Advanced Search: Resources

1. Maps and Legends

   In: English Teaching Forum 2004, Volume 42, Issue 2 Format(s): Text

   The author of this student-directed reading, Michael Chabon, shares his experience as a pioneer of the Columbia Experiment. Columbia’s renewal was the dream of James Rouse, who put together a team of city planners to design a lovely, convenient, modern city where races lived together in harmony. Chabon writes about the impact of living with the dream and vision of the city’s development. Since the late 1960s, Columbia has grown from a few thousand people to the second largest city in Maryland.

2. 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.

3. Quilting: An American Craft

   In: English Teaching Forum 2006, Volume 44, Number 3 Format(s): Text

   This is an introduction to an American craft: quilting. The passage introduces what quilting is and different types of quilts. It also talks about the meaning of quilts and how they are used in American society.

4. Knitting: A Craft Makes a Comeback

   In: English Teaching Forum 2011, Volume 49, Number 1 Format(s): Text

   This article on knitting is written for learners. Knitting has become increasingly popular among young Americans. The article includes the history of knitting, reasons why people knit, new trends such as “yarn bombing” and eco-friendly knitting, and a discussion of popular knitting websites and blogs. At the end of the article, readers will find knitting vocabulary, a list of related websites, and a section entitled, “Knitting Know How.”

5. Snowboarding: Wild Rides

   In: English Teaching Forum 2010, Volume 48, Number 1 Format(s): Text

   This article on snowboarding is written for learners. The author gives an overview of the history of snowboarding, along with basic facts about the popular winter sport, a glossary of helpful terms, and information about the controversy surrounding its inclusion in the winter Olympics. There are also links to helpful websites, and colorful photographs illustrate important moves, equipment, and competitors.

6. Baseball: A National Tradition

   In: English Teaching Forum 2010, Volume 48, Number 3 Format(s): Text

   This article, written for language learners, gives an overview of the sport of baseball, known as America’s “national pastime.” The author describes the history of the sport as well as how to play it. The author talks about the types of people who play baseball, from young children to the major leagues, as well as baseball’s role in pop culture. Also included are a brief glossary, websites of interest, and a look at the Baseball Hall of Fame.

7. Spot the Problem! (reprinted from Teaching Pragmatics)

   In: English Teaching Forum 2003, Volume 41, Number 3 Format(s): Text

   This lesson plan considers pragmatic violations of openings, closings, and requests. These humorous role plays involve continuing a conversation when one person is trying to end it, being overly direct, and providing an overly informative answer to the greeting “How are you?” Textbooks may lack complete openings and closings, so it is worthwhile to spend time on post-openings and pre-closings. Politeness in English may be problematic for EFL learners because of the lack of grammatical forms that mark it.

8. Lesson Plan: Sharing Your Vacation - Send a Postcard!

   In: English Teaching Forum 2008, Volume 46, Number 4 Format(s): Text

   This lesson plan for intermediate students is based on a fact sheet about Chicago and the idea of writing a postcard to family members during vacation. It describes a warm-up activity and several activities for writing and reading a postcard. The lesson aims to strengthen learners’ vocabulary and literacy skills using authentic materials.

9. An Integrated Skills Lesson Plan for "A Postcard from America" by Robert Olen Butler

   In: English Teaching Forum 2004, Volume 42, Issue 1 Format(s): Text

   This lesson plan is based on the feature article, “Postcards from America” by Robert Olen Butler. It is appropriate for high intermediate to advanced students. The lesson integrates the four skills and has five parts: Preparing to Read, Reading the Text, Understanding the Text, Making Connections Beyond the Text, and Integrating Language Skills. The lesson includes group discussion of comprehension questions, scanning for vocabulary, and using the dictionary.

10. An Integrated Skills Lesson Plan for "Maps and Legends" by Michael Chabon

    In: English Teaching Forum 2004, Volume 42, Issue 2 Format(s): Text

    This lesson plan is based on the article “Maps and Legends” by novelist Michael Chabon and is for high intermediate to advance students. The lesson includes group and pair work. Students discuss the neighborhood where they grew up. They read the text and identify unfamiliar words, then answer comprehension questions in writing or discussion groups. Post-reading activities include scanning, inferring meaning from context, dictionary practice, and discussion questions. The lesson ends with questions to make connections beyond the text and project ideas.

Pages