means a person is pale from exhaustion or frustration. This short section lists several idioms with the word blue in them, and gives an explanation of the phrase.

6. Rodeo: A Uniquely American Sport

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

   The feature article, “Rodeo: A Uniquely American Sport,” includes sections about the history of rodeo, classic rodeo events, the growth of professional rodeo, the making of a rodeo cowboy, rodeo heroes, and rodeo and fine arts. Websites of interest and a glossary of rodeo terms accompany the article, as well as many images.

7. Picture This – Word Strings

   In: Activate Games for Learning American English: Picture This Format(s): Text

   Word Strings provides students with practice forming phrases and sentences, using vo­cabulary words from a Picture This card as a starting point. This game works best in groups.

8. 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.

9. Voice of America Twitter Feed

   Format(s): Website

   Get short, timely English messages on Twitter to stay updated on a wide variety of topics.

10. Reading Up-Close and Personal: Connection-Making and the Classic American Short Story

    In: English Teaching Forum 2024, Volume 62, Number 4 Format(s): Text

    Authors Spencer Salas and Bernadette Musetti use the O. Henry story “Transients in Arcadia” (available on the American English website) to illustrate how readers can make a text more meaningful by connecting it to themselves, to other texts, and to the world.

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